VALUE OF FLIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1925, Page 7

VALUE OF FLIGHT.

THEORIES CONFIRMED. LESSONS FOR NEXT EFFORT. NO LAND NEAR THE POLE. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received June 21, 11.5 p.m. • Oslo, June 20. Otto Sverdrup, the Polar explorer, said: “The chief value of the flight is the confirmation that our theories of the Polar bafein are correct.” Sverdrup added: “There is no land near the Pole and the condition of the ice makes the landing of aeroplanes impossible. Amundsen had to come down in a water lane, and those who know the caprices of the Polar ice realise how dangerous this is. Amundsen’s aviators knew, and the landing was therefore the more admirable. Certainly there is the deepest disappointment that they did not reach the Pole. From the sporting viewpoint the flight was glorious, but apart from that further .wide experiences have been gained for aeroplanes in Polar regions.” Replying to further questions, Sverdrup said he 'believed others would now try to reach the Pole by aeroplane, but he pointed out that the North Pole was more difficult than the South Pole. Sverdrup said: “I believe the best way to reach the North Pole is to go by ship as far as possible, then with sledges and dogs to the Pole and back to the ship. Far more experience must be gathered if an attempt is to be made to fly to the Pole in regard to landing on the ice and snow. The best way would be to stay for a year or so at the northernmost point of Spitsbergen studying the circumstances, but that would cost lots of money and time, which latter is impossible in the light of a modern race for the Pole.” One of the chief scientific results of Amundsen’s observations was the record of the extensive masses of mist which existed in the Polar regions. It had hitherto been 'believed that these mists were only local phenomena of the wide ocean which exists north of Spitsbergen. Amundsen recorded a depth of 37fi1l metres, which led to the conclusion that the ocean existed in a triangle between Spitzbergen, the North Pole and North Greenland.