BYRD’S PLANE HAS BEEN THROUGH MANY VICISSITUDES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18960, 6 January 1930, Page 5

BYRD’S PLANE HAS BEEN THROUGH MANY VICISSITUDES.

Has Flown In The Arctic And Has Crossed The Equator.

By RUSSELL OWEN. Copyright by Sydney ‘‘Sun” and New York “ Times.” Per Press Association. LITTLE AMERICA (Antarctica!, November 10. The Ford 'plane which Commander Byrd is using on his South Polar flight, was brought here safely only with the greatest of care and some good luck. No metal 'plane has probably been through so many vicissitudes, and survived. It has flown under all sorts of conditions as far north as latitude 60, has been transported over salt water through the tropics, dropped several feet to a dock, landed in pieces on a crumbling Barrier, from which parts were rescued with difficulty, drawn to camp with dog teams, buried in a snow igloo during a severe Antarctic winter, and emerged from it all in perfect condition. The 'plane came out of the factory in March, 1928, when Floyd Bennett, Commander Byrd’s companion on his North Polar flight, who was to have been his pilot on his flight, was still alive and in charge of aviation. After it was tested it was flown by Bennett and Bernt Balchen to Canada by way of St Paul, Winnipeg, Le Pas, and then Reindeer Lake and Racket, a Hudson Bay trading post far up in the northern wilderness. There it was flown on skis and tested sometimes in temperatures of 50 below zero. Flown in Canadian Gold Rush. On this flight the 'plane mixed up with the gold rush to Reindeer Lake, which was at its height at that time. Bennett and Balchen met a number of men in Le Pas who were anxious to get tc Reindeer Lake quickly, a journey which was ordinarily made by dog sledge while snow was on the ground. They were flown up as passengers, and both Bennett and Balchen staked claims. After the tests on skis were completed they came back, and at Le Pas again put on wheels, and the 'plane was flown back to Detroit. The ’plane was then exhibited in the Detroit aviation show, the national show of that year, and while it was there Bennett and Balchen flew in another Ford to the rescue of the German fliers, who had landed at Greenley Island, in the Belle Isle Straits. Bennett’s Tragic Fate. On the way up both fliers were ill, and Bennett became too ill at Murray Bay to continue. He was taken to Quebec, and died there of pneumonia. His loss was a severe blow to Commander Byrd, for lie had not only been a tower of strength in the preparations for the flight, but he was also, per haps, the closest friend of the commander. They had been companions on many dangerous flights together. Bennett, whom everyone liked, was buried in Arlington, and the big Ford which he was to have flown was named after him. Ill's name is painted in large letters on the front part of the fuselage. The ’plane was first equipped with three engines of 220 horse-power, such as were used on the commander’s Transatlantic flight and the North Polar flight, although of a later design, and such as Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and Clarence D. Chamberlain used. But it was found after load tests that to carry a heavy load to the altitude necessary to cross the Queen Maud Mountains more horse-power was needed. So' a heavier engine of 550 horse power was put in the nose, and in tests at Mitchell Field it was found that this extra power gave the necessary added lift. Tested Under All Extremes. After the 'plane had been thoroughly tested it was flown to Norfolk, Va., with the other ’planes of the expedition, and the wing tips removed. They and all other parts were thoroughly sprayed to prevent corrosion during the long trip to the Barrier. It was then hoisted aboard the whaler C. W. Larsen, and on the trip to San Pedro, Cal., where Commander Byrd went aboard, the 'plane was disassembled and crated and covered with tarpaulin. That was blistering work, and the pilots and mechanics who have worked on it have done so when the meta. was almost too hot to touch and when it was sq cold that it seared the fingers. Every condition in handling the Ford had been extreme.

It was landed on the dock at Wellington, New Zealand, and through miscalculation the huge crate containing the fuselage, with the centre motor in place, was dropped on its side several feet.

The pilots watching the job held their breath for fear something had broken, but it stood the strain well. It was then loaded into the hold of the supply steamer Eleanor Bolling, where it remained until it reached the Ice Barrier.

Task of Unloading at Barrier. Getting it ashore was another difficult problem. It could not be landed on the bay ice, as had been done with the Fairchild 'plane, because the ice was getting mushy. So when the Eleanor Bolling hauled up alongside the ice dock at the foot of the Barrier the engines were first taken ashore on the ice dock when it broke. By fast work and good fortune the centre section was hoisted on board again without damage. Then the Eleanor Bolling ran alongside the Barrier, which at that point was level with the bridge, and the fuselage was taken from its crate. At the first pull a snatch block broke, but did no damage. The 'plane was lifted to the top of the barrier and rested on the edge for a time while skis were lashed under it and it bumped up and down gently, a bumping which might have accelerated the breaking off of the Barrier’s edge a few hours later. It was touch and go, but a chance which had to be taken, and finally the big frame was hauled back from the water’s edge and put in a position of safety. From there it was hauled to camp by fifty dogs, five miles along the tops of the Barrier. Then it was buried in a sno\v-house. Not a bolt had been lost. Fuel from the fuselage tank can be pumped to the wing tanks by hand, and if a leak should develop in any of these tanks on the flight the gasoline can be drained back into the fuselage tank and again pumped up to a tank which is sound. The fuselage tank is also fitted with a dump valve, built and installed down here so that in case of a forced landing or failure of one of the motors a large part of the gasoline can be dropped. Disposal of ’Plane’s Fuel Load. The Floyd Bennett is an imposing ’plane. Its duralumin wing has a span of about 74 feet. There are five gaso-

line tanks in the wing, holding altogether 620 gallons, and a fuselage tank holding 130 gallons. There have been a few minor changes made in the fuel lines, and a water-glass gauge, which show's at a glance the amount of fuel in the wing tanks, has been installed just above the pilot’s head. The ski-runners were made in Canada. They are 31 inches wide and 10 feet long. The pedestals of duralumin were made in the Ford plant. The oil tanks are lagged with asbestos and covered with fabric and “ dope ” to protect them from the cold, and the motors are fitted with shutters w’hich can be conrolled from the cockpit. A canvas floor has been laid over the duralumin, slippery from snow and ice, to prevent thos'e inside from falling when moving around in the ’plane. Arrangement of the Cockpit. The cockpit is the usual large cockpit of a Ford ’plane, with instruments on a board in front of the pilot and dual control. A door leads into the fuselage cabin, and just in the back of it is the extra tank, strapped to the floor by metal bands. This fills only half the cabin space at this point, and alongside of it will be placed mort of the emergency equipment taken on the flight—feed, tent, cooker and clothes. The sleeping bags will be lashed under the roof, for the cabin is about 7ft high. Behind the tank is a strong table, w'here Commander Byrd can work on his observations, and on which he can climb to take sights through the sliding hatch in the roof. In the back of that will be the surveying camera and equipment, with holes on either side of the fuselage, through which oblique pictures may be made of the terrain. In the back of this and against the partition separating the cabin from the baggage compartment in the tail of the ’plane is the radio key, where the operator will send and receive messages-when he is not operating a moving picture camera or filling the fuselage tank with gasoline from the extra cans. Just behind the partition is the antenna reel and the photographic viewfinder, which is also a range-finder. The actual range-finder is in a hole in the floor between the commander’s table and the surveying camera. In the baggage compartment, also, will be carried the sled skis and such other material as has bulk, but not much weight. The 'plane weighs empty about 67001 b, and when loaded for the flight will weigh about 14,5001 b. It has a normal cruising or most efficient speed of 100 miles an hour and a maximum speed of 130 miles an hour. Richard Evelyn Byrd, leader of the South Polar flight, embarked on the fourth great adventure of his comparatively short life when he set off on the' expedition to the Antarctic. He has flown over the Arctic wastes on tw’o expeditions, including his flight over the North Pole; he has flown across the Atlantic; and now' he is pointed for the nether tip of the earth. Retired from the navy before the World War with the rank of Lieutenant. because of an injury to his foot during Annapolis days, he was recalled for “desk duty” during the World War. However, he literally talked himself into the Air Corps, where he became a proficient pilot before being assigned to an air base at Halifax for the duration of the war.

World Figure in Aviation. He was credited with first suggesting the round-the-world flights by the N.C. type naval aircraft, but other duties kept him from going. Meanwhile he had perfected instruments for navigating airships, and in 1924 his work was recognised by a Congressional Act promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. He first flew in the Arctic on a trip of exploration to Greenland with Donald B. M’Millan in 1925. In the following year he made his memorable flight of sixteen hours from Spitsbergen to the North Pole and return, in company with Floyd Bennett, who has since died, and received world-w r ide acclaim. For this the Congressional Medal of Honour was awarded to him, and he w'as promoted to the rank of Commander. Then, after many delays and accidents that forced him to follow the paths of Charles A. Lindbergh and Clarence D. Chamberlain, he flew, with Bernt Balchen, Lieutenant Noville and Bert Acosta, across the Atlantic. A storm prevented his landing at Paris, and his ship was wrecked on the coast of France. Immediately afterward he set in motion preparations for the South Pole expedition, which began about one year ago. Commander Byrd, member of a noted Virginia family, was born on October 25, 1888. He is married and has four children. Balchen a North Pole “Veteran.” 'Bernt Balchen, with Commander Byrd on the South Polar flight, joined the latter at Spitsbergan, the base for the Commanders flight to the North Pole, in 1926. lie then was a flight lieutenant in the Norwegian Naval Air Service. He previously had been on a survey of Lapland for Norway and had done the same work at Spitzbergen. He was a noted athlete, having been middle-weight boxing champion of Norway in 1920 and a ski-racing champion. He held a degree in engineering from the University of Ilaermosand, Sweden. Going to America with Commander Byrd, Balchen flew with the latter on his tour of the country and then became relief pilot on the Commander’s trans-Atlantic flight. Two of his notable flights in America included one over Hudson Bay for the Canadian Government in 1927 and the Greenely Island relief expedition in 1928. Balchen was among the first ones chosen by Commander Byrd for his Antarctic expedition. He was born at Topdal, Norway, October 23, 1899. He is unmarried. His mother lives in Oslo. Norway.

The flight to the South Pole presents problems very different from those of other long-distance flights. Usually on such flights—transatlantic, transcontinental, long-distance record flights, or even the Commander’s flight to the North Pole—the problem is one of getting off the gound with sufficient fuel and equipment. Here, however, the 'plane can take off with a load far below its maximum, and the limiting condition is the load which it can carry to a service ceiling of 12,000 feet in order to hurdle the Queen Maud Mountains, and continue over the 10,000 ft Polar Plateau.

When to this are added the difficulties of changeable weather in unknown country, the overcast skies which make landings more dangerous than in a fog, the sudden blizzards, and navigating over areas of unknown magnetic variation, and across lines of longitude which change every few minutes, it can be seen that a South Polar flight is about as hard a task as was every attempted in an aeroplane.

Veritable Wall Interposing. A glance at a profile chart of this country will show the unusual character of the territory to be covered. From the take-off at Little America to the base of the mountains, the Barrier is low enough to offer no obstacle. Indeed, from that point of view no better flying country in the world could be found, although there are points where it would be dangerous to land. But the heights, with the exception of one small hump of 900 feet above sea level, are all less than 500 feet. Only a few miles from the base of I the mountains the height is only 66 feet above sea level. This comparatively level stretch covers a distance of more than 400 miles. It is about 780 statute miles from Little America to the South Pole, making a round flight of 1560 miles, or a little further than the commander’s North Pole flight. Then with startling rapidity the condition changes. In a little more than fifty miles the altitude of the surface jumps from 660 feet to 10,600 feet, making the line on a profile chart almost an unright wall. Must Find Gap for Passage. This height of 10,600 feet also is not the top of the mountains, but the top of the Axel Heiberg Glacier, and the mountains themselves rise several thousand feet higher on each side. At least two of them are more than 15,000 feet high. Where this range can best be crossed, whether through the gap of this glacier or through some other opening in the jagged and towering heights • which fringe the Polar Plateau, can only be determined after the 'plane reaches the mountains. After passing the outer rim of the Guardian Range, there is a drop to 7600 feet, and then another long hump of 10,400 feet to be crossed before reaching the plateau around the Pole at an altitude of 9000 feet. In good weather this latter part of the flight should not present and special flying difficulty, as the load of the 'plane will be continually decreasing. It is that first leap into the air which will tax the 'plane and pilot to the utmost. Take off Load, Ceiling and Speed. The Floyd Bennett, as the big Ford is named after Commander Byrd’s companion on the North Polar flight, can take off at the base with a load of 16,500 pounds. This would provide plenty of fuel for a non-stop flight, but the ceiling or possible height to which the 'plane could go with such a load would not be sufficient to get it over the mountains. For this reason the take-off load will probably be somewhere around 14,500 pounds, which will give a service ceiling of 12,000 feet at the mountains, and an absolute ceiling of 14,000 feet. In other words, with this load the ’plane can fly at 12,000 feet with a reserve rate of climb of 100 feet a minute, and, if necessary, it could be forced up to 14.000 feet, although at such an altitude speed rapidly decreases and fuel consumption increases. The speed, for instance, at 12,000 feet, with the load carried over the mountains after flying 400 miles, would be ninety miles an hour, whereas at 14,000 feet it would be only seventy-five miles an hour, and the ’plane would be correspondingly that much less efficient. It is for these reasons that the takeoff load problem is so different from what it would be in an ordinary longdistance flight. Byrd Averse to Non-Stop “ Stunt.” This limit on the take-off load immediately brings up the question as to whether the flight should be attempted without a stop, or whether a halt on the way back should be made at the mountains. It is conceivable that, with 800 gallons of gasolene, w’hich will be about the fuel load, the flight, under the most favourable conditions, might be stretched back to Little America, or so near that it would fall short by only a few miles. Head winds or a slightly greater fuel consumption, due to climbing or circling for some navigational or survey purpose, would quickly reduce the fuel to a point where it would not be possible to fly all the way back without an intermediate landing. Commander Byrd feels that the possibility of a forced landing due to lack of fuel is hardly justified for the sake of a non-stop flight.

Purposes of the Flight. After all, this flight is largely for the purpose of obtaining more information as to the extent of mountain ranges seen by Captain Roald Amundsen running toward the Weddell Sea, of learning whether high land can be seen on the other side of the Pole, and to survey with an aerial camera the almost unknown territory over which he will fly.

He plans, therefore, to land on the wray back at a base on the Barrier at the foot of the mountains, and re-fuel before returning to Little America. During the latter part of the flight he hopes to be able to see over Carmen Land, a range of mountains join ing the Queen Maud Range from the south, and beyond which may fie a plateau, other mountains or even that long-discussed possible connection between the Ross and Weddell Seas.