POLAR FLIGHT.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 May 1926, Page 2

POLAR FLIGHT.

COMMANDER BYRD’S SPEECH. THE NORTH POLAR TRIP. {Australia & N.Z. Cable Association.] LONDON, May-20. New phases of the Polar flight were given by Commander Byrd, who was tho guest at a luncheon given by the Royal Aero Club. He opened a racy speech by saving: “In starting for the North Pole we were damned fools, with more rmbition than brains,” He related how his shipmates, unknown to him, had loaded up the machine with such things as a ukulele, a Jew’s harp, American Hags, extra boots, and even a pac-k of cards “God knows how we got off.” Dealing with the oil leak in the engine, he said: “AYhen I pointed this out to Bennett, he wrote on a slip oi paper, ‘She will stop!’ 1 was scared to death, as T knew that if she came down, there was no chance on earth of our surviving. I asked Bennett what we should do, and he wrote, ‘Go to the Pole first, and discuss " -mt to do afterwards.’ ” London, May 28. Discussing the projected flight to the South Pole, Commander Byrd says that the lesson learned during the flight to the North Pole shows that the bigger skis must have the capacity for a longer flight, because the South Pole is thousands of miles beyond tho.great ice barrier from which lie must take off, as against 450 miles to the North Pole. Another difficulty is that it is land, not sea, and ten thousand feet high. He explains that ho could not understand England’s silence when he returned after the North Polar flight when all the world was cabling congratulations. He was not aware that the general strike precluded England from hearing of the fight. He declares that sheer luck was responsible for his success. Had a Wizard obscured the sun he would have lost his way and the game would have been up. Ho admitted that there was always difficulty in determining whether they were exactly over the Pole. He "*’.s convinced, however, owing to the use of a sextant of his own invention, that he had passed exact] yover the Pole, he had passed exactly over the PMe. AYliilo travelling speedily north they found themselves travelling steadily south without turning.