“WRONG-WAY” FLYER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23970, 20 November 1939, Page 4

“WRONG-WAY” FLYER

NORTH INSTEAD OF SOUTH PUPIL’S HAZARDOUS ADVENTURE (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, Nov. 8. A Sydney flying school has produced a new “wrong-way” flyer—in fact, they nick-named him “ Wrong-way Corrigan,” after the young Californian who flew east to Ireland instead of west from New York. The Sydney flying pupil took off from Mascot aerodrom, Sydney, to fly 40 miles south to Camden on his first cross-country flight, and landed at Raymond terrace, about 110 miles north of Sydney. When two hours out from Sydney, the pupil landed at Richmond R.A.A.F. aerodrome with little fuel left The Air Force supplied him with 12 gallons of petrol and set him a compass course for Camden He took off in the opposite direction, however, and officials were informed at the Mascot airport. The aircraft was not sighted again until it landed on a narrow strip of cleared ground at Raymond terrace, shortly before dusk. The pupil’s clothes were wet through after flying in heavy rainstorms. He had flown in the single-engined aircraft over heavily-timbered and mountainous country. Although the plane was not fitted with blind-flying instruments, he had managed to fly blind through low cloud and heavy rain. Early the next morning the pupil refuelled his plane and attempted to take-off for Sydney, but the wheels became bogged in soft ground, the aircraft turned over, and the propeller was broken.