SEARCH CONTINUES

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXIX, Issue 284, 10 December 1934, Page 3

SEARCH CONTINUES

For Uim and Companions HOPES ABE VERY SLIGHT BUT MAY BE ON AN ISLAND By Telegraph—Copyright—Press As. HONOLULU, December 7. Refusing to give up hope, the United States naval authorities have decided to continue the search for Mr C. T. P. Uim with the aid of surface boats and aeroplanes. The decision was announced by Rear-Admiral Darnell, after a two-hour conference with the men who have hunted the ocean for four days, having searched the surrounding waters for 200 or more miles from the Hawaiian Islands. Naval men discussed whether even a remote chance of finding the flyers would warrant a search of a thousand miles north-westward. Currents may have carried the inen in the direct ion of one of the numerous reefs and shoals that stretch across the Pacific to the lonely cable station at Midway Island. The search has been curtailed to three destroyers to the north-east, three coastguard vessels to the northwest and four seaplanes to the southwest. Otherwise the Navy has resumed normal training. Lieutenant Stephens, Navy Meteo;ologist, placed the spot where the plane is believed to have touched the sea as 180 miles north-north-east of Honolulu. The position is approximately latitude 24 north, longitude 157 west. This is based on officials’ analysis of the weather and water conditions, the time consumed in combating head and cross winds, and the flying capacity of the plane. Most other naval officials .agreed in the position figured by Lieutenant Stephens. Hawaii people are following the search closely in the papers and by radio. There is some talk of offers ot a reward, but nothing definite has yet been done. Commander J. D. Baylis. coa>tgmud chief here, is leaving soon with a patrol of three ships. They will travel

rol of three snips, uiev westward from Kauai to the smill islands and reefs. The British Consul. Mr Turner, offers 5000 dollars for the rescue of any or all of the flyers alive, 1000 dollars for any or all dead, and 1000 dollars for a clue indicating where they were ] lost. Army, Navy and coastguard offi- | cers, with Mr Turner, will form a board to rule on the award. Plans for a special sampan search have been dropped. The reward is open to all. The funds are being provided by the Australian Government. The Navy Department says that the search was the most extensive peacetime operation in history, with the coordination of vessels and ’planes throughout covering 250,000 square miles without mishap. Most of the fishing fleet has been notified of the reward offering. The weather to the north is stormy and to the south fair. The Navy Department believes the chance of rescue is nil. but is not readv to quit completely.

Ulin’s Messages The earlier belief that Mr Ulm sent messages after the plane struck the water, thus indicating a safe landing, was practically eliminated, according to radio men, with the disclosure that the plane carried a trailing antenna, which would have caused the radio to fail when the plane hit the wa A re-check of Mr Ulm’s messages as received by the Globe Wireless Co., showed the receipt of the following messages:-— At 9.8 a.m. on Tuesday: “We a«e i just going to the water. ’ At 9.21 a.m.: “We are turning into the wind.” At 9.24 a.m.: “Come and pick us up Plane will float two days.” From 9.24 to 9.30, when the radio was silenced, there was a constant stream of S.O.S. calls. SKILLED NAVIGATION

NEEDED OVER WATER •‘lt takes a mighty good man to pick out the tiny little specks in the great Pacific Ocean. Captain Taylor did that.” This tribute paid to his navigator by Sir Charles Kingsford

• Smith when'he landed at Oakland I last month after flying from Honolu1 lu in the record time of nearly fifI teen hours shows how important navigation becomes in flights across t long stretches of water. J More than anything else Captain B Taylor’s magnificent navigation was t responsible for the success of Kingsford Smith’s second Pacific flight. Sir e Charies gave most of the credit to * his navigator, whom he compared d with Harold Gatty, the world’s great-

est authority on aerial navigation. When interviewed at Oakland Sir Charles repeatedly praised Taylor. “Captain Taylor’s perfect navigation deserves credit for our early arrival 1 , . . Most of our success was due to the navigation of Captain Taylor. I I would be willing to fly anywhere in the world with him ... I want to say that Captain Taylor is far more responsible than I for getting the machine over the ocean. ...” These were some of his remarks. Ulm is one of the two men in the world who have a first-hand knowledge of the difficulties and risks of trans-Pacific flights and his knowi ledge was gained from single and * hazardous crossing. Faulty navi- > gation may have been responsible for > the petrol supply becoming exhausted so quickly, for although the passage , between San Francisco and Honolulu - is now a well-beaten track for air- > craft and is served with a radio bea- - con from both ends, navigation across the Pacific is not a matter of setting a course and distance and

then flying along a straight line at an average and known speed. Bad weather, storms, cloudbanks, lightning, thunder, and tropical downpours necessitate the pilot twisting and turning, climbing and descending, so that the straight course becomes a wriggling line sufficient to confuse the best navigator. Normally, he relies on his sextant to obtain sights by day and uses the stars by night to fix his latitude and longitude, but the advance of wireless direction-finding and the radiobeam are rapidly superseding the old-time method of astronomical navigation. Mr Skilling is probably quite a competent navigator over land, but even such experts as Harold Gatty | and Captain H. Lyon have found difficulty in keeping a perfect course over water. Lyon actually struck Fiji on Kingsford Smith’s first Pacific flight without sighting a single landmark over the whole 3500 miles. With that as an example, it is quite , likely that Mr Skilling found diffi- , culty in keeping a course with a re- . suitant expenditure in petrol. . Christchurch Star.

AVIATBIX FOUND LADY DOUGLAS AT BUSHIRE BAGHDAD, December'7. Lady Douglas has been discovered safe, 66 miles from Bushire.