TASMAN FLIGHT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 405, 14 December 1932, Page 7

TASMAN FLIGHT

NEXT YEAR'S ATTEMPT SIR CHARLES KINGSFORD SMITH PREPARES FOR SECOND TRIP QUESTION OF MEDICAL FITNESS Sydney, Dec 1 The famous aii'man Sir Charles Kingsford Smith has practically com- i •pleted plans fox* lxis second fliglit across the Tasman from Australia to New Zealand, on January 14, in his world-famous Southern Cross. All that remains is for his to satisfy the eivil avaition authorities that his health will stand the strain of another ocean flig'ht. Since he was gassed during his last flight to England Sir Charles has not been in the same robust health as formerly, and now he is the holder oi' only a conditional pilot's eertificate. He will have to pass a very stiff medical exaniination before he will be g'iven permission by the authorities to undertake his second Tasman iiiglit. He is striving all the time to get thorouglily fit, and has been under expert care for some months, but it is by no means certain that he will be able to comply with all the requirements associated with the granting of a first-class medical pass. Nothing Left to Chance Be that as it may, Sir Charles is not going to be caught napping should be get through. He is leaving nothing to chance either before or during the flight, and his arrangements to date have been most elaborate. He has always exercised every preeaution before talcing the air, and this probably accounts for th'e fact that he has been in but few crashes. He | certainly holds the confidence of the | people of Australia, and there is ! scarcely anyone who would not be willing to fly while he was in tlie ! cockpit. has attended his joy-riding ventures j This accounts l'or the success that j in many parts of the country, and | especially in Sydney. It is said that 1 by this means he is making a small ! foitune. Last week-end, for instance ; he visited a country town in New ; South Wales, and it is said that his { takings exceeded £100. Before he j receeived his knighthood he had ra- | ther a lean time, but since tlien he I has not looked back. Scores of peo- j ple, it would seem, are only too | willing to take the air with a knight. | Safety of Flying j There is no pretence about Sir j Charles. Ile is quite frank in admit- ! ting that flying is his living, but he | also believes that the safe flying which j he is able to offer is of great value to avaition generally, and a powerful factor in making the people more airminded than they are. He had always emphasised the fact that ordin- j ary flying is perfectly safe, and it rnust be admitted that he has proved j his words. Ile hopes that his visit to i New Zealand will provide a great I lillup for avaition there. He intends i to remain in the Dominion for about . a month, and he will visit as many towns as possible in the Southern | Cross. When the Southern Cross leaves Australia it will carry 050 gallons of benzine, and the liuge weight made it necessary to select a suitable starting point. The Mascot aerodrome in Sydney did not come up to requirements, so he has selected the Gerrigong Beach, a wonderful expanse of sand about SO miles south j of Sydney. This beach holds other in- J terest for New Zealanders, for it i was here that Mr. Norman Smith made his first attempt on the land speed record of the world. The beach provides a remarkably long runway of hard sand, and Sir Charles says that he will have no difficulty in making the Southern Cross rise from it, even though the load will be an exceptionally heavy one. Landing at New Plymouth The machine will proceed across the Tasman in practically a straight line, for Mount Egmont, which provides such a splendid landmark. Sir Charles plans to make his first landing in New Zealand at New Plymouth. The itinorary in the Dominion has not yet been decided. It is most unlikely that the Southern Cross will be llown back over the Tasman. Sir Charles doubts whether he would be able to find an aerodrome suitable for a take-off in such a big machine carrying a heavy load. Even if that difficulty could be overcome he is afraid that at the end of his tour the weather would be so uneertain that it might not se safe to venture out across the ocean. He will be guided in making a final decision with the facts as they are at the end of his hour. When one speaks of "the old Southern Cross," one is inclined to overloolc the fact that actually there is very little of the original machine remaining. As a matter of fact the ; rudder and the tail plane alone, if j they could spcalc, could tell of the many adventures of the machine. The Southern Cross has been practically rebuilt at Cockatoo Island, in Sydney, and it is the proud boast of the owner that it is now as good as ever it was.