Everest Flight Thrills

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18313, 3 February 1934, Page 9

Everest Flight Thrills

WRITTEN by 'the uieu who flew over W Everest, “First Over Everest. The Houston Expedition,” ad account of .the 1933 cxpcditibp, reveals every aspect of a feat which besides demanding .enormous . doling' and e.o'ol courage, necessitated tbd most careful and complicated, prepanitiou. ' The authors , are , Air Commodore P. F. M. Fcllpvvc's, Col. L/V. St'ca/artBlacker, CoItK ’“T/ ‘Ethe.rton;, . and Squadron-Leader./ the Marquis *of Douglas and Clydesdale. There is . a foreword by Mr. Joh'n Buchan and .an account of the filming of flic flight tyy Mr. Gcbffrcy Barkas.. ' ' '. All of the., members of the expedition stress the' scientific' nitturo of their exploit, and iniiiiniiso .the personal gallantry involved. But it is not difficult to read between‘tile lines. During the. months of patient expprimeat with the apparatus involved,'one false assumption, oufe J 'fa\iHiy* defti, would have meant disaster. aud the loss of human life. t The Success Of the expedition has 1 meant tremehtlOus progress towards • perfecting, the apparatus for high flying generally. * Even In the ‘ practice-flights, very real perils were encountered. On one occasion, five miles up .over Kent, the pilot’s oxygen mask slipped,- and simultaneously, the fledr ’“trap” blew open, leaving- thb observer suspended by- his hands. Col. Blacker tells' the story of tho journey to Everest. Just beforo reaching the goal he iWcitmejawire ; 0f .a sensation of. dropping, through space,--the machine hail suddenly .'lost 2000 ft. in a great tlinvii-Urangh't,Of dhe winds. If was a dangerous ‘ moitUMi'i, for it seemed I hat they -would' fail to clear tl(e crags ahead/ HoOtCafti-iiwprds/tlic ’plane was caught for few moments in the famous “plume” of Eyefest., cdmpOsed of Jvhjrlihg ‘ Sc©-partijfcliJa, some of which rattled into the cockpit.