Moir And Owen Safe At Lonely Lighthouse.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18769, 27 May 1929, Page 6

Moir And Owen Safe At Lonely Lighthouse.

CAPTAIN BRAIN DISCOVERS MEN UNINJURED AT CAPE DON.—MACHINE SLIGHTLY DAMAGED

(United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) SYDNEY, May 26.

lore ’plane, which is definitely the biggest machine which has ever attempted to fly to Australia, required careful handling. Despite its size, its speed was not actually fast, its cruising speed being eighty to eighty-five miles per hour, as it was built to lift and carry heavy loads. At the beginning of March they left. England, and negotiated Europe and Malta successfully, though the latter stages were slow owing to severe head winds, which made it difficult to attain the speed for which the Vickers Vellore was designed. Nevertheless, the machine behaved splendidly, despite its handicap. The Vellore was most comfortable, and the engine ran perfectly throughout. Unfortunately, they had to make a forced landing at Mersa Matruh, en route to Ramleh. The men were not injured, but the machine was damaged. The landing was due to engine trouble, shortly after setting out on the projected two thousand miles nonstop flight from Benghazi. Slight damage was done to one wing-tip and also to the under-carriage. A month passed before they could get a new wing, but on May 1 a start was made on the remainder of the trip. Through Asia Minor and India very heavy rain was encountered, that caused delays and damaged the propeller to such an extent that another had to be fitted. Eventually, they arrived at Bima, in the Malay Archipelago, on May 16, and took off for the final and longest hop, Bima-Darwin, a distance of nine hundred miles, on the night of May 17. Until Captain Brain found them yesterday, they had not been seen or heard or since they passed Koepang at the southern end of the island of Timor, at about noon on May 18. Practically all hope of finding them had been given up. Technically, the machine is regarded as one of the most interesting aircraft produced in recent times. The wingspan is seventy-six feet, the length fifty-one feet, and the height over all twenty feet. It weighs 4550 pounds, and carries a load of 4950 pounds, mak ing a total weight, fully loaded, of 9500 pounds. The aeroplane was built as a freight-carrying machine and was pur chased by the Air Ministry. Vickers fitted a new ArmstrongSiddeley Jaguar engine ~ of 460 horsepower. This is the same as the type about to be introduced by Imperial Airways on the London-Paris route, and is a considerable improvement on the type used by Sir Alan Cobham on

Amalgamated Wireless have advised from Darwin by radio that the Atalanta, piloted by Captain Lester Brain, left at 9.30 this morning and returned this evening.

The Vickers-Vellore machine was found at' Cape Don on the Coberg Peninsula. The aviators, Moir and Owen, were uninjured, but the machine was slightly damaged. The Atalanta’s transmitter failed shortly after leaving, the only signals received throughout the cruise being broken dashes. It is understood from other information that the airmen are being cared for by the lighthouse staff at Cape Don, one hundred and five miles from Darwin, on the mainland side ,of Dundas Strait, separating Melville Island from Australia.—Australian Press Association.

STEAMER KYOGLE TO PICK UP AIRMEN AND THEIR ’PLANE. SYDNEY, May 26. The Atalanta left Sydney on Wednesday morning, the pilot, Captain Brain, having attended the Southern Cross inquiry on Tuesday. He reached Brisbane the same afternoon where he was joined by Mr Robinson, manager of 4QG, as wireless operator, companion, and mechanic. Leaving Brisbane on Thursday morning they reached Darwin yesterday, and set out to-day to search the northern coast. They found the Vellore with its right wing slightly damaged. The Government lighthouse steamer Kvogle has been instructed to pick up Moir and Owen and the machine, and take them to Darwin.—Australian Press Association. Flying-Officers James Moir and Harold Owen, of the Australian Flying Corps, accompanied Captain F. Hurley on his attempt to make a record flight from Australia to England. However, that flight came to grief at Athens in Greece, ajid the airmen went on to England. After considerable negotiation, they obtained from Vickers, Ltd., the Vickers Vellore machine in which they have just landed near Darwin. Their route to Australia was as follows :—Rome. Malta, Benghazi, Cairo, Ramleh, Bagdad, Basra, Bushire, Bunder Abbah, Karachi, Agra, Calcutta, Akyab, Bangkok, Singora, Singapore, Batavia, Sourabaya, Bima and Darwin. Oil and petrol supplies had been laid down at the places named, but landings would not necessarily be effected at each place. The route had been thus chosen because the Vickers Vel-

his Australian flight. It has a geared propeller permitting the latter to run more slowly than the engine. The machine has a speed in excess of a hundred miles an hour at a height of five thousand feet. The cruising speed is eighty to eighty-five miles per hour, and the consumption of fuel is approximately twenty gallons per hotir. The news of finding the airmen was received by wireless from 2FC, Sydney, during last night. There were no further details.