U.S.A. To France

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 84, 30 June 1927, Page 9

U.S.A. To France

BYRD ESSAYS TRIP By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright Received 9.5 a.m. NEW XORK, Wednesday. Commander Richard Byrd, in his attempted flight from New York to Paris, has the monoplane America weighing seven tons, the heaviest load any plane has ever lifted. The departure time was 5.24 a.m. on Tuesday. Commander Richard Byrd is the hero of the first flight over the North Pole. Also in the machine were Messrs. Be l t J^ costa and Ge orge Noville. pilots, and Bernt and Baichen, relief pilots. In a final interview Commander Byrd said: “We are not going to have ideal weather. The conditions are not anything like as good as those Captain Lindbergh and Mr. Chamberlain had.” Commander Byrd made a perfect take-off. Careful weight-balancing prevented him from taking engineer Kinkade as fifth passenger. The departure was witnessed by 10,000 persons, despite Byrds sudden decision. The America was escorted bv nine planes. She frequently shifted her course to test the navigation instruments. Automatic wireless signals were picked up an hour later by the Homeric and the Carinthia. A radio at 5.40 a.m. placed the America between Cape Cod and Yarmouth (Nova Scotia). Atmospheric conditions over the Atlantic are fair Shortly after 1.30 p.m., local time, the steamer Columbus sent a radio that she was in communication with the America, which was then off Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet.—A. and N Z A message from St. John’s (Newfoundland) states that the America passed Fortune Bay at 5.35 p.m.