AVIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3808, 8 March 1927, Page 29

AVIATION.

!eACROSS AUSTRALIA. MELBOURNE, March 1. Major de Haviland arrived in a Moth aeroplane from Perth, having completed a flight of 2260 miles in 33 hours’ flying time. AIR SERVICES. r • FREMANTLE, March 2. Sir Neville Howse (Federal Minister of Defence) said that while he was abroad be had made inquiries about aviation, both civil and defence, and when he again took his place in the Cabinet there were several suggestions he would ask the Government to consider. He added that New . Zealand and Tasmania should be linked with Australia by air services, and there was much survey work to be done. An Australian amphibian had been built, and he hoped that the craft would undertake trial flights in connection with the proposed services at an early date. ITALIAN ..AIRMAN’S FLIGHT. 7 BUENOS AIRES, March 2. The Marchese di Pinedo arrived here on Wednesday from Porto. EMITRE AIRWAYS. • LONDON, March 3. In the House of Commons, Sir Philip Sassoon (Under-Secretary for Air),..in answer to a question, .said that it was too early to state even the approximate date when the air service to India would be extended to Australia. The Government of India was taking the preparatory steps for surveying the route from Calcutta to Rangoon, and the Commonwealth was similarly arranging for flights to Siugapore. -END OF BORGES EXPEDITION. 1 PARIS. March 5. Major Borges's wrecked plane has been discovered on the beach near Cape Jury. The engine was 100 yards distant. It is surmised that the airmen descended into the sea as the result of a defect and that when they endeavoured to land they crashed. The fate of the crew is unknown. MADRID, March 0. Preparations are being made at Casablanca to send a relief expedition, carrying medical supplies and food, to ascertain i.i the first place if Major Borges and ais companions are under the wreck, and. secondly, if they arc not found, to explore the wilderness and shore near the spot where the plane lies smashed. The opinion is expressed here that the fliers lost their direction, and, after using their fuel in an effort to recover, were obliged finally to make the best landing possible. It is thought that the airmen, even if they ere injured, may have been able to crawl ashore and take cover from the tropical sun. This theor has some weight when it is remembered that the French fliers, Bossoutrot and Jousse, were forced down practically in the same place in 1920 and wandered in ti-c wilderness before being found by another aeroplane. MADRID. March G. A wireless : essage from Las Palmas says that a Uruguayan seaplane was found on the beach at lanzado. Native rcuorts state that Major Borgea and his three companions were unhurt, but were seized by Aitlascn tribesmen. Major Borges left Casablanca for Las Palmas early on Wednesday. lie was accompanied in his seaplane by his brother, a wireless operator, a spare pilot, and a mechanic. AERIAL POSSIBILITIES. 1 ROME, March 5. Experts are examining the possibilities of a new aeroplane, in which it is hoped to fly from Rome to London in an hour and from Rome to New York in six hours by rising 25,000 feet, where the ratified atmosphere reduces the air resistance. The chief difficulty will be the provision of normal air pressures for the occupants and the correct functioning of the engines.