JOURNEY BY AIR

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXII, Issue 57, 5 May 1924, Page 2

JOURNEY BY AIR

AUCKLAND TO HAMILTON

ACCOMPLISHED IN AN HOUR.

A faint purr, a chorus of "Here she comes" from the assembled knot of people in waiting, and a small blackspeck appeared from a heavy bank of cloud above the homestead of the Ruakura State Farm about 5 o'clock on Thursday afternoon (reports the Waikato Times), and, growing bigger as it descended, developed into an aeroplane piloted by Captain L. n iirake, who, circling gracefully, made a perfect landing in the big paddock alongside tho homestead! Captam Brake, who i s quite a young man ls an Imperial airman, who followed tins risky but fascinating callmg in England prior to the war, and did very meritorious work during the whole ponocrof the European conflict tie has a long list of notable flights tc las credit, and the Journey from Auc k i aml to Hamilton is to him of little or no account, especially as he has the greatest confidence i n his Avro machine. He left Hamilton on Wednesday with two passengers, Messrs Grant and Hammond, whom U landed at the King's College g-ounds. Yesterday afternoon he £ade h special return journey to Hamilton, leaving the King's C olle Ce ground fl J > 4.7 and alighting at Rut k«ia at 5.7, exactly an hour from the time of rising to his descent, Captain Brake brought with him one passenger, Mr Hammond, and a special delivery of newspapers Here ports having passed through a couple of rain storms en route, but apart ftom these the flight was perfect. Owing to the nature of the country in the direct route from Hamilton to the city (which includes the Rangirins) providing very few landing Places m case of trouble, captain Brake has adopted a route by which he strikes out on a right-handed course fro m Hamilton, avoiding all the difficult country, and reports that the ground over which he fli eg is mostly of a flat or gently undulating nature, providing goo d landing-places along the whole journey.