FOURTH CROSSING

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 72, 27 March 1933, Page 8

FOURTH CROSSING

TASMAN FLIGHT

THIRTEEN HOURS ON WAY

i-FHE SOUTHERN CEOSS

The Southern Cross, in.' the hands Df Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, lad carrying a crew of three and sue passenger, flew from New Zealand to Australia yesterday in 13 hours 10 minutes, the fastest time of the four flights of the big machine over the troubled Tasman Sea, though, still not such fast time , as was established by Mr. Guy Menzies on his solo flight from Sydney to the West Coast in January, 1931. A following wind for a considerable part of the long journey, and generally favourablo conditions, made the flight what Sir Charles described on landing at the Mascot aerodrome as an easy qne. After, the final passenger-flying day at Hawera, the Southern Cross was flown to the Hew Plymouth aerodrome, where the padded seating and other embellishments for the comfort of the several thousand New Zealand "flip" passengers were removed and the great special petrol tanks were installed, the new radio telephony and morse installation were given their last tinkering, and the three engines were gone over once again. .Shortly after midday on Saturday Sir Charles and his crew left New Plymouth for Hukatere, the starting-off point on the Ninety Mile beach, and in the late, afternoon and evening the full load of petrol, sufficient for 22 hours in the air, and lubricating oil, were pumped into- the tanks. START AT DAWN. Before leaving New Plymouth, Sir Charles indicated that he would probably get away early on Sunday morning, depending upon later weather reports. These were favourable, and before s,o'clock yesterday morning the Southern Cross party and mechanics and those who had gone up to Hukatere to say good-bye were about and busy. The engines were run for threequarters of an hour or so in the warm-ing-up process, Sir Charles and his party said good-bye, went aboard, and the signal was given for the chocks to bo removed from the landing wheel?. With Sir Charles were Mr. J. T. Pethybridge, co-pilot; Captain P. G. Taylor, navigator; Mr. J. S. W. Stannage, wireless operator; and Mr. H. M. Mackay, passenger. It was typical of Sir Charles that there was no fuss or undue handshaking; he climbed aboard and waved a friendly hand, and was away at 5.30 a.m. Loaded heavily as she was,' the Southern Cross ran far down the beach, at one point lurching and sending up a great shower of spray, but ran on, gathered speed, and was lost in the mist and drizzle over the beach, but reappeared, apparently 100 feet or so above the water, to the south, rising slowly and soon disappearing against the.'dull sky. . The rate of climb of the Southern Cross with a full load of fuel and normal long-distance crew is necessarily slow X Something like 50 miles being travelled before an altitude of 1000 feet is reached..

At 6.40 p.m. New Zealand time (5.10 p.m. Sydney time) the Southern Cross came to a stop at the Mascot aerodrome, and Sir Charles was given a welcome by Sydney people more wildly enthusiastic than could have been anticipated or really very much enjoyed by him, for the police had to clear a way before he could get away from the machine. \