The Sun TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1928. FLIGHT ACROSS THE TASMAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 254, 17 January 1928, Page 8

The Sun TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1928. FLIGHT ACROSS THE TASMAN

THE inner history of the Tasman flight venture makes pathetic reading. Stripped of its glamour, it was almost a forlorn hope, however optimistic were the gallant airmen who refused to be deterred by known and unknown risks. The special representative of the “Sydney Morning Herald,” who saw the airplane leave for New Zealand, tells a story that sharply contrasts the heroism of Lieutenant Moncrieff and Captain Hood with the apathy of the New Zealand Government and public before the flight, and he declares that the airmen set off in an unprepared machine and with inadequate equipment for success. The New Zealand Government had countenanced, then disapproved, then consented to the flight. It had warned the Commonwealth Government, when that Government had expressed its doubts and its anxiety, that it was against the attempt being made in such a machine as that selected, with the result that the Australian service mechanics were temporarily withdrawn from the work of assembling the machine. Then it cabled its consent to the flight. This “backing and filling” was well calculated to hasten the departure of the airmen, for fear that there should be another change of mind to interfere with their adventure. “And the New Zealand Government never spent a farthing on the organisation or equipment of the flight,” says the “Herald.” “The lack of financial support was believed to be responsible for the haste of the aviators to get away.” What the New Zealand Government did was to send tugs and warships to search for the airmen after the lapse of such a time as made their death almost a certainty, however people tried to disguise the fact. Though the Government regarded the venture as unsafe, it did not think of sending out ships to meet the men in case assisttanee should be required. It might have made all the difference, since the evidence points to the plane having covered the greater part of the journey. Statements from Sydney show that there were grave doubts regarding the accuracy of the compass, which had never been given a serious test, and that the wireless was never in a satisfactory condition. It was pointed out again and again, “in polite hut emphatic terms,” that the airmen were taking foolish and unnecessary risks by pushing off before the machine was properly tried out by endurance tests. A non-stop flight from Sydney to Broken Hill or to Adelaide and back was urged, the wireless engineer at Richmond offering to accompany the New Zealanders on this journey. It required only £3O to buy a new and efficient generator for the wireless. But the airmen had no money; by their own candid admission, they were “broke.” They said they had been living for weeks upon “grants” from publicity organisers in Australia, during which time they had received no remittances from New Zealand. They were tired of it, apparently; their pride would not allow them to continue living on xmearned money; so they “hopped off.” Lieutenant Moncrieff admitted the risk, but expressed confidence; Captain Hood said, calmly and deliberately: “We realise that if we sink, we go West. That’s all there is to it!” They “went West”! These were braver men than cautious, but the circumstances which left them practically stranded in Australia with their machine necessarily influenced- their judgment. It was realised that there was no arguing with men who were determined to hack their faith with their lives, and they were allowed to leave. Incidentally, it is now revealed, their flight was a breach of the Air Navigation Regulations, which were drawn up to protect young aviators “against the daring and impetuosity of their own desires and ambitions” and which are applicable to all parts of the British Empire.. These regulations definitely state that “in a flight of more than fifty miles from shore to shore, aviators must use seaplanes, amphibians or flying boats.” Seen in the after-perspective, the more heroic does the attempt of Lieutenant Moncrieff and Captain Hood appear. But no further loss of life owing to inadequate preparation or unsuitable aircraft can be permitted. Undaunted by the fate of the New Zealanders, Captain Moody, formerly of the Queensland Air Service, has announced his intention to attempt the flight, accompanied by his wife. Unless it is undertaken in a machine suitable for long ocean flight, and thoroughly tested beforehand, the venture should not be sanctioned. SCIENCE AND THE FARM SCIENCE in its application to farming has accomplished such wonders of production that any money spent in further research work in this conneetioTi will be money well spent. Stimulus has been given to the consideration of this subject by the return to New Zealand of Mr. T. Rigg, agricultural chemist of the Cawthron Institute and a member of the New Zealand Research Council, who was one of the delegates to the International Soil Congress, held at Washington, and the Imperial Agricultural Conference, held in London. Special opportunities were afforded Mr. Rigg of seeing the results of recent experiments at the most important research stations in Great Britain and America, and the knowledge thus acquired should be of great benefit to the agricultural activities of this country. The work of the American conference covered all phases of soil problems and crop production, and Mr. Rigg made a special study of the fruit and tobacco industries of the United States, two matters which are of great importance to New Zealand. Here the fruit industry is well established, but there is much to be learned from American methods of export and marketing if it is to prosper as it should. Tobacco-growing, too, is making strides in the Dominion, and in the growth and distribution of this commodity the Americans are “the last word.” In this connection it is interesting to note the opinions of Mr. G. Pottinger, a member of the Royal Colonial Institute, who, in an interview published in The Sun yesterday, said he considered that, with proper instruction by experts, New Zealand and Australia could sell in England all the tobacco they produced as, there, Dominion-grown tobacco is favoured by a preferential tariff of 4s a pound. If only for the knowledge gained in relation to the fruit and tobacco industries, Mr. Rigg’s mission abroad was well worth while; and the information acquired concerning soils and production should also be of very great value. In New Zealand we have a variety of soils which may produce a variety of crops, but it is only by soil-analysis and experiment that the best erops for varying soils can be determined. Knowledge on that subject, therefore, will do much toward bringing some of the Dominion’s idle lands into production, and should also result in putting some of the land already cultivated to better use. „ ~ "