AVIATION

Hokitika Guardian, 1 September 1928, Page 3

AVIATION

TASMAN PLIGHT.

FLIGHT TO-NIGHT. BY SOUTHERN CROSS. STARTS 7.30 r.m. N.Z. TIME. (Australian Press Association.! SYDNEY, August 31. Smith and Ulm’s latest suggestion is that they may start for Now Zealand at six o’clock to-morrow (Saturday) evening, in order to secure the I idlest advantage of the moon for the return trip. 'The weather to-day, however, does not promise well for to-morrow, and it may delay the filial tests and the actual hop off. HOP OFF TO-NIGHT. SYDNEY RADIO ARRANGEMENTS. WELLINGTON, August 31. A wireless message picked up from station 2 F.C., Sydney, to-night, stated that the Southern Cross, as far as was known, would hop off from Richmond Aerodrome at 6 o’clock to-morrow.

From tfio time that the plane leaves Richmond, the station 2 ILL. Sydney, will stay on the air and will broadcast the messages received from the plane until tho Southern Cross reaches its destination oil Sunday, which will lie from 5 to 6 a.m. (Sydney time). Station 2 F.C. Sydney will keep up a series of messages from tho plane for relay to Europe and to America.

THE DISTANCE. Tho distance from Sydney to Greymouth is 1075 nautical miles, i.e., about 1237 land miles. From Greymouth to Christchurch is about 100 miles, so that the distance of the fly is about 1337 miles. TESTS AND WEATHER SATISFACTORY. SYDNEY, August 31. Careful tests made with the Southern Cross to-day having proved satisfactory, and encouraging advices having been received from the New Zealand meteorologist, the airmen, Smith and Ulm, have decided to begin their flight from Richmond (Sydney) at six o’clock to-morrow evening.

The airmen expect to reach Christchurch about .seventeen hours later.

Upon the result of this flight tho airmen will he able to judge if an air mail and pasenger service across the Tasman Sea is practicable. Besides their own wreath in. memory of Hood and Monerieff, the airmen will drop a wreath into the sea on behalf olf the New Zealand Government.

The Southern Cross petrol supply will be 700 gallons, or 180 gallons less than she carried on the Suva to Brisbane hop. The airman hope to he back in Richmond a week hence. Letters will he Carried from the Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven, to Sir Charles Fergusson; also from Air Bruce (Premier) to Mr Coates.

PROGRESS REPORT. TELEGRAPHIC ARRANGEMENTS. WELLINGTON, August 31. Arrangements have been made with the Telegraph Department to keep operators on till three o’clock on Monday morning in order to enable as many progress messages from the aviators as possible to be published in the papers. Tho Secretary-General of the Post Office advises as follows: “In connection with the forthcoming trans-Tas-man flight, it is to lie understood that messages transmitted from tho aeroplane will lie mainly commercial messages and copyright press matter, which is not available for public information. The Department will, however, as far as practicable, keep the public apprised cif the progress of the flight by. arrangement with the Radio Broadcasting Company. Unless tlio aviators send out matter lor genci.il information, there cannot be anything in the nature of a running commentary on tho events connected with the flight.” / “It is necessary to remind all amateur listeners who possess apparatus capable of receiving signals from the aeroplane that the amateur radio regulations expressly prohibit the dissemination in any form of radio communications which are of the nature of public correspondence, such as lie commercial and press messages referred to above. The position is that messages from the aeroplane ate the copyright of the persons to whom they are addressed, and must not he used or even committed to writing by unauthorised persons.” announcing the arrival. WELLINGTON, September 1. The Dress Association has arranged with the Telegraph Department to distribute the fact of the arrival of the aviators, on the same lines as football results,-

START DEFINITELY FIXED. THE WEATHER FORECAST. .Received this day at 3.50 a.m.l SYNDEY, September 1. . Provided the weather continues sat isfactory. the Southern Cross definitely leaves about six o'clock, Australian time, to-night. The Government meteorologist states there was an intense southern disturbance over the south Tasman Sea yesterday. It is now east of New Zealand. The weather has moderated considerably over the Tasman and strong westerlies are likely t,o continue over southern parts of the ocean. The forecast is as followsr res > westerlies round Cape Leeuwin and from Eastern Bight to southern Neu Zealand, with moderate, rather rough seas, moderating from westward.