AVIATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 August 1927, Page 2

AVIATION.

(Australian Press Association & Sun. AIRMAN REDDERX STILL MISSING. RIO DE JANJERO, Aug. 28. Paul Redfern, tho Georgia to Brazil flier has not yet been heard of. NASSAU '(Bahamas), Aug. 28. A Government canvas of Gulligan Islands revealed no signs of Redfern. A storm on Thursday- may have brought him down.

THE JOURNEY OYER. LONDON, Aug.

Sublet? jrevenled Low they discovered they wore over England. Me were lost over England. When sixty miles from Newfoundland we ran into a thick fog and then had mist at sunset and ran into heavy weather. A fifty mile north-west wind was

blowing right across our track. Sometimes were were two hundred feet up and 'again ten thousand, often ,in darkness. We encountered air pockets through which we dropped like a. stone, anything from two to three hundred feet. When we sighted land we were live thousand feet up witli rolling and drifting clouds a mass beneath us. Through the rift we saw a patch of green countryside. It was our first glimpse of England. It must have been 7.30 in the morning. We could not square the Coast outline with Ireland over which we believed we were Hying, and resolved to drop messages asking our whereabouts. Brock wrote two in succession. one on cardboard and the other on blue paper and descended to two hundred feet above a coastal village. Few people were about and the messages were carried away in tho wind. Then Ilrock enclosed a note in a small bag, saying write the name of the town on the sands, lie tied it to an orange and dropped it to the beach. A sharp youngster seized it and we saw people running about. Someone began to trace big whitewashed letters on a pavement and we gradually made out Devon, and then saw tho Union .lack at tho ; coast guard station and set our maps accordingly and flew on to London. We were puzzled badly over Henley aerodrome which was empty, and guessed it was not Croydon. We went on until we saw another aerodrome where people were running about, so here we were, both well without loot! from tho start until a few minutes Ivefore landing when we shared a sandwich, tired but lit.

LONDON. Aug. 28. The pilots took turn about throughout and saw the stars occasionally and the lights of one ship. After six hours trying conditions they faced three hours of a terribi'e gale, the worst period of the journey. W hen they saw land they did not know whether it was Ireland, England. Scotland or France, because they had just emerged from a fog in which they liad flown blindly foitlnec hours. it now appears they struck the English Coast north of Cornwall and immediately became fog bound. They saw nothing until Plymouth was reached and the next place sighted was Seaton. Tho fliers leave at seven to-morrow morning For Munich instead of Stuttgart, thence to Belgrade and Constantinople. They anticipate the worst stage will he from Tokyo and Sand Island in the Pacific, 2.380 miles.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. LONDON, Aug. 28.

Though west to cast trails-Atlantic fliers have ceased to bo really novel, the arrival of Brock and Schlee at

Croydon and twenty-four hours ten minutes after leaving Newfoundland on the first stage of the twenty-two days record round the world attempt, was full of dramatic incident. By daybreak enthusiasts proceeded to Croydon hut officials of (the American Embassy announced it was a private affair, not official, not undertaken with Government cognisance. Likewise there were no British representatives other than aerodrome officials. This fact seemed to spur the crowd to a greater desire to welcome the fliers. They were ‘-first sighted at Croydon at 11.30, circled over the aerodrome hanked steeply and deceiuled gracefully. The crowd rushed and dragged the airmen from the machine and carried them shoulder high. They both went direct to London in a ear and io bed. Brock said : “Flying into a storm and darkness made one forget he was hungry. W'e averaged SO miles anil out of 355 ".gallons of petrol only half were used. Tho machine was perfect. W'e could have gone on another thousand miles at least.” The airmen, "take off for Stuttgart to-mor-row.

COMING ELY. (Received this day at >8 a.m.) LONDON (Ontario), Aug. 30

An airplane with Sir John Carling, Captain Tally and Lieut. Metcalf, hopped off from London, for London (Engi'and) on Monday morning.