WILKINS EXPEDITION

Otago Witness, Issue 3763, 27 April 1926, Page 33

WILKINS EXPEDITION

THIRD FLIGHT TO POINT BARROW.. VANCOUVER, April 19 A message from Fail-banks states that no word has been received since Monday from Captain Wilkins and Lieutenant Eielson. who left on Thursday for Point Bar row in the aeroplane Alaskan. Detroiter, the three-engined aeroplane, was tested on Monday. The machine' reached an altitude of 10.000 feet in 30 minutes and handled beautifully during an hour’s trial. NO DEFINITE NEWS. VANCOUVER, April 20. No direct news has yet been heard of Captain Wilkins and Lieutenant Kielson, who left on Thursday for Point Barrow. They were seen the same dav by Eskimo hunters near Thetis Island. They evidently encountered fog and got- off the course. There is no reason yet to worry. The Washey party reported that they were in good spirits and hoped to makd the coastline on Thursday. STILL NO NEWS. j FAIRBANKS April 21. / There is still no tiding of Captain Wilkins, though the flying conditions are good. It is believed that Captain Wilkins has been delayed for sc:..j unknown reason at Point Barrow. CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN’S ATTEMPT. COPENHAGEN. April 22. Captain Amundsen and Mr Ellsworth have arrived at King’s Bav (Spitzbergen), awaiting the Norge, which is expected during the week-end. Our London correspondent writing on March 10, states that the airship Norge in which Captain Amundsen, is to attempt to fly from Europe over the North Pole to Alaska, will be the most efficiently equipped airship, from a wireless point of view, which has ever taken the air. By special arrangement with the Marconi Company, the vessel is equipped with transmitting apparatus which will enable the commandei to keep in touch with either land or ship stations at distances up to 1000 miles. Thu? the airship will never be out of touch with the external world during its whole journey above the ice-bound solitudes of the Polar regions. Receiving apparatus specially designed to cover a wave range from 300 to 25,000 metres, will also be carried,* whilst direction-finding apparatus will be installed which will be sufficiently sensitive to enable the navigators accurately to determine their course and direction even over the Pole itself when the compasses will be cf no navigational value, since all direction will be due south The wireless direction finder will enable all the long-wave European and American stations to be picked up and oriented with huge loops having been erected right round the envelope of the airship. By this means the sensitivity of the wireless directional apparatus has been made much greater than tliat hitherto employed on any aircraft.