HAZARDOUS FLIGHT

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 133, 2 December 1929, Page 11

HAZARDOUS FLIGHT

PARTY WELCOMED BACK

SURMOUNTING THE RANGES

(By Russell Owen.—Special to "New

York Times.")

BAY OF WHALES, 29th Nov.

The conqueror of the two Poles by air, Commander Byrd, flew into camp at 10.10 o'clock this morning. He had gone exactly nineteen hours, of which one hour was spent at the mountain base refuelling.* The first man to fly over the North and the South Pole, and the only man to fly over the South Pole, stepped from his 'plane and was swept up on the arms of the men in camp, who for more than an hour had been anxiously watching the southern horizon for a sight of the returning aeroplane.

Beaf from the roar of the motors and tired from the continual strain of the flight and the long period of navigation under difficulties, Byrd was still smiling and happy. He had reached the South Pole after as hazardous and difficult a flight as ever has been mad in an aeroplane, tossed by gusts of! wind, climbing desperately up the slopes of glaciers a few hundred feet abovo the surface.

The Commander's companions, Lieutenant Bernt Balchcn (pilot), P.O. Harold June (radio operator), and Captain M'Kinley (photographer) tumbled out stiff and weary, but so liappy that they forgot the cramped muscles. They were also tossed aloft, pounded on the backs, and carried to the entrance of the'mess hall. Bernt Balehen, the calm-eyed pilot, who first met Byrd in Spitsbergen, and who was with him on his transatlantic flight, came out first. There" was a little smudge of soot under his nose, but the infectious smile which has endeared him to those who know him was radiant. "Then caino Harold June, who between tht intervals of helping Balehen and attending the fuel tanks and taking pictures found time to send radio bulletins which told of the 'plane's progress. After him Captain M'Kinley was lifted from the doorway, beaming because his surveying camera had done- its work. All the way men crowded about'the flyers eager for the story of what they had been'through. Catching fragments of sentences, it evidently had been a terrific battle to get through the mountains to the plateau. "Wo had to dump six weeks' food to do it," said Byrd. "I am glad it was not gas. It was nip and tuck all the way. "Yes," chuckled Baleheu. "Do you remember when we were sliding around those knolls picking the wind currents to help us, and there was not more than 300 feet under us? At times we were just staggering along with clritts ana clouds around us." UP TO THE PLATEAU. When the 'plane approached the mountains en route south Byrd picked out Jjivs Glacier, somewhat west of the Axel Heiberg Glacier, as the passage. High mountains shut them in ™flonnn ai\ they forged their way upward Balchen was conserving the fuel to the utmost, coaxing his engines picking up currents of air as best he Cln,rf t0 h- ei\ the 'plane ride uP™d. nnfFh )7SWiri ed- aboUt them a* times; puff-balls of mist driven down the glacier; drift scurried beneath them It SrjftSvSfc .3a 2t.sk tood. There was a dump valvo in the time and then gam altitude. Then P l^ ra T?^^-. e %-|-een £Z™ lnS.. a TfOllg "'v C^° °f the Polar &*? T'l , " WOS the most ™«gnificent uiglit 1 have ever seen," said Byrd "I never dreamed there were so many mountains in the world. They shone under the sun, wonderfully tinted with colour, and in the south-east a bank of clouds hung over the mountains, making a scene I shall never forget."

COTJKSE FOB THH POLE.

Over tho plateau tlie commander set us course for tho pole. They had a beam wind all tho way into the moiin" tarns until they got over the ccko of tho plateau. They had used a fot of gas, and there was some doubt whether there was enough to get back, but Byrd determined to go on. If they had a favourable wind coming back they would bo all right. If as lmjch ti^ was consumed coming in as going out they would run out of gas. He took the chance and won, flyin^ orer the plateau with tho long sweeping slopes leading up to the mountains. With the wind drifting the snow down from them along the surface it was very difficult to estimate the drift of the 'plane. But by constant attention to the drift meter Byrd was able to get enough sights.on the surfaco below to keep the 'plane on its .course- and cor-

roct the inevitable tendency in all long, distance flights to swing to one side or the other.

Between the mountains and the Pole at one point Byrd saw a new range of mountains, apparently between the trails followed by Amundsen and Scott, but the mountains were far to the west. The continuation of the range running up the western side of the barrier was, as Byrd describes it, simply magnificent. Everyone rather hoped that mountains would be seen at the other side of tho Pole from Little America, but there was nothing in sight there. ROUND THE POLE. When Byrd's calculations showed he had reached the vicinity of the Pole he jran a long line at an angle to his course, then swung in a wide circle, as Ihe did at the North Pole, to make sure of coming within striking distance of that infinitely small spot of the earth's surface. Some time was spent in that manoeuvre. Then the 'plane was set !on the course for Little America. The accuracy of the navigation was strikingly shown at this part of the flight, as it was necessary to navigate the entire distance home.

By means of the sun compass the commander hit the Axel Heiberg Glacier exactly and slid down that to the Barrier. To understand what that means, try to realise being in a vast plain nearly 400 miles from the- place where the mountains were entered, with an encircling rim of majestic peaks, all looking different from the south side from what they had on the way in. Amundsen remarked on this vastly different aspect of his return journey, but the course as laid brought tho piano flying high over the plateau to the mouth of the Axel Heiberg, and Bernt kept a good elevation on the way down. Even so, it was a rough ride, for in the narrow gorge of this glacier, which Amundsen ascended on his way to tho Pole, the wind tossed tho 'plane around like a cork in a wash tub. Thoro were high peaks sticking up all around them. It was the hardest part of tho trip from the flyine point of view. HEADING FOE HOME. When tho Barrier was reached the 'plane headed for the base laid down on the previous flight, and a landing there was made at 5 o'clock this morning. June landed the 'piano there, as he had been in.her on the previous flight, and also took off, and made a splendid job of it. More, gas was put in the tanks, and when the 'plane was in the air again Byrd headed to the cast toward Carmen Land.' What they had seen there on the previous flight interested them, and his interest was repaid. Ho not only traced out more definitely tho course of the Charles Bob Mountains, but also saw another range far to the east.

Camp was out of touch with the plane for some time after the Pole was reached, although signals from the locked radio key came in and showed it was in tho air. Tho men had waited up all night in the mess hall, clustering about the radio room to get news of the progress of tho flight. As the reports indicated tho slow time the 'plane was making on the way in, there was some anxiety, and the mechanics checked and rechecked their figures to estimate the amount of flying time the 'plane had with the gas in the tanks when it left, and what ground speed it was making. There was somo gloom as the slow progress inland was recorded, and then aa a; long interval came between the messages before the Pole was reached everyone wondered what was keeping June so busy. FEELING IN CAMP. Finally came a message that tho 'plane was in the vicinity of the Pole, and there was a sigh of relief and the men lay down on their bunks and tried to get a little sleep. The whine of the 'plane transmitter from the loudspeakers in each house was a reassurance rather than an annoyance, and if the sound had ceased probably everyone _ would have started up instantly. As it was the'fluctuations in the signals made sleep almost impossible. The other two expedition pilots in cam", Parker and Smith, were flying the 'plane all the way, showing by their tense expressions how they were linked with the men in the cockpit of the Floyd Bennett, fighting its way through the mountains. One man lay down on a wooden bench under the loud-speaker and went to sleep, and when the signal strength died down at one time he jumped up as if pricked with a pin. It was an anxious night m camp, for everyone here realised what those men in the 'plane were facing in their climb through the rifts in tho mountains.

There was a pleasant omen in the weather, however. It was somewhat overcast m the north when the 'plane took off, but afterwards the conditions steadily grew better, and there was a tleaa calm nt Little America and a clear sky, with only a thin line of sea smoke to the north over the sea. Better landing conditions could not have been asked for. BYRD FLIES EASTWARD. In the, meantime the 'plane had taken off at the mountains on the return, and Byrd flew east for a time to sec over into Carmen Land. Then he | set a course for Little America, and in addition to navigating all the way flew the 'plane himself for a time. By starting so far east of the course for camp ho placed himself out of reach of any aid from the flags laid down by the geological and supporting parties and the dog team trail.

There was a constant tendency to fly east, but Byrd was sure that his course lay further west and held the 'piano in that direction. Ho hit the trail about forty miles south of Little America on a direct course for the camp, and word was sent in from the 'plane that they would arrive in c

short time. Everybody here tumbled out of the houses and clustered on the snow near tho FairchiJd 'plane, where two deep trenches marked the restingplaces of tho Floyd Bennett's skis. They watched the horizon, and after what seemed to be hours a thin lino appeared in tho southern sky and grew rapidly, flying high, and then sliding down rapidly to a few hundred feet over the camp. Tho men waved their hats and cheered, jumping up and down, yelling with joy. The 'plane crossed the camp at eight minutes past ten, and two minutes later made a wide circle over the bay and landed. BOTH POLES CONQUERED BY AIR.

One of the most difficult flights in the history of aviation had ended and tho conquest of both Poles by air had been accomplished. The adventurous thought born in the mind of tho young "Virginian several years ago had been iulfillcd—the North Atlantic had been spanned and tho North and South Poles oneircled by aeroplanes. Byrd accompanied by Pilot Balchen, photographer McKinley, and June, the radio operator, departed on Thursday afternoon at 3.29, Little America time which is equivalent to 12.9 Triday afternoon,_ Australian time, the entire flight taking approximately twentyfour hours.