ABANDONED AIR FLIGHT.

Shannon News, 12 September 1924, Page 4

ABANDONED AIR FLIGHT.

TERRIBLE FOGS IN KURILES. | TWO ESCORT SHIPS REQUIRED. VICTORIA, (8.C.), August 17 Captain A. S. 'MacLaren, the British aviator who was forced to abandon hia flight round the world, gave the Sun representative his opinion On the problem confronting an attempt to fly across the Pacific. “It is a foolhardy business to at* tempt to cross the Pacific via the Kuriles and Aleutians without, at least two ships as escorts,” he said. “We encountered almost impossible weather conditions. You hear fog talked of in England. I myself have flown in so-called fog, but the fog in the Kuriles is almost unbeatable. Day after day we never got away from it It is almost impossible to attempt this route in summer months. It is utterly impracticable in winter. "Two vessels are needed for two reasons. Weather reports ahead are necessary and one vessel is needed to send them and another to receive them. The weather is so fickle that when a start is made for a flight it may be a fine, clear day, but before reaching your destination you enter impenetrable fog. “If you come down anywhere in the Behring Sea without vessels at hand you have not a dog’s chance. Practically the whole archipelago is uninhabited, and even if you're lucky enough to land safely you may easily die of starvation.

“I am quite convinced that the greatest mistake we made originally was in overloading our 'plane. We carried a lot of spares which we found unnecessary, “If I should attempt such a flight again I would carry nothing but essentials—only the clothes we stand in and a few handy tools.

“Overloading was responsible fof the two failures we encountered at Corfu and Parlu, India. Since our present engine was installed in Calcutta it never misfired. No mechanical adjustment was required, and 11 is still in perfect running order.”