The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1930. KNIGHTS OF THE AIR.

Southland Times, Issue 21219, 21 October 1930, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1930. KNIGHTS OF THE AIR.

Ten days from London to Australia! The announcement is enough to make the world gasp in astonishment, for here is an achievement which, even five years ago, was looked on as an impossibility. WingCommander Kingsford Smith, before he set out on his solo flight, had an air . record unassailed by any of his rivals, a record that is not always valued properly because, with one exception, the flights of the Southern Cross had appeared to be so devoid of doubt. After Kingsford Smith and his companions crossed the Pacific, the Tasman, and then flew to Britain, no one doubted the capacity of the machine and its commander to cross the Atlantic, and the Australian airman justified all the confidence reposed in him. The most astonishing features of the record of Kingsford Smith up to the time of his departure from Britain

for Australia, were the extraordinary certainty of his flying and the reliability of the great aeroplane which circled the globe in the course of his travels. On top of that record, however, has come his remarkable solo flight from Croydon to Darwin in ten days, cutting more than four days off the fastest time established by Bert Hinkler in a similar effort. To-day the journey has been accomplished so often that the public is ready to believe that with reasonable luck a skilled airman can hope to complete it, but the unfortunate end of Hill’s gallant effort is a sharp reminder of the fact that there are still grave risks to be faced, especially in the closing stages. The world is thrilled by the brilliancy of Kingsford Smith’s achievement, but the most inspiring incident in connection with the feat is the knightly spirit of the airman, who, when attacking a record, and with success within his grasp, landed beside the stricken Hill and stayed with him to sec what aid he could offer. 1 In all the annals of competitive effort there has been no finer display of sportsmanship and it is doubtful if there has been any more impressive response than Hill’s ready offer of his collapsible boat to the rival who was to succeed where he had failed. It is good to know that this spirit lives in men, that the call of humanity in distress is stronger than the call of success, and, if Kingsford Smith has done nothing else by this record-making flight, he has given the world a,proof of the way to play the game so that the game means much more than winning.