AVIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 4048, 13 October 1931, Page 28

AVIATION.

JAPAN TO AMERICA

AMERICAN PILOTS’ SUCCESS. WASHINGTON, October 5

A message from Wenatchee (Washington) states that Pangborn and Herndon landed at the airport there at 7.14 a.m. to-day, completing a non-stop flight from Japan. The flight took about 41hr 13min. The airmen dropped their landing gear after leaving Japan to lighten die load. In landing to-day the plane settled on its belly, tipped on to its nose, then settled back and-slid along slowly in a cloud of dust, coming to rest on its left wing. The propeller was broken. Herndon got a cut over the left eye. Pangborn said: “Boy, are we glad to get here? Give me a cigarette.” A representative of the Japanese newspaper Asahi met them with a 25,000d0l cheque for the completion of the first non stop flight from Japan. Pangborn said they had almost reached Spokane, when they turned back because the weather was too foggy to allow them to proceed to Salt Lake City in an at tempt to set a world distance record One hundred gallons of gas were left. Mrs Pangborn greeted her son. She was crying when the airmen landed. The distance was approximately 460(1 miles. The aviators said the steel skid on the plane saved them from being wrecked on landing. “We were on the right course all the way, but we are awfully sleepy,” Pangborn said. Pangborn was at the controls when the machine landed. He did most of the piloting. “Wc had good weather for the first 1000 miles. We then climbed to 17.000 ft, trying to get over the clouds, some of them being very heavy,” said Herndon. “ Ice began to form on the wings as we elimbed up and down, but we couldn't get over the clouds. The plane was ‘ loggy,' but flew on through them.” “ We each snoozed a little, sitting up in the plane,” concluded Pangborn. In July Pangborn and Herndon started from New York on a flight around the world. They crossed the Atlantic . afely landing in Wales. Proceeding to the Continent, they flew to Japan by way of Russia and Siberia. They left Japan on the flight across the Pacific on the 3rd inst. COLONEL LINDBERGH WORLD FLIGHT ABANDONED. SHANGHAI, October 7. Colonel Lindbergh’s world flight has been abandoned, and he and Mrs Lindbergh will leave on a liner to-morrow. The damaged monoplane will be forwarded to America later. AWARDS TO AIRMEN LONDON, October 9. The Air Force Cross has been awarded to Flight-lieutenant Boothman in recognition of his winning the Schneider Trophy and to Flight-lieutenant Stainforth for the establishment of a record (408 miles per hour). GLIDER FLYING CLOUD SUCCESSFUL TESTS. APIA, October 10. In the presence of local residents the glider Flying Cloud, which was the first machine to appear in the South Seas, underwent several successful test flights in Apia Park. The machine is owned by a syndicate, headed by Mr George Maedacke, AEROPLANE PRODUCTION MR HENRY FORD'S ENTERPRISE. LONDON, October 10. Henry Ford has bought and rebuilt the premises at Ford (Sussex) used in the war time as an aerodrome. They will be utilised 'as a factory for aeroplane production, and will employ thousands of Britishers.