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Otago Daily Times, Issue 23442, 5 March 1938, Page 14

BACK IN ENGLAND

FLYING-OFFICER CLOUSTON COMET BEING REPAIRED LONDON, Feb. 20. The Comet aeroplane, with Flyingofficer Clouston at the controls, and Mr R. J. Cross, engineer, as passenger, arrived at Gravesend from Cyprus at 5.20 p.m. yesterday. Mr Cross will immediately begin his overhaul of the machine in order to get it ready for another attempt by Mr Clouston to fly to New Zealand and back in 10 days. On present reckoning the Comet should be ready to take off in three A Vega Gull, piloted by Mr Max Henshaw, carrying Mr Victor Ricketts, Mr Clouston's co-pilot, a mechanic, and a Sydney Daily Telegraph representative, took off an hour before the Comet. When the Comet landed at Nicosia, Cyprus, with a punctured tyre, and was damaged, Mr Henshaw flew Mr .Cross and the mechanic from London to effect temporary repairs. The Comet overtook the Gull 7000 feet over the Mediterranean and. after an exchange of signals, flew on to Brindisi, where it landed for refuelling. The Comet was carrying little petrol so as,not to overtax the repaired undercarriage. When the Comet landed, direct from , Brindisi, Mr Clouston said: " The whole of France was under a fog, and the only thing I saw was the Eiffel Tower sticking up.