PIPER AND KAYE

Hokitika Guardian, 24 February 1930, Page 6

PIPER AND KAYE

lucky night landing

LUnited Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. ]

CALCUTTA, February 22

Piper and Kaye had a thrilling experience at Jaske, which they told when overhauling their engine at the Karachi civil aerodrome last night.

•>\Yc took oil' early in the morning in pitch darkness Irom Jaske aeiodrome,” they stated, “and turned seawards wiic n, live minutes after the start the engine failed.” Kaye said: “We did not know where we were, but we turned the machine about, and planed at as fiat an angle as we could. We were fully expecting to hit the sea. The bump v(e received in landing told ns that we had hit something more solid, and when daylight broke, we found that we had just managed to make the beach.”

1 Piper said that when the engine was stripped, he. found that one side of the % piston rod had molted, and that blobs of aluminium were a< 1 ’’ ,i ring to the oyclindor. The cyclinder was removed, and itj.was found not to be so badly scored as they had expected. The 'cylinder was then scraped and cleaned with caustic acid, and the piston rod was replaced. The valves, ."which at first were thought to be causing the trouble, were cleaned of the j aluminium deposits, and the engine ! was reassembled. ft gave no trouble jn yesterday’s flight from Jaske. I Describing the earlier part of their journey, the fliers said that they met with awful weather through Southern France. From Avignon, to Italy there was a series of snowstorms, and they were often flying with the ground obscured and at a low altitude. The weight of the snow on the plane retarded their progress. Landings were made short of their destinations, so

tint octroi supplies were difficult to obtain. Through Italy, head winds had impeded them Until they were half way, when they were helped by a i change in the wind. They flew to 'j Bongazi against contrary winds, and much rain. Their progress was slow | along the North African coast, many of the landing grounds being bogged Dm mud from which was still adhering to the undercarriage of their machine.

When over Rutbah Wells. Piper and l t \aye found that the aerodrome there was under water, so they decided to |fh\en to Baghdad, which was reached j when their petrol was almost exhaust--1 ed. A rapid flight was made to Jaske and theV thought that their luck had changed, when their engine failed.

i The fliers have no intention of at-

tempting anything spectacular, but thy wiß progress steadily to Australia. This morning they are flying to Jodhpure. and if time permits to Jlmnsi. Thence they go on to Allahabad and Calcutta. ■KARACHI. February 22.

h’h'or and Kayo left here' for Cal-

cutta, via Jodhpore, and Allahabad at ' pmht minutes past seven this morning, after fitting a new cyclinder. Their

journey from Jaske yesterday occupied six hours.