FLYERS TOOK RISK SO THAT FAITH COULD BE KEPT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18576, 26 September 1928, Page 12

FLYERS TOOK RISK SO THAT FAITH COULD BE KEPT.

MACHINES HAD ONLY FEW MINUTES’ SUPPLY OF PETROL IN TANKS.

In order that arrangements made on their behalf should not be unduly upset. the Tasman flyers, and Captains Findlay and Buckley, undertook a very real risk 1 when they made the flight from Blenheim to Christchurch yesterday. Weather conditions, which caused a postponement in the morning, were still all against them in the afternoon, and when they hopped off it was with the full knowledge that they were asking the machines to undertake the jnaximura that they were capable of. The machines are capable of remaining in the air for approximately two and a half hours. The landing at the Wigram Aerodrome was made in slightly. over that time. The machines were virtually at their last drop of petrol, and between three and seven minutes longer would have sufficed to make a forced landing imperative. It was a task that the machines would not have been put to under ordinary conditions, and one which was undertaken only out of consideration for the public. It was particularly unfortunate, under these circumstances that Captain Findlay should have had to land as the result of a minor technical irregularity, quite unconnected with the ordinary hazards of the trip. But for his bad luck in this respect it is certain that all three machines would have completed in triumph what is undoubtedly 1 one of the most notable flights ever

undertaken by machines of the New Zealand Air Force.

The conditions were difficult all the way. Until the defect in his engine forced him to land, Captain Findlay acted as the pathfinder, testing the currents high and low to find the best stratum. Afterwards Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith and Captain Buckley tested the currents out for themselves, finding the most suitable stratum sometimes at 7000 feet and sometimes at 5000. Again. the best conditions were found sometimes to be close to the coastline, and then further inland. When one aviator began to forge ahead the other knexv that he had found a “good patch” and followed in his wake. But all the time it was a battle against head winds, with the petrol supplies running ever shorter. Few of the spectators who marvelled at the coolness and skill of Squadron-Leader Smith’s excellently executed low loop at the end of the flight knew how close- the daring aviators had gone to courting failure. That loop was a triumphant gesture of defiance to the hostile elements.

The experiences of the airmen on the trip to Christchurch will make it easier to understand why, in the presence of adverse weather conditions, the flight to the south presents difficulties that may be insuperable. The aviators have made it quite clear that the southern tour will be abandoned only if the difficulties cannot be surmounted. If conditions to-dav admit of taking off with any prospect of success the itinerary as planned will be carried through.