A GREAT SUCCESS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 October 1929, Page 5

A GREAT SUCCESS

TRANS-AUSTRALIAN AIR RACE. BABY MACHINES TRIUMPH. SYDNEY, October 10. In spitb of the serious accident that marred the last stage, the. great air race irom Sydney to Perth must be voted a. great success, and a ti:.umph in organisation. For .a iveek-the progress of the machines across the continent was .followed with - tpe gieaiest interest.. Seventeen machines started out from Sydney, and it. is a tribute to modern aeroplane construction that fifteen set out on the last stage in the teeth of a howling storm which blotted out the Darling Ranges. This mountain storm was a fitting climax to the adverse weather .conditions of the whole trip—head winds from Sydney to Melbourne, head winds from Melbourne to Nh'.ll, and from Nhill to Adelaide, bumps and bad country from Adelaide to Ceduna, and from Ceduna to Forrest, blazing heat from Forrest to Kalgoorlie, and rain and fog to Berth. Despite all these weather handicaps all but two of the marvellous little crafts kept to schedule. Speeds were high, but the engines never faltered above the desolate wastes of forest' and desert, where failure might have meant damage ?.tp the machines and injury to the' ooeitpan^s, :i spirit of. the'! formore for the fun-of -the idling than! for the bauble of fame and for the booty—the £IOOO -prize. At the same , time, • there were 'men among the contest? ants to whom the prize’ would have been a decided boon, for, their enthusiasm..,* for flying, an expensive hobby, Ims kept, them poor. it is all over tlierp is a, feelihg' that : ''this must not be the last big air race in Australia.

It is agreed- that it would be an immense-aid to aviation in Australia if an across Australia air race were made an annual fixture* Such a' race, of course, need not always be across the saihe course. Next year, for. instance. the race could be to Darwin, or- from Brisbane to Adelaide. It might even be around. Australia. • It would be necessary to raise £SOOO annually to organise a race of the kind., hut: much of : the outlay could he recouped in each State by gate money and other sources, -of.' revem’e.:.- The race, of course, -would .have 1 to be open tp international! ' - ! •The first "air race lias proved that baby aircraft,- which some people have been inclined to laugh at in thppasf, can do an efficient and flying, job in all weathers. The:same maehmies 4 :; are proved to be capable of .long and arduous cross-country work !;. -without engine failure. The craft proved .to be so reliable flint -low flying was'the rule ia,fter, passed, * And • case A'ny of the'”boi|pjetit<irs down, -. tralia certainly a organisers of its air *4s/p'‘si Major de sever thought of the-. PerfcJ| air race, and the pilots who entered; or it, did not realise exaetly&Mvh|p they were in for. The outstanding fact was that of the seventeen milchines that started, fifteen roared over •the finishing line. Not one was the worse for. wear at the end, of the 25G0 miles across all types of and !rn all i Several.,of the pilots were new to the game, and yet there was only one- ser’ious'mishapv The average sneed over- the entire journey - Was 110 miles an hour.