MENZIES’ INTENTIONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 10 January 1931, Page 7

MENZIES’ INTENTIONS

LONGER FLIGHTS POSSIBLE THE DAMAGED MACHINE After a good night’s rest and as easy a day as West Coast people would allow him, states a special Hokitika message to yesterday’s “Post,” Guy Menzies is regarding his Tasman flight with proper satisfaction and the position of his precious machine, upside down in the mud and water of the river swamp, with the optimism which such a stirring success as the ocean flight warrants. The damage is rather more serious than was at first supposed,' but Mr Menzies is emphatic that the work of repair is no very groat, job, though it may take considerably longer than the two or three days of the first estimate, and it may be that his visits to the southern centres of the Dominion will have to be made in another machine. ln*the Southern Cross Junior are centred Mr Menzies’ big hopes for the future, for he has declared now that the Tasman flight is merely a preliminary to other long flights. Within the next three months, he says, he hopes to put up a new speed record from Melbourne to Perth, and to fly round Australia in less than seven days, and then, in June next, he will, if all goes well-, attempt a speed flight from Australia to Japan. Already lie has given a great deal of thought to these ventures, but has still much detail planning to do. 'Though the Tasman flight was apparently a rushed venture, said Mr Menzies, actually it was nothing of the sort, for he had been planning it for months, and since October had been waiting for the right machine. “There is no trutji in the yarn that I made the flight for a bet, and I am not going to fly back,” said Mr Menzios. “I bought the Southern Cross Junior from Ulm with this and the other flights definitely in mind. I admit Lliat there was a risk in the Tasman flight, but I had taken every precaution to make the dangers as light as possible, and when I left Sydney I had left nothing to chance that could possibly have been worked out beforehand. He mentioned that from the Sydney Meteorologist, who was a friend of his, he had received weather reports day by day for some time before he left. He kept the flight well under his hat, and only six people were present at the take-off from Mascot Aerodrome under the headlights of motor-cars.’ That the Southern Cross Junior is the right machine for solo work on big flights Mr Menzies is well satisfied. 'Through wind, rain, hail, and heavy mist and fog the machine drove ahead without once faltering, he .said. He had left with fuel for 16 hours flying, not 18, as stated, and had hoped to do the whole flight in 10 hours, and would, lie believed, have done so had he not struck bad weather. As it was, lie had enough petrol to tackle the mountains, but he could not reckon how high they were, as they were shrouded'in dense clouds, and so he had decided to land. He was convinced now, however, that he could have got over to Christchurch, or at least have reached the Greymouth Ijgjch, Talking over weather conditions on the way across, the pilot said he had left Sydney at an unusual time to catcli the wind as it rose. Head winds -were experienced until dawn, and then, attci an hour’s calm, a sou’-wester blew up, with heavy clouds and frightful weather, the machine bumping be.dlv. Rain came later, but he was well sheltered in. the cockpit, though it was very cold above 5000 feet. The motor functioned wonderfully, turning at 1925 revolutions a minute, giving 100 miles an hour, for practically the whole distance. For a good part of the journey there was a tail wind, though not dead behind, of 50 miles an hour.