AVIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21365, 19 June 1931, Page 9

AVIATION

LONDON TO ROME AND BACK WORLD'S RECORDS BROKEN. LONDON. June 17. Hawkcs made a great flight from Loudon to Rome and return at an average of 190 miles per hour. He broke the world’s record each way, and established another record by doing the journey ia one day. CALCUTTA FLYING BOATS. SEVERAL ORDERED BY FRANCE. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, June 17. (Received June 18, at 5.5 p.m.) The French ail-man, Captain Costes, will this week pilot home one of the well-known Calcutta type of flying boats constructed by Messrs Short, of Rochester, which the French Government has purchased. An agreement has been reached between Shorts and the Brcguet Company for the manufacture under license in France of further Calcutta boats, which the French Government intends to employ in its naval services. French air transport companies which are operating in the Mediterranean arc also ordering Calcutta craft.

FIGHTING AIRCRAFT. THE LATEST NIGHT BOMBER. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, June 17. (Received June 18, at 5.5 p.m.) Among several new types of aircraft which will be shown for the first time at the Air Force pageant at Hendon on Saturday week will be a huge fourengined Vickers night bomber, which is considerably larger than the eight-ton Vickers Virgin bomber, which was hitherto the largest and most powerful fighting aircraft in the world. The new machine has four Rolls-Royce engines, developing 1920 h.p., and two of the engines are mounted as tractoTs and two as pushers. It is 07 feet long and 22 feet high, and ha's a 00 feet wing spread. It weights 12 tons, and in speed, range, and load shows a considerable advance on any other bombing type. MISSING AUSTRALIAN PILOT. A WRECKED PLANE FOUND. MELBOURNE, June 18. (Received June 18, at 8 p.m.) The Civil Aviation Department has received a report stating that a wrecked aeroplane, which is believed to be the property of Mr Ekins, the missing aviator, was discovered by an Italian in rugged and heavily timbered country near Tallarook, 60 miles north of Melbourne, but there was no sign of the pilot. Searchers have gone to the scene.