KINGSFORD SMITH’S PLANS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1933, Page 7

KINGSFORD SMITH’S PLANS

RECORD ATTEMPT UNLIKELY. RETURN FLIGHT PROSPECTS. A report that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith would make an early attempt on thd air record from England to Australia was discounted by his brother, Mr. Wilfred Kingsford Smith, who was in Auckland at the week-end. He said statements had been made that Sir Charles would make an attempt on the record as soon as possible after his New Zealand tour. These reports were unfounded. “The only two months in which it is safe to make attempts on the record are April and October,” Mr. Kingsford Smith said. “Only at these times can reasonable assistance from the weather be expected. It is extremely unlikely that my brother will make an early attempt on the record.” Mr. Kingsford Smith visited Auckland to complete arrangements for the possible take-off of the Southern Cross from the Ninety-Mile Beach on the return flight across the Tasman. He said the tour would now finish three weeks later than had been planned, and at the end of March the weather in the Tasman was rarely reliable. However; a definite decision regarding the return flight would probably be made toward the middle of March, when the Government meteorologist, Dr. E. Kidson, would have sufficient data to make a forecast of weather conditions. “If the return flight is made, it will probably be during the last week in March,” Mr. Kingsford said. “About five tons of materials would have to be transported to the beach to prepare the runway.. If the weather is not favourable, the Southern Cross will be shipped to Australia.”