AIR RACE PLAN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 14

AIR RACE PLAN

SYDNEY TO NAPIER BUSINESS MAN'S OFFER PRIZE OF £SOOO PROPOSED GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY SOUGHT [nv telegraph —own correspondent] HASTINGS, Friday j\n air race from Sydney to Napier, without restrictions on the type of machines or the nationalities of pilots, for a £SOOO prize, is a proposal which lias been placed before the Napier Thirty Thousand Club. A well-known Napier business man has provided £-">00 toward the prize-money, and an application is being made to the Government for a subsidy. The height of the holiday season in January, when the weather may be expected to favour the event, has been suggested as the most suitable time for the race. The finishiug-point would be the emergency aerodrome a short distance beyond Wcstshore, owing to the fact that the Napier Aero Club's aerodrome on the inner harbour is at present being reconstructed by the Public Works Department, and will not l)c ready for use when the race takes place. It; is stated by prominent living enthusiasts in Napier, however, that the emergency landing-ground is of a standard which would permit even j machines of the type of the huge j Douglas air liners to land in any weather without difficulty. Anonymous Originator The scheme has not yet received consideration by the Napier Thirty Thousand Club, or any other organisation likely to be interested in such a venture. The first indication of the plan was given when a prominent business man, who is remaining anonymous, today offered £SOO as the nucleus of a j prize fund, and undertook to approach ! other sources with a view to enlisting further financial support. He has stipu- [ la ted that Napier must bo the finishing j point, and has urged that immediate I steps should be taken to foster the j scheme. The support of the Hon. W. E. Bari nard is being obtained with a view to seeking a subsidy from the Govern- | ment in furtherance of the scheme. A j telegram was despatched by the secre- j rotary of the Thirty Thousand Club, Mr. S. P. Spiller, to Mr. Barnard today. Former Proposal Recalled The business man responsible for the proposal has undertaken to lodge his cheque for £SOO with the Thirty Thousand C'lub immediately. He has been one of the most active supporters of the Napier Aero Club in its efforts to equip Napier with an airport. Mr. Spiller said to-day that as many organisations, firms and private individuals as possible would be approached for substantial contributions. "The donor of the first £SOO is confident that the money will bo raised," he said. A member of the Napier Aero Club recalled this afternoon that the possibility "of a Tasman air race had been considered previously, and that leading airmen had looked upon the suggestion with favour. "With 200-miles-an-hour machines engaged," lie said, "the race would be a more seven-hour affair, with the flight across the Tasman Sea as the greatest hazard. W itli up-to- ! date machines available, however, this i aspect does not present a very serious ! obstacle to its promotion. I was in- | formed that many machines of the type likely to enter for sueh a race could ■ cover the distance from Australia to j New tZealand and back in daylight in a single day." I ! SYDNEY PILOTS' INTEREST j SCHEME THOUGHT PRACTICABLE (Received October 2, 7.25 p.m.) SYDNEY. Oct. 2 A movement afoot at Napier, New Zealand, for a transtasman air race for a £SOOO prize is. according to the Sun, causing a good deal of comment among pilots at Mascot aerodrome. While regarding the event as quite practicable, they consider that the prize money is 1 too low.