BIG AIR MAIL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20232, 16 February 1934, Page 5

BIG AIR MAIL.

Flight by the Faith in Australia. THOUSANDS OF LETTERS. Per Pr#»ss Association. AUCKLAND, February 15. Arrangements are being made for the departure of Mr C. T. P. Ulm’s monoplane Faith in Australia from Muriwai Beach on its return flight to Sydney early on Saturday. Mr Ulm arrived at Auckland from New Plymouth to-day and he proposes to fly to Muriwai Beach to-mor-row afternoon. After landing the machine will be dragged up beyond reach of the tide and will be refuelled with 740 gallons of petrol which will be transported from Auckland. Mr Ulm will sleep at the beach and, if the weather reports are favourable, will take off for Sydney at six o’clock on Saturday morning. As all available space is required for the first trans-Tasman air mail no passengers will be carried on the flight. A further 2000 letters reached the Central Post Office to-day, making a total mail j to date of 32,000 letters. In anticipation I of a last-minute rush of mail arrange- j ments have been made by Mr Ulm to ! forward a considerable quantity of j tools and spare parts in Australia by J steamer to provide additional space. I The mail, which will be carried in I 601 b bags, will not be transported from j the Central Post Office to Muriwai Beach until the postal authorities receive definite advice of Mr Ulm’s intention to leave. The reason for this is the desire to have all the letters datestamped with the actual date of the flight. Accordingly a staff will be maintained in the mail room and if the flight is to start on Saturday the mail .bags will be taken out to Muriwai early in the morning and stowed on board the monoplane just before her departure.