FLIGHT TO POLE

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11845, 3 June 1924, Page 9

FLIGHT TO POLE

CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN'S PLANS. A DARING SCHEME. LONDON, Hay 21. The three seaplanes to be used, by Captain Ronald Amundsen in his polar flight will leave, Pisa, Italy, for Spitsbergen on June 3rd, states the Milan correspondent of “The Times.” The route to Spitsbergen will be by way of Zurich (Switzerland), Textel (Holland), Bergen (Norway), and Tromso (Northern Norway). As none of the seaplanes is capable of carrying sufficient petrol for the entire flight across the pole from Spitzbergen to ‘Alaska, two will be used as flying depots for the third. The maximum petrol capacity of each is only 16 hours, whereas the proposed flight, even if the weather ’s good, will take 22 hours, while if the wind is contrary, u,p to 28 hours. Starting together, the three will desoend after a four-hours’ flight. One of the machines will distribute its petrol, except sufficient to carry it back to Spitzbergen, among the other two, and will return to Spitzbergen. The two remaining machines will fly for a further eight hours, when a second descent will be made, and petrol sufficient for a seven hours’ flight will be transferred from the second to the third machine. The emptied seaplane will be left in the Polar Basin, and the crew will be carried by the seaplane still in use. With petrol sufficient for 14 or 15 hours, it should be aibla tol cover the rest of the trip to Alaska.