THE LOG OF A34.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14984, 11 August 1919, Page 4

THE LOG OF A34.

(NEW YORK'S UPTURNED FACES.'

RACING THE STORM TO ENGLAND. LONDON, July 13. R34 .came to earth this .morning m Norfolk like a * giant 'ship sliding smoothly ; aiid. securely to her berth. It was a memorable ; sceiiie. The weather was calm. Tvt v * The monster gasbag' glistened m the early sunlight, circled thrice, and then , descended sedately. A hundred; - eager . -hands seized guy-ropes, '/whilst the crowds \Vhich had gathered despite the earliness of the hour, cheered lustily, and the R.A.F. band phyed, ".See the Conquering Hero Comes." Major 'Scoty, tired arid unshaven, but smiling, -directed the, berthing with a huge megaphone. Then he stepped out from the glass doorway and said, "We had a damned fine trip." He, was handed a bunch of congratulatory telegrams, including one. from King George, extolling. "This memorable and unique air voyage." - .•«,.-! On the voyage there was little m- * cident. Things went swimmingly. General •Maitland-s log; tells the simple tale. .Over ..New/York, which at midnight "looked .a wonderful fairyland of twinkling lights," : the air was much disturbed by the heat rising from the great city- ■ ..(They sped at 74 miles an. hour across the American coast, four engines going and the fifth cooling. They found the rum ration most enjoyable owing to the increasing cold. New York admirers had provided scores of thermos flasks. These produced -acceptable coffee, but the main sustenance was sandwiches and condensed food. General Maitlahd gives an interesting picture .of , sorting the .mail, whlist the scientists .discussed the future system of geting ., meteorological reports from the sea, and the night-watch slept. | The,, journey home ; took; 75 hours ,3 ( minutes . A large , bundle , ,of ; .the;, ' 'Phila- ; delphia Public Ledger;" consigned to the editor of the Times, was on sale at the Times office at 10 this morning. "This," writes General Maitland, "is the fastest newspaper delivery ever organised, and the forerunner of regular interchange -of written despatches vindicating "Lord Northcliffe's recent . prophecy. "Newspapers soon will bej delivered m New ,York from London the morning after publication." EASY, , COMFORTABLE, AND SAFE. Maipr Scptt, -m an interview, said < that 'lie distinctly saw hundreds of . thousands of -M-hite faces -turned Kip j amidst the garish light of New York. Sometimes the speed exceeded 82 miles, ; but these spurts usually only lasted an ( hour. , | ••' "We atruck-Might head-winds, slant- .j ing winds, and extreme cold, but gen- ( erally it was pleasant holiday weather, i though rain and gales never were far distant. Most of the journey was above the clouds, 1 but sometimes as low as ] 500 feet altitude." j The officers agree' that it was an easy, { comfortable and safe trip, and proves ] the •capacity of airships for long commercial journeys. Major Scott says r that it was easier than he thought it j would be. A large airship unquestion- ( ably is *the best type for trans-ocean work, "We saved a thousand gallons 1 of petrol on the homeward run, and , could have carried another dozen men. ( Future success depends largely on the .] size and petrol-carrying capacity" and speed. We soon will be a<ble to travel • at a. consistent speed of from 70 to 80! miles." ' ; . ■. ! S

General Maitland declares that, air- ' ships soon will be commercially used for long i distances., aeroplanes radiating , from the airship termini on short-dis-! tance runs. ' I . The officers say that the airship j - cabins, were comfortable. There was • no rooking, -whilst the heaviest seas I were running beneath. The vessel i maintained wireless contact with the ; shore throughout, and sometimes wireless ' telephony was used. THE SEfPPE&S UXi. A typical page of General Mainland's log is as follows: "10/7. 3.35 p.m. Averaged 55.3 knots an hour since leaving ; Broadway. Stead} 1 " as a rock, ] aud unless one looks out of window one j cannot realise that one is travelling. ( "4.50 p.m. Petrol consumption is wording out at a gallon a mile. Cooke is getting easy observations on the sun, with a sea horizon. We managed' that only twice coming out.. , . 6.15- 'p.m." Five-masted schooner m full, sail on starboard. An interesting contrast between. old , and new. Getting much colder. : , "8 p.m. Supper is oyer^rsoft boiled eggs and cocoa. All discuss impressions of American women around the < dining-table. , . . "11.7 a.m. The forward., engine, crank is notched and unrepairable. Cooke is sleeping under • the dining : table. Seems the most popular place. . ... "6.40 a.m. Despendejl.to ;SQO. feet, m order to get iiiider xjlouds. Fine northerly . wind beneath, southrwesterly above ; therefore rise. It is due to the Gulf Stream. "7.15 a.m. Gett-ing full benefit of the 35-knot south-west wind. "9 9a.m. See storm eastwards, fantastic streaky ', cirrus . ..ventosus, lurid colored, and hundreds of miles away. "12.30 p.m. ; Lunch, u The. ; gramaphono is a great asset. Two members of crew can be seen d°vng a,:one-s,tep. "3.30 p.m. Have not seen the sea sbice ■ 8.30. V 4.30 p.m. Scott brings ship down to try and' find water. At 900,, feet still invisible, so climb again, . passing ...through, five ■ distinct separate strata .of .clouds. "4.45 p.m. Above clouds.' V few /blissful • moments of beautiful cloud and panorama; range upon range pf , white and slaty mountains,, with , deep wide valleys,i 'and' occasional glimpses of \ bright blue sky. , "5 .jp.rii. Heavily raining. "8:30 p.m. Still pouring. Windows and doors shut. Climbed, but unable to get out of this teeminjj rain. LAND HO, J . "9.15 p.m. Dqmini&ian speaks us. Gives her position barometrical readings. We are quite close, but cannot- see her. .... . "Midnight. Still Dropped a calcium flare, and estimated, the, drift. As '-we Jay m our hammocks listening to the rain beating 'pitilessly^ on of our trusty Bhip_ pur , feelings were of complete confidence _and security. "6 a ; m. Aft" engine broke valves, Cooke unable to *ge^ observation, for- 24 hours, though. ah N average, day m midAtlantic. 12;50 p.m. Overlooking 19,200 ...square miles, yet do not ' see a single shop m this gigantic Atlantic." The log described .the excitement at sighting Ireland, . The officers gathered over a large chart and tried to pick out their position. -"What a strange, happy coincidferice ! These two little islands are, the 'same* which appeared out of^the fog, ! and delignted ' the 1 gaze of Alcock and Brown, m tb.eir'b.istorio flight." ; The rugged coastline and mountaintops peeping out of fleecy clouds were . a magnificent panorama welcoming back the ijayigators to British, soil. "A northerly cooijrse would have saved time) and undoubtedly captains of the ,big aerial lijiei's^.oi the future will become wily and , cunning masters m selecting the right" way, height detours, and advantaging winds." /: LONDON, July 14. The Daily Mail publishes photographs of important events m New York only four days ago, brought by the airship R34. The Times publishes a verbatim report of President Wilson's speech de livered, the previous Wednesday. These, incidents are greatly interesting journalists, who predict that aerial journeys will soon revolutionise the pub licity arrangements between Londov and New York.