RETURN OF AIRMAN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17956, 7 December 1932, Page 3

RETURN OF AIRMAN

MR. CHICHESTER’S PLANS

EXPERIENCES ON LAST FLIGHT CANNIBAL GOENTRY COVERED An interesting account of 1 1 is experiences since he left New Zealand in March last year on a trans-Tasman flight, via Norfolk and Lord llowe .Islands, was given by Mr. F. G. Chichester, who 'returned from England by the Ruahine on Sunday. Alter recovering from the worst of the injuries he received will’ll he crashed in Japan. Mr. Chichester went to England ami recuperated in Devonshire. He has come hack looking fit and well. Mr. Chichester said his flight from Australia to Japan was most interesting, especially the 1 trip over the head limiters' territory iu New Guinea, the remarkable feature of tliaL part of the Might was the formation of the ee«ytry in the interior, which appeared to be m drains and'ridges, evidence possibly of 1111 ancient civilisation. As ho was flying solo, however; his photographs were not very good, hut he, had sent one to the Royal Geographical Society, which intended to make investigations. GAN NT B ALB IN PRISON

Before lie .undertook the flight, over New Guinea Mr. Chichester was warned that in the event of a forced landing it would be only a matter of hours before lie was eaten by cannibals. He carried a pistol, but fortunately had no trouble on the flight. While rib Aler.-uikc. on the coast of New Guinea, lie saw ,sonic cannibals' in prison. They belonged to hill tribes, which were, in the habit of coming down to the low country and carrying off anyone they could. The authorities did not execute those who were caught, .hut gave them a term of imprisonment. From New Guinea Mr Chichester went bo the Aru Islands, lying to the west, and then on. to the Spice Islands. As he was flying a seaplane, he- was able to visit many ports and rivers where a Hying machine had-not previously been seen. A seaplane was essential for such a flight, lie said, -although it was harder to fly and entailed a colossal amount of maintenance, in addition to reducing range.

MACHINE COMPLETELY \VR ECK El> The next stage of the leisurely journey was to the Philippine Islands, then on to Formosa, Shanghai and Japan. Up to this point Mr. Chichester had had a certain amount of engine trouble, but no serious mishap. It was while lie was circling the Japanese town of. Katsura that his machine ran into a. -number of telephone wires stretched between two hills and nose-dived into the ground from ;l height of 150 ft. ■ He received luimei-, ous injuries and tho seaplane was completely wrecked, Skilful medical treatment by a Japanese doctor soon had him out of danger, and within a month ho had recovered sufficiently to leave for England, where lie'settled down quietly at Devonshire and wrote a hook on his trans-Tasman flight. Air Chichester said lie proposed to write another hook on the flight from Australia to Japan,, and in tho meantime would not do any serious flying. Air. Chichester said that when he set out from Australia 110 had in mind a solo Hight over Alaska, Canada, Greenland ami Iceland to England, and it' the opportunity offered in the future to make such a ' trip -ho would not hesitate to undertake it.