RECORD TIME

Southland Times, Issue 21894, 21 December 1932, Page 7

RECORD TIME

CAPE TOWN TO LONDON WARM WELCOME TO MRS MOLLISON BLOWN OFF COURSE (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, December 19. A huge crowd welcomed Mrs J- A. Mollison on her arrival at Croydon. Although delayed by exceptionally bad weather she established a fresh record for the Cape Town to London journey. Mrs Mollison’s journey of 6200 miles occupied 7 days 7 hours 5 minutes compared with 4 days 6 hours 53 minutes on the outward flight. The previous best time for a Cape Town to London flight was that of the Duchess of Bedford and Captain Barnard, who in 1930 completed the flight in ten days. After landing at Croydon, where she was welcomed on behalf of the Air Ministry, she received numerous congratulatory messages, including one from the King and another from the Royal Aeronautical Society. Mrs Mollison then proceeded to her home in the West End, being greeted along the route by cheering crowds. Describing her journey she said the worst experience was the all-night flight before a tornado between Duala and. Mossamedes on the way south, when she was blown a hundred miles out to sea and had considerable diffi. culty in finding her way back to land. The same part of the flight spelt danger on the way home as she encountered thick clouds and in order to avoid the 13,000 ft mountains in the neighbourhood she had again to go out to sea, finding her course by flying very low along the coastline. When flying through a valley in the Atlas Mountains she struggled against a 75 miles an hour wind and had to proceed crabwise up the valley, where she was in imminent danger .of being driven against the rocky sides. She met almost every kind of weather, including snow, during the journey, but showed few signs of fatigue on reaching Croydon. She paid a warm tribute to her Puss Moth machine and Gypsy engine which, she said, had never missed a revolution.