RECORD FLIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23273, 16 February 1939, Page 6

RECORD FLIGHT

DARWIN TO SYDNEY NETHERLANDS AIR LINER [from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Feb. 10 The Royal Netherlands Indies' Lockheed air liner, flown bv Captain van Breeman, established a new Darwin to Sydney record this week by flying the distance of 2225 miles in 12 hours 2 minutes, at an average speed of ISS miles an hour. The Lockheed encountered bad weather after leaving Batavia on Monday at u p.m. The aerodromes in the Netherlands Indies were flooded becouse of torrential rains. Captain van Breeman arrived at Darwin on Tuesday. He received an adverse weather report for the route to Cloncurry, and decided to fly to Daly Waters, but after he took off he received a report that the cloud base was less than 200 ft. above the earth at the Daly Waters aerodrome.

The Dalv Waters radio station is not in operation at all times during the day, having been established mainly for the use of the Guinea Airways service between Darwin and Adelaide, so lie decided to return to Darwin, where the night was spent. The Lockheed departed from Darwin at 4.48 a.m. on Wednesday, and arrived at Cloncurry at 9.54" a.m.; departed from Cloncurry at 10.44 a.m. and arrived at Brisbane at 3.45 p.m.; left. Brisbane at 4.35 p.m., and landed at Kingsford Smith airport at 7 p.m. The previous record of 12 hours 12 minutes was held by Captain van Messel, of tho same line.