MRS. MOLISON’S FLIGHT

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1932, Page 9

MRS. MOLISON’S FLIGHT

PERILS OF THE JOURNEY

ALL KINDS OF WEATHER MET.

'warm WELCOME IN LONDON. ■ • - • CONGRATULATIONS FROM KING. British Wireless. Rugby, Dec. 19. Mrs. J. A. Mollisons return journey ot 6200 miles occupied seven days, seven hours, five minutes, compared with four days, six hours, 53 minutes on the outward flight. The previous best time for Capetown to London flight, was that, » the Duchess of Bedford and Captain w ho in 1930 completed the Sight in ten days.- • After landing at Croydon, where she ®es welcomed on behalf of the Air Ministry and received numerous congratulatory messages, including one from the King and another from the Royal Aeronautical Society, Mrs. Mollison proceeded to her home in the West End. She was greeted along the route by cheering crowds. ,• , Describing her journey, she safti that the worst experience was the all-night flight before the tornado between Duala and Mossamedes on the way south when she was blown 100 miles, out to sea and had considerable difficulty in fighting her way back to land.. The same part of the flight spelt danger on the way home. She encountered thick cloud, and in order to avoid the 13,000 feet mountains in the neighbourhod had to again 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 milps an hour wind and had to proceed crabwise up the valley 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 the Puss Moth machine with Gipsy engine, which, she said, never missed a revolution.. \ <