THE POLAR FLIGHT

Hokitika Guardian, 6 May 1925, Page 3

THE POLAR FLIGHT

AM I'N DSK.N OUTLINES ELANS. ACHTUAUAft ANT) NCAULK ASSOCIATION. (Copyright..) IiOXDOX. .May I. Capita in Amundsen in a. wireless message Irom Spilzhergen slates that hv the time hie article appeal's tie iiel'opluiie trials should he over and the ships Frtttn and Hobby .shmihi have, sailed for the North (‘oa>t of S| ilzborgen from wlioiv they will advise hv wireless c,interning the weather outlook. They will probably ttuehor near the edge of the I’olar ice or alongside the iee in some fiord. “Once the aeroplanes rejoin them there,” eavs Captain Amundsen, “we will wait for a forecast ol good weather for an extended period. When that is assured we will take off lor the pole at lour o'clock in the niternoun when the sun will he in such a | osition that the shadow ol the wines will not east across the solar compass. The distance from the lia.se to the pole is fiH7 miles which, if it is calm, should he traversed in eight, hours. During the early staves we will attempt it speed of ninety-three miles per hour, but il a head -wind t rises endangering the 1 et-rul supply we will either turn hark using only one engine or tit* will transfer the petrol from one machine to the other and all return to the base itt one aeroplane. If everything is favourable, however, we will land ns soon as the observations show we are above the pole. If we land some distance Irom the pole the journey will he completed on skis.”

Continuing the Captain says: “We may he absent several days making perfectly sure of our observations. II we cannot discover a suitable landing we shall drop overboard tt Norwegian (lag and then shape our course to Spitsbergen. Even geographical results will not then lie prejudiced because front the height of otic thousand feet wc command an area of 12-> miles in diameter. The tests ol apt aTiitus to prevent the engines’ water and oil freezing have proved most successful and we are thus safeguarded against difficulty in starting the onejnes. One aeroplane will he piloted by Riiscrhi rscii and navigated by myself and the other "ill he piloted by Died riehsen anil navigated by Ellsworth. Films and photographs ol the flight will be taken.”