AVIATION RECORDS

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11659, 25 October 1923, Page 8

AVIATION RECORDS

HEIGHT OF 10,741 METRES REACHED. VICTUALLING AND FUELLING IN MID-AIR. “It is again reported,’’ states “The Aeroplane, “that M. Sadi-Ledointe has captured the world’s height record by reaching a height of 10,741 metres, which exceeds by 223 metres the height reached by Lieutenant Macready. It is presumed that this last figure has been awarded a prize of 50,000 francs offered by, the Under-Secretary of State for Air. “While the French held all the records, the homologation of ‘foreign’ records was always very slow, but now that America holds the principal records, it is to be noted that the French authorities do not waste much time in checking their figures in order to recapture those records that passed to America with so much ease.” NEW DURATION RECORD.

On August 26th, Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant J. P. Richter took off from San Diego, California, in a specially-equipped D.H.4, to set Up a new duration record. Arrangements had been made to refuel the machine in the air from another D.H.4. After remaining in the air for 37 hours 15 minutes, they landed owing to fog. During this flight they took in fuel and food on fifteen occasions, and broke speed records for the 2500 and 3000 kilometres, finally exceeding the previous duration record set up by Lieutenants Macready and Kelly by 1 hour 10 minutes.