RUBBED OF A PRIZE BY BAD LUCK.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 278, 24 November 1936, Page 6

RUBBED OF A PRIZE BY BAD LUCK.

New Zealander’s Effort in Big ‘ Air Race ( FORCED NIGHT LANDING IN ORCHARD English and South African newspapers unite in praising the persever-1 ance of Flying Officer A. E. Clouston, the New Zealander who competed ini the air race from Portsmouth toi Johannesburg and who was eliminated through a forced landing in which , he damaged his machine near Bula-1 wayo. The Cape Times said he was • "robbed of a prize through bad luck." I The New Zealander, who learned to 1 fly with the Marlborough Aero Club < and then served in the Royal Air 1 Force on a short service commission « before becoming a civil test pilot at J Farnborough, was regarded from the - lirst as a strong contender with his'l Miles Hawk Six by well-informed 1 opinion in both England and South 1 Africa. The Aeroplane (England) wrote of 1 him before the race: "He appears to < have all the makings of a long-dis- 1 tance racing pilot. His flying hands .* are attested by participation in two • lied-together aerobatic displays for I the R.A.F. at Hendon, his navigation !< is a specialty which brough him well I up in the Morning Post race in 1933, and his physical endurance is said to I be extraordinary. He has participat- : cd in the Kings Cup and a number], of other races recently with almost as ; many different types of aeroplane." j The Cape Times (South Africa) "aid he was renowned when serving ‘ as "one of the strongest men in the R.A.F. He was able to fly at 25,000 ! feet without artificial aids to breathing. His cast-iron nerve was shown , four years ago when his machine col- i lided with another at 5000 feet near Folkestone. Clouston cleverly pulled | it out of a spin and landed safely. On t another occasion when crashing he stayed in his 'plane till he was sure it : was not going to land on some children who were playing, and then used ; his parachute." New Zealander “Saying Nothing.” | Of nine entrants. Flying Officer I Clouston was the lirst competitor to : reach the airport for the start of the I race, in his cream-coloured Miles Hawk Six. The Manchester Guardian [ recounted how he made a number of test flights, climbing to a height of between 7000 and 8000 feet. The Aeroplane, outlining the preparations made for the race by pilots, said a compass was installed in the Miles Hawk. The New Zealander was “saying nothing and is regarded as a distinct possibility. His range is reputed to be upward oi ia0() miles, and as the undercarriage legs have been moved sideways out of the slipstream the machine's racing speed across country appears likely to be between 179 and 180 miles an hour." The Morning Post, in an article on | the precautions taken by the pilots. I said that the New Zealander carried I coffee to keep him awake and alert on the long stretches, and had given instructions for the preparation of well-done steaks at calling points. He was the vict’m of a practical joke by friends, who painted the sign indicating a learner on his machines, but one commentator remarked that he “got away well, fixed airscrew * notwithstanding, and took a judiciously wide turn.” Reports of the progress of competitors indicated that the New Zealander was well up and gaining on earlier starters as far as Khartoum.

' Ar, Cairo. Captain S. S. Haise, the [ South African, was leading in his I Percival Mew Gull, having an averi age flying speed up to then of 160 n.ijes an hour, but the New Zealand - er was only nalf-an-hour behind him. the News-Chronicle giving his aver1 age speed up to then at 174 miles an I hour. Flying Officer Clouston spent ' only a quarter of an hour on the l ground before pushing on. At Khartoum the New Zealander was ahead of C. W. A. Scott and D. Llewellyn, two of the favourites in the race, although he was behind S. S. Haise. He complained, mu ever, of oil r rec.~i.rc trouble, through winch one bearing . end piston had suffered. While he I waited for replacements to !?e brought liom Cairo, the South Air’can crash1 ed when leading and Charles Scott and ■ his companion went on and arrived nrsl at Johannesburg. j Landing in Orange Grove. I South African papers, after the race had been won. devoted nearly all their attention to the efforts of the New Zealander to reach Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Star recorded his progress from Entebbe to Tabora to Abercorn and to Mpika, pointing out that, as most of the other competitors were out of the race, he had no need to hurry to complete the route within the time limit, and no desire to force his machine because of its condition. On October 2 the pilot sent a telegram to the authorities at Rand Airport saying: "Continuing air race by easy stages. Engine and air frame in very 'bad condition. Forced landing yesterIday through excessive petrol consumption.” I Cape Town and Johannesburg papers revealed that he had a new piston I fitted at Khartoum and hoped to reach Johannesburg at 6 p.m. on the Saturjday. by flying all day. but at 8 p.m.. jafter covering 1100 miles, and while he still had a chance of finishing in 'lime to win a prize, he was forced, [through F.igine trouble to land on a • farm 144 miles north-east of Bulowayo. In the darkness he picked out what he thought to be grazing country. but it proved to be an orange grove, and his mach’nc was damaged, compelling his withdrawal from the |race. ! He stayed the night with the farmer and his family, and next day was motored to Bulowayo, whence, "travel-strained and weary," he was i flown to Johannesburg in a privatelyowned Fox Moth. I The Aeroplane commented that Fly•ng Officer Ciouston’s telegram that he .planned to fly from Mpika despite his .uncertain engine "in easy stages” [amused fly'ng people at Johannesburg. as "the said easy stages meant ‘miles of impossible and desolate country, and few hopes were entertained for’ his safe arrival in time to collect a prize.” The same journal recorded that a determined effort against misfortune ended on a farcical note, for after landing in the orchard at night, the pilot stepped unhurt from the remains of his machine, and then scratched himself very badl? climbing through a barbed wire fence in the dark. Flying Officer Clouston is a son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Clouston, Neudorf. Nelson.