ROUND THE WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18591, 27 June 1922, Page 5

ROUND THE WORLD

MAJOR BLAKE’S FLIGHT. ARRIVAL AT NAPLES. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. ROME, June 25. Major Blake has arrived here on his round-the-world flight. Major Blake arrived at Naples safely. He covered the distance from Marseilles in 13 hours. He will fly to Athens tomorrow.—A. and N.Z. Cable. [Major Blake informed the Morning Post in April that it was his intention to proceed via France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia to India. “Thence, instead of following the, route of Ross Smith’s contemplated expedition, we shall travel along the coast of Burma to Rangoon, afterwards to Saigon, and along the coast of French Indo-China and of Japan to HongKong. Crossing to Japan, the route runs from Tokio along the Siberian coast, then by way of the Aleutian Islands to Alaska, across Canada and the United States, to New York. Newfoundland will be the next stopping place, and it has been planned to make the Atlantic crossings via Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland. Our reasons for choosing this route are that by it the longest sea passage is only 850 miles, while the weather conditions should be favourable to the flight at that time of the year. If all goes well we shall arrive back in England in August or early in September.’’ , . . , Major Blake holds a commission m . the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, and served throughout the war. He first took to flying in 1908, and has held a pilot s certificate since 1911. Transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. he saw active service in practically all the main theatres of the world-wide war. _ , As Air Intelligence Officer in the Middle East he was largely responsible for the organisation of the Suez to India and the Cairo to Cap© Town air routes. Last summer Major Blake made flights to Russia and back in order tp _ obtain information as to the famine conditions. A little later, with Captain MacMillan, he piloted a machine to Morocco. . Associated with him in the projected flight is Captain Norman MacMillan, who recently returned from Spain, where he had been superintending the construction pf Hying boats for the Spanish navy. He is on© of the best known and most experienced test pilots in England.]