THE AIR RACE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23002, 3 October 1936, Page 12

THE AIR RACE

The records of aviation are made only to be broken, and the names of those who hold first place in the public eye as air heroes change with the seasons. It is Mr C. W. A. Scott’s good, fortune to have added another achievement to his name as an airman while his victory in the Centenary Air Race from England to Melbourne still remains in recollection as one of the most notable of air events. That Mr Scott is of the stuff from which the best airmen are made has been emphasised in his latest success, the London to Johannesburg race. With a thirteenhours handicap he has proved an easy winner, on what he himself has called “ an ordinary job of work.” His average speed, 123 miles an hour, is the fastest at which an air journey has been made to South Africa, and his flight makes a highly creditable addition to a list of honours which includes the record for an England to Australia flight. Mr Scott would be the first to admit, no doubt, that skilful piloting, though of immense importance, is only one of the qualities that command success in long-distance flying. The machine is the first factor to be reckoned with, and Mr Scott’s aeroplane has upheld the reputation

of Great Britain for true workmanship. His navigation appears to have been flawless, and the very uneventfulness of his flight marks the real merit of his performance. The element of luck, an incalculable factor in all competitive events, is almost a vital consideration in an air flight over a distance of 6500 miles, and when Mr Scott reflects on the fortunes of other flyers in this race he must appreciate the fact that luck was with him. His companion in the Melbourne flight was killed a few days before the Johannesburg race was started. The big plane of one of Mr Scott’s nearest rivals crashed into atoms at the regrettable cost of two lives; Two other planes were eliminated from the contest by misadventure. Aviation is not unique as a form of transport which writes its failures in sensational and tragic letters, but, as perhaps the most spectacular of useful developments that can be utilised for purposes of sport, advertisement and personal renown, it is a science that exacts its price of the incautious or luckless. An event such as the Johannesburg Air Race almost invites incidental tragedies. These may be deplored, but they cannot be prevented, so long as men are moved by a spirit of high adventure.