LONDON TO MANCHESTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 72

LONDON TO MANCHESTER

THE GREAT AEROPLANE RACE. M. PAULHAN'S SENSATIONAL VICTORY. (Sydney Morning Herald.) The flight from London to Manchester is accomplished, and the Daily Mail's £IO,OOO ; prize, long on offer, has been won by M. ! Paulhan after one of the most dramatic j episodes in the stirring history of aviation. This excitement came upon us quite suddenly. It was Mr Grahame White who began it. A few days ago we had not so much as heard of Mr Grahame White, and when last week he gave the requisite 48 hours' notice of his intention of flying to Manchester, w© were inclined to scoff, for here was an unknown young man" bent upon a feat which none of the famous flyers had thought worth while, even under the temptation of £IO,OOO. But we soon discovered that Mr Grahame White meant business. So much did he-mean business indeed, that at daybreak one Saturday morning, in the presence of a small crowd of spectators, allured to the spot in spite of themselves, his Farman biplane shot into "the air from the outskirts of London, and, flying over Wormwood Scrubbs, headed for the north, and was actually en route to Manchester. A procession of motor cars containing his mother, Farman (the maker of his ■machine), various Aero Club officials, an army of journalists and photographers, and his mechanics and their repairing gear, followed in hopeless pursuit, along the winding roads; while he shot across the fields and high over towns, villages, churches, factories, hills, canals, and woods. Passing several trains with the greatest ease, he steered a course above the railway line by means of sleepers on the permanent way, which had been whitened for the occasion. Watford, Berkhampstead, Tring, and Wol- j verton were all left behind, and at Rugby, 83 miles from London, reached in 2hrs .- smin, the young aviator lightly dropped in a field. Blue wath cold, and exhausted under the strain of- his first oross-country journey, he was glad here to wrap himself in' furs lent him by ladies in the group -of those who had awaited him; but after an hour's rest he was away again, picked up i the route, and headed for Crewe, 73 miles | distant. By 9 o'clock he had over Nuneaton, and a quarter of an hour later flew across Tamworth ; but four miles south of Lichfield came upon trouble in a stiff head wind and a flooded motor cylinder. There he descended for the second and last stoppage allowed by the regulations of the Manchester prize, and, finding the wind developed into a gale, decided to rest all day and attempt the remaining 73 miles in the eve»iiag. Meanwhile the mechanics overtook him, and! were soon at work on the machine. All over England hopes were now high for this hitherto unknown Mr Grahame White. But ho was destined to get no further. The wind increased, and by some means during the night the aeroplane was blown over with such disastrous results that the attempt had to be abandoned, and the machine brought back to London for repairs. . With it came Mr Grahame White, beaten for the time; hut suddenly famous as having achieved the finest cross-country flight known to England. Enters at this stage M. Paulhan. Hear- | ing of the great English flight, he doubtless foresaw the early capture of the big prize, and at' once flung himself into the fray. He hurried across from France, and gave due notice of his intention to fly to Manchester. At Wormwood Scrubbs Mr Grahame MJhi£e\s mechanics worked night and day upon his damaged machine. At Hen- ' don, not far away. M. Paulhan awaited his I bi-plane. It was on the read thither from Folkestone, for it had been found impos- ' sible to convey it by train by reason of

its height and certain low railway bridges en route. Anxiously he sat there inactive, while a few miles away tlie rival flier was being swiftly set in order. By Wednesday morning - it was ready. On Wednesday morning M. Paulhan's machine hove in sight. ' But. the winds still howled, and Mr Grahame White was unable to mount, and meanwhile M. Paulhan's mechanics were steadily setting his machine in readiness. By afternoon it was completed. The .race was now neek-and-neok. and all London was thrilled in anticipation of the coming struggle in the air. The wind still blew pustdy. A crowd of 20,000 surrounded Mr Grahame White's carriage, and many other thousands were out at Hendon. After a trial trip the Englishman decided to wait till morning. The bi-plane was taken to its shed, and the people went homo disappointed. Then eame the sensation.

No one at Wormwood Scrubbs was susj pecting M. Paulhan of an attempt at i flight. Even the mechanics had left for i the night. Mr White was asleep. It was the Channel flight history repeating itself. j A sudden message woke Mr White and sent him rushing headlong to his garage. IM. Paulhan was in full flight. He had '\ started at' 5.20 o'clock without a trial, and I was now sweeping north in the dusk of ; evening. Hastily Mr White's machine was j brought out. He leapt into it, a,nd in a I moment was in the air and disappca.reo. j The news flashed round London, and vast ! crowds gathered to road the telegrams i notifying the progress of the fliers. For i the first time in history a race was being I fought out in the air. Paulhan had an I hour's start, and the cour.-e of his flight showed him travelling like a bird and at a great height. White pursued gamely. Harrow, Watford, and Tring saw Paulhan sweep past high in the sky. Thousands of people lined the roads at every town and greeted the bird-man with wild cheers, and the cries of wonder wero renewed an hour later, when White came into view, j the merest speck in the sky, and presently I shot across in swift pursuit. At Rugby. | 83 miles, Paulhan was flying at a height of I 1000 ft, and very fast. The whole town l was in the streets, and enthusiastic cheers greeted the Frenchm&.n. White shot across Wolverton, 53 miles j from London, at 7.40 o'clock- in the gathering dusk, and a quarter of an hour later was obliged to descend at Rcade, near Northampton, 60 miles, darkness having fallen. Paulhan meanwhile passed Brinklow, Nuneaton, and Atherstone, amid the wildest excitement of thousands, who had been waiting for hours, and at 10 minutes past 8 o'clock he reached Lichfield, and there descended after a magnificent nonstop flight of 117 miles. Paulhan complained greatly of the cold and of a storm of rain which at one point threatened disaster; but he had weathered through. His descent was entirely due to the darkness. He said that he had flown throughout at an altitude' of 800 to 1000 feet, and had frequent sights of the railway line, vnd of the special train in which his wife and friends were following him. At 2.45 o'clock next morning a magnificent exhibition of pluck was witnessed at Roade, for Mr White, in spite of a protest from his mother and sister and a small crowd of onlookers, actually resumed his flight in blackness, rising ?t the risk of his life out of a difficult field surrounded by obstacles. He shot into the night suddenly, and was instantly lost to view. But i the throbbing of his engine was heard and i presently a ray of moonlight showed the | aeroplane clear of danger and swiftly on its j way. At. half-past three o'clock the dawn ! was about the sky, but for three-quarters i of an hour the" young Englishman uridoubtj edly dared disaster. It was a fine display ! of courage. But it proved unavailing, for at Polesworth, 14 miles from Lichfield, where M. Paulhan had alighted on the previous evening, Mr White encountered furious gusts of wind, that turned him round three times, and against which he found the fight so vain that he was forced to descend at 4.13 o'clock. For him the race was lost. ■At Lichfield strange scenes marked the beginning of the final stage. Thousands of pec pie had gathered in the field where Paulhan's machine lay, and they waited in the darkness of the early morning for the aviator. A line of motor ear lamps lit up the adjacent road for half a mile, and scores of people carried lights. At 3.30 o'clock Paulhan appeared, and at once urged his mechanics to make ready. Some little trouble with the engine delayed matters, but at four o'clock the bi-plane rose, and soaring over the Trent valley station, flew out into tho morning amid loud cheers. But it was at Manchester that er.thusiism reached its height. The dawn found maftv thousands of people about" the streets. They poured out into the country roads on the line of route in all manner of vehicles, and on foot. Many of them bad been up all night, determined not to miss any marvel that might be afoot. Break of day saw their enthusiasm undimmed. Didsbury, within the five miles' radius of the- city, was the eagerly-sought objective, and from Didsbury the waiting multitude scanned the horizon. It was) rearly half-past five o'clock. The wind was high and the sky wss ominous. "He can- • not do it," they had begun to say. There waa a sudden roar of voices, " There ha is"; and the crowd yelled and cheered and shouted wildly at a small black object travelling at tremendous ?pe p d cmon? the clouds. It grew larger and larger. It disclosed itself. It was the long-awaited bird machine. With swift, unerring flight, Paulhan came on: the throb of the engine became audible, the machine turned gracefully, skirted some trees, and with one sweeping curve fell to the earth. The flight was over. The London to Manchester prize was won. The man stepping out of the bi-plane into that cheering host of people had accomplished the greatest feat so far known in aviation. . We are all sorry for Mr Grahame White, nevertheless. It was unfortunate for him that his pluck and enthusnasm should be piited at the outset again a veritable hero of a hundred flights. But at least he has lifted England into" the front rank of the ; science. j