MAY HAVE TO TURN BACK ON RETURN FLIGHT.

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

MAY HAVE TO TURN BACK ON RETURN FLIGHT.

DR KIDSON WARNS AIRMEN OF RISKS IN RE-CROSSING TASMAN. Per Press Association. BLENHEIM, September 25. Prior t.o his departure for Christchurch this afternoon, Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith received a letter from Dr Kidson, Director of the Government Meterological • Office with reference to weather conditions likely to be encountered on the return flight across the Tasman to Australia. Dr Kidson says:

“It does not seem to have been sufficiently realised that the conditions under which you crossed, though not the worst that might be encountered were unusually bad. The important fact results, therefore, that with machines properly designed for the purpose, flight can be made under commercial conditions in almost all weathers. With regard to the return journey the time of the year is, a 3 you know, a very bad one for a westward flight.. What you want, ot course, in order to get favourable or light winds and decent weather all the way across is a large anti-cyclone over the central and southern Tasman Sea. At this time of the year you are not likely to get one such a month Anticyclones are now nearly all centred far north and move fast. The wedges they send down into the Ta& man are usually narrow, therefore you are almost certain to have an average headwind over the whole trip of fair strength. Flying west you will be travelling through 2000 miles of weather, because the pressure system will advance eastward a big distance dur ing the flight, consequently you are pretty sure, to be in part of the de pression. You would be lucky, therefore, if your average headwind was less than 15 miles per hour; it might be 20 or 25 if you strike a bad patch. Coming over you could scarcely have had less than 30 miles per hour behind you, and there is danger that you might get caught similarly on the way back. For instance, if you strike 40 miles per hour over a 500 miles stretch you would lose nearly 4i hours, with an air speed of 90 miles per hour “ I agree with what the Prime Minister said in advising you not to take unnecessary risks. Therefore unless distinctly good conditions occur ii might be well to abandon the return flight or, if you are not making good progress and reports ahead received during the flight are adverse, it might be wise to turn back. The best we will be able to do for you probably will be a chance time when an anti-cyclonc is just coming on t,o eastern Australia so that you will fly through it on your Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith said that the letter contained a great deal of valuable information, and the advice given by Dr Kidson would be extremely useful in the matter of deciding on the course to be followed on leaving New Zealand for Australia.