SOUTHERN CROSS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 31, 7 February 1933, Page 8

SOUTHERN CROSS

JO FLY AT RONGOTAI

KINGSFORD SMITH'S PLANS'

GROUND INSPECTED

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, whcise iighly successful passenger flying tour ,bf ..the.Dominion .was interrupted by his bad luck at Palmerston North on Saturday, morning, and who arrived at .Wellington by aeroplane yesterday, has had a particularly rushed'time in making 'arrangements for materials for the repair; of the damaged wing of the Southern' Cross, attending to details of This, amended itinerary, and all the • other details that surround a big flying venture^ even-when all runs smoothly. "Things are straightening out splendidly now," said Sir Charles to a "Post" reporter this morning, "and there are not 'more than perhaps a dozen interviews and other essential items to be covered before the Makura leayes.at 3 o'clock. Naturally'l very much regret that the New Zealand programme has been upset by that piece of bad luck at Palmerston North, but I shall be very glad to see Lady Smith and the small boy for a day or two. That is a considerable consolation to the regret at the damage to the old machine. : _ / "I expect to be back in a fortnight from : to-day, and as soon as the Southern Cross is in order again I shall carry ■on with the programme.. As the repairs ■; "will possibly occupy three weeks . my Wellington flying will now be set ba,ck to 18th March, or perhaps the week: later, depending always on the • time taken in repairs. ' ■ NO SERIOUS DAMAGE. "The Palmerston mishap was a piece of thoroughly hard luck," said Sir Charles. "Heavy rain, a recently filled ditch, and a big machine liko the Southern Cross just don't go together, but un.f ortunately that is the sort of thing that does not show up till too late. However; the damage to the wing is not particularly serious and. the repairs ara just so much straight joinery, but, of course;* it is an intricate job and will take time. "The damage extends back about six-; feet from- the tip, but it is necessary to : make long splices and the new work will go back, say, about ten feet. The.Southern Cross was travelling very slowly at the time and there was no " straining or wrenching. To the ladies who wjere in the cabin when the mar chine-settled calmly over I again tender my;'humble . apologies for my remarks. - Still; I-Tather fancy they agreed with me. When the tip is spliced in the old machine will be as sound and solid? as ever."., '■'* _ RETURN FLIGHT DEPENDS ON V -.7- - WEATHER. - Asked if the suggestion'that the in-, terruption would upset the original plan of'flying back to Australia on the completion of the New Zealand tour, Sir ' Charles, said-that he could not say de- ■ finitely-whether he would fly the Southern :Cross or take it back crated. ; "Those' tfaee weeks are going to make a.lot of difference in the weather, he said. "I have had some experience of the jTasinan in dirty weather, and it can'bei.-dirty. Everything depends on how1' the weather conditions promise:' • it'S'tool early to be definite." Sir Charles said that if ho did fly Captain-P. G. Taylor would again have charge .of"the navigation and Mr. J. W. S. Stannage of radio communication work. Possibly also he would take a -. passenger, on the Teturn trip.: -'-■ ; -SOUTHERN. CROSS TO FLY ■:'-■'--. v.. y. HERE. ■ Sir-Charles, accompanied by Mr. A. TV. Nisbot,-secretary of the Wellington Aero.'Club, and Squadron-Leader G. L. Stedman, chief instructor, to-day made an; inspection, of the extented landing ground at Rongotai and expressed himself as well pleased with the ground as a whole. . When, "at the south-eastern corner of the'ground, theparty reached the patch where?a "wide gully has been filled in and levelled, off, Sir Charles looked hard —for that was what had been done at • Palmerston North—but. as the filling is of sand and brpken rock; not clay, as at Palmerston, and has been well rolled down,;the patch Was. passed. The remainder of the runway is not exactly smooth for car riding, but Sir Charles "said -that. the shortish- irregularities would not bother the big landing wheels of the Southern Cross. "What I do not^ like -are-Jong slopes and hollows, grounds where you skip gracefully from crag: to crag, so to speak," he said. "It is: really wonderful how every centre has worked to provide a good land-' ing ground."

The full length of the ground, north--west to* south-east, is about 1000 yards, but the hangar and other buildings at one end and the low hills at the other reduce the'effective length considerably. This effective length was measured by car' speedometer as .. just under 800 yards, and that, said Sir Charles, was quite sufficient for the Southern Cross for local flying, except under most unfavourable; conditions. It was, of course, quite inadequate for a take-off with a, full load, -of fuel, on a very long flight, but that was not intended.

The' cross' run, however, was too short; for a.-big. machine, but as the wind direction was apparently very reliably cdnstant at this time of the year, roughly up and down the long runway, he did not anticipate any difficulty -in, flying the Southern Cross from Borigotai. '■ • - ■

"Apart from-natural disadvantages, and there is no gainsaying that they are considerable," he added, "this ground is.now. quite, a good one, though, as I have said, the cross run is too short for machines of any size.''