AMAZING FLIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23259, 31 January 1939, Page 12

AMAZING FLIGHT

TINY MACHINE USED GERMANS' ACHIEVEMENT BRANDENBURG TO SYDNEY [from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Jan, 20 What aviation experts described as one of the finest light aeroplane flights ever made ended when two young German Air Force officers, Flight-Lieuten-ants Horst Pulkowski and Rudolf Jenet, stepped from their tiny Arado 79 low-wing monoplane at the Kingsford Smith aerodrome, Sydney. The trip from Brandenburg took 30 days, and in one hop from Bengasi, North Africa, to Gaya, India, they flew 3975 miles, breaking the non-stop record for light aeroplanes by 1300 miles. Landings were made in the north of ltalv, and at Brindisi, Bengasi, Gaya, Bangkok, Medan, Batavia, Sourabaya, Bali, Koepang, Darwin and Winton. The worst weather on the flight was encountered while flying to the north of Italy, when heavy snowstorms and bad visibility made conditions uncomfortable. The temperature was lo degrees. The small cockpit of the machine with side-by-side dual control is fitted with many facilities for safe flying and comfort. The cabin is entered through an aperture covered by a sliding panel. The elevator is of one piece, and the rudder has a large surface. The fliers reclined under the port and starboard wings. With coins they opened up lockers beneath the wings, and unpacked their wearing apparel, which they carried away in linen bags. Both pilots are officers of a bombing and parachute squadron of the Gorman Air Force. They are at present on leave. When they arrived at Darwin they did not intend to continue to Sydney, because they had "taken up too much time on the flight out." The return route will be via the Netherlands and Singapore. "AAe should like to have flown to New Guinea, but weather and aerodromes are not suitable," said Pulkowski.