AIRMAN RETURNING TO HASTINGS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 25, 13 February 1937, Page 4

AIRMAN RETURNING TO HASTINGS

-Own Correspondent.)

Mr G. G. Stead's Activities in England WIDESPREAD FLIGHTS

(By Telegrapli-

AUCKLAND, This Day. A New Zealander who made good in commercial aviation in England, Mr G. G. Htead, formerly of Hastings, arrived from London by the Rangitiki, accompanied by Mrs fcltead. He will spend four years as a pilot with Cooh btrait Airways before leaving to engage in the serviee which British airways plan to begin at the end of that time across the South Atlantic to Eio de Janeiro. Mr btead, who .did his early flying m Hastings, left eight years ago for England and spent flve years with the Eoyai Air Force. Subsequently he spent 3000 hours in commercial flying in all parta of Europe and as far east as Singaporo under British Airways and lndian National Airways. He is now preparing for one of the highest air examinations, that for first-class air navigators. British Airways was one of the first pompanies to introduce the Loronz blind-flyihg system, which makes it possible to land even in a dense fog without seeing the ground, and Mr btead did muc.li of the experimental work in England in connection with it. A. system of short-wave beams is One oi the chief faetor.s in this amazing system, which Mr Stead said is now in lmiversal use in Europe in commercial aviation. Commercial services in England had reached a high standard to-day, said Mr Stead, an efficiency of 95 per cent being maintaiued even on bad routes in winter where practically all the flying had to be done above the clouds with the aid of radio. Mr Stead recently flew the first commercial serviee out of Stoekholm, a .loeality in which flying conditions are very bad. »Mr Stead referred to the great difficulty of securing machines for civil use in England to-day owing to the heavy defence contracts. It was necessarv to order four or flve months in advance and for larger machines considerably longer. Mr Stead is himself a £ying offieer in the Air Force Eeserve.