ALONE IN THE AIR.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 13, 28 September 1910, Page 64

ALONE IN THE AIR.

A Fine Flight by Airship.

Tlll< longest Hight that has ever been made in Great Britain ended recently in Londau. Mr. E. Willows, a young aeronaut, who was travelling alone, left Cardill in a dirigible at eight pan. on Saturday, and landed at Nottingham (Kent) at ti n minutes past six a.m. on Sunday. Ito calm- to earth within a few miles of his goal -the Crystal Palace. Mr. Willows is only 24. lie had a e.r.luge experience during his 15'1 miles join uey in the darkness, and he bad the mi-i'ortune to throw hi.s supply of biscuits overboard during the early stages of the 11 ip, so that hunger- was added to his troubles.

His dirigible ascended at sun town in a westerly wind, and he set a course duo i-usl. lie rose to a great height, and .-oared straight across the Bristol Channel- a feat which no dirigible had aeeomj li-lied previously—and steered towards Bristol at a speed of about 15 miles an hour, the gentle breeze giving him considerable assistance. At Clevedon his father and a couple of nii-i lianies were awaiting his arrival in a powerful motor-car, which was brilliantly illuminated. This was to be his guiding beacon all the way to London. Fora number of miles the ear paced the balloon, and Mr. Willows found his task a comparatively simple one for a time. As he drew near Bristol, however, he lost sight of his guiding light. l-'or some time the young aviator manoeuvred about the outskirts of Bristol, but Im had to make the best of bis position, for the car had vanished. He threw out more ballast, and turned to the east again. It was in doing this that he lost his biscuits, accidentally dropping them out with the ballast. To make matters wor-e, bis flask got broken, so that he cmild not get a drink even. Ihe night was fairly dark, and Air. Willows found himself baffled new and again by a succession of cornfields and meadows, but having studied the geography of his run very closely, he was able to locate bis position pretty clearly when he sighted the larger towne. About midnight lie was perched in his little eeat. at an altitude of over 1000 ft. above 11 ungerford. At one stage the wind bothered him, b it this did not last long, and, as everything was secure, and the twin propellers were humming perfectly, the aviator forged ahead until he struck a smoother р. of air. That ended his troubles, for the day dawned with a steady westerly breeze and a clear sky. lb- had covered about half his journey, v bon he saw a number of men working at NeMmry. He shouted down to them, but they stared open-mouthed at tho vision that had come out of the night, si ml he passed on to Reading, where ho ini I arranged for a supply of gas and petrol to be in readiness for him. Again Im tried to attract the attention of earthdwellers, but they neither heard nor saw him. and as the engines were still in perfect order and everything seemed in trim for the completion of the voyage ho held straight on his course, attaining at this stage the highest point of a 11—2600 feet—ami still running- smoothly at an average pace of 15 miles an hour. Dozens of people waved to him as he failed up the Thames Valley, but he wits too high up to make himself heard, and the lir-t person he got into conversat -Il with after leaving C'ardilf was a - >lit >ry railway worker at Esher. ■W hich is Hie way to tho t ryst il I'.il.ii i-roared the aviator. "l-’ollow them railway lines/’ answered th ■ railwayman with the nom-halanee ol a p .I .-.'man on point duty, as if imlieat.ii". th it the vagaries of airmen formed i. ■ i'.-rl of hi- rcsponsiburty. il,l'igry, thirsty, and tired, but by no i -1.-' pv after his night in cloudlaml. Air. Willows followed the laconic 1':l - ayman's advice until he sighted the • il Palace on the horizon. He was iin five miles of Sydenham when his ; 'nd had giv n out. l-'n’e took him within a biscuit's throw of th.- coveted grounds. lie threw o n In- grappling irons when the anchor с. in and lip w.w preparing t<» -'tilt' down on Mother Earth w hmi Aoineiiiin- gave way and he drifted help-

lessly on, the dome of the Palace growing smaller in the distance. He floated over Lower Sydenham, Catford, Hither-green, and crossed the main line of tho S.E. railway to Nottingham, where a gardener leaped at a rope hanging from the dirigible, and formed an agitated human anchor until the balloon rested on tho ground in an open space on the Winn estate. Delighted with his successful trip, Mr. Willows said his airship had behaved admirably until the petrol ran out. “I found it delightful,” ha said, “excepting when the wind pitched mo about rather roughly. It is a most peculiar sensation to sit still in cloudland in pitch darkness, and hear the echo of one’s own voice.”

Mr. Willows’ flight beats that of tho army dirigible by about 70 miles. He intended to alight in the Palace grounds, where he is to give a series of exhibitions in aviation.

His original intention was to start from Cardiff on Thursday, but someone attempted—with partial success —-to disable his dirigible. A largo stone was thrown at the envelope, and caused a serious rent and several smaller punctures. The repairing of this damage delayed the start two days.

The airship is exactly the same size as Baby, the army airship. The envelope is made of linen, and holds about 20,000 feet of gas.

It is an all-English airship, the motor being an eight-cylinder j.a.p., capable of developing 30 h.p. It has no listing planes, but has a plane on each side of tho rudder.