AUSTRALIA TO NEW ZEALAND BY AIR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3734, 24 December 1927, Page 3

AUSTRALIA TO NEW ZEALAND BY AIR.

PROBABLE FLIGHT NEXT YEAR

An aeroplane flight from Australia to New Zealand will probably be attempted in the coming autumn by Captain E. W. Percival, of Sydney (says the Dominion). During the past fortnight he has been experimenting with a new type of machine which he has imported direct from England, and acc/rding to advice received from him by friends in Wellington it is likely the flight will be made in this machine if iff comes up to expectations. The machine imported by Captain Percival is known as the Avro Avian, 'and was built at the Avro works under the supervision of the British Air Ministry. It complies with the latest specifications respectng airworthiness, reliability, and ease of handling. At Mascot Aerodrome, just out of Sydney, all sorts of air stunts are reported to have been carried out successively by Captain Percival in order to test how the machine answered its controls in varying positions and styles of flight. In loops, spins, rolls, and other positions the machine answered the controls promptly and effectively. • • i • cm The normal cruising speed is JU miles per hour, but the engine is capable of a speed up to 105 miles per hour without being pushed unduly. It is one of the ArmstrongSiddeley types that have wonderful records to their credit. The petrol consumption is said to be compaiatively low, so .that the machine, in addition to carrying a pilot, a passenger, and fifty pounds of luggage, can take sufficient fuel and oil for nine hours at the rate of .90 miles per hour, thus giving a sarc cruising range of over 800 miles. Extra fuel consumption, however, can bo provided for. One feature of the Avro Avian is that the wings can be folded so that the. machine can be housed in a space eight feet six inches high by nine feet six inches wide.

When in Australia last October, Messrs W. J. Dowsett and R. W. •Stewart, of Wellington, -were taken for a flight over Sydney, including the harbour and its surroundings, by Captain Percival.