FLYING TO AUSTRRALIA

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1951, 7 January 1914, Page 6

FLYING TO AUSTRRALIA

VEDRINES ON HIS WA"i.

NOW IN AFRICA. , - "%'W'ifi Few people have awakened . to'", tlio: recognition of tiie fact that a dapper. , littlo Frenchman is at the present tiuio' engaged in flying to Australia in an' aeroplane, says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph." Ho will only call at Australian ports en. route, for his expressed intention is to circumnavigate the globe in his aerial craft —a proposition so prodigious that few people s wiH readily u. credence, B\k, tUs> vmv\tor is Jules Vedrines. And among tlie men who have taken a close interestin aviation it is realised that Yedrines is one of those "silent men who do things, letting babblers tell the story. , ' Besides, ho lias already accomplished a fair part of the journey—enough not only to show that ho is in earnest, but also to establish the proud record of having tkmn over more countries in Enropo than any other aviator. Start- , ing from Franco, he has flown over Germany, Austria, Hungary, Servis, Bulgaria, Turkey, Tripoli, Syria, and ligypt. Tho route he has already covered works out at considerably over 8000 miles—which is easily a record, for long-distance flight across different countries. With such an auspicious commencement, it is quite feasible that tho quiet little Frenchman will achieve his grand objective, which is to fly back to his .native Paris after the first aerial tour of tho world. It is not difficult to imagine tho reception which would bo accorded to liim by his enthusiastic countrymen—a reception in which all nations of the- world would cordially joiu.

Thero was no flourish of trumpets When Vedrines started from bis hangar outside Paris on December 2. Vedrines objects to publicity. For this purpose he had given out thpt he proposed a flight to Rheims, a' distance of about 80 miles. Only his brother was a-waro vi tho tremendous project that Vedrines had entered upon. Tho machino lie used \vas a Bleriot of a type considerably in advance of that in which.. the inventor had crossed tho Channel. With tho farewell wishes of his brother and the mechanics, the latter being unaware of his objective, he sailed up into the sky to start upon his long journey.

After crossing tho French border into Germany his mighty plans .nearly came to grief, for while he was passing over a fortress at Valadinc, on the Danube, st a height of 4000 ft., tho garrison evidently imagined that he was an international spy. Guns wero fired at him. Kis monoplane was uninjured, but tho concussion of the shots was tremendous, and the machine nearly capsized. Ho recounted this experience when ho reached Belgrade, and he added that he promptly ascended to a height ' of 'JUOOt't., whcro ho was, of course, out of rango of the missiles. From tlience onward very little information has filtered through as to the doings of that plucky littlo Frenchman. Ho arrived at Sofia on December 5, and thenco flew to Constantinople, then to Konich, and thence across the Mediterranean Sea to Tripoli. It is only from tho last-named place that any news as to his experiences has reached 'civilisation, ajiti that consists merely of his remark that when crossing the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor the temperature recorded was 15 degrees bslow zero. l!|> to this point Vcdrines had maintained silence as to the great objective he had placed before himself. Ho now announced, without any evidence of bravado or boastfulncss, that he intended to encirclo tho globe. Ho said he would first fly through Egypt, anil would then cross over India to Singapore, in the Straits Settlements, calling at the Island of Ceylon on the way. From Singapore ho will fly to Sumatra and Batavia, and then shoot across to the western coast of Australia (probably landing at Derby, W.A.). After visiting Perth he will fly across the continent to Melbourne, and tlienco to Sydney. The way in which he speaks of these long flights serves to show tho degrees in which the aeroplane has annihilated distance.

From Sydney, so Vcdrines announced, ho will take a steamer to South America, and then fly along the Pacific Coast to Panama aud New Orleans, whence he will again take steamer for Lisbon. From tho Portugueses capital he will once more mount his monoplane; and fly back home to Paris, having completed the circuit of the globe. Cable messages received recently announced that he had reached Cairo. Further news of his journey will tie keenly watched.