Planes at Hawera

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 462, 18 September 1928, Page 1

Planes at Hawera

Men Feted Machines Refuelled Taranaki’s Warm Welcome (Special to THE SUN) HAWERA, To-day. THE three airplanes arrived here at 12.21 p.m. They refuelled and were to leave again for Auckland later ill the afternoon.

LARGE crowd from all parts of Taranaki assembled on the Hawera racecourse. A civic welcome was accorded them on their arrival and representatives of the local bodies in the province entertained the airmen at a luncheon. All school children were given a holiday and business premises were closed for three and a-half hours. Special transport arrangements were made to bring visitors from the surrounding districts. MANY TOWNS SEE PLANES FIRST STOP AT HAWERA (Special to THE SUN) WELLINGTON, To-day. The Southern Cross flyers took off from Trentham racecourse for Auckland at 10.8 o’clock this morning, on the second stage of their air tour of the Dominion. The three machines got a perfect start and were all in the air within two minutes of one another. The plane flew low over Foxton, and the airmen waved their hands to the children. They.arrived at Hawera about noon and were scheduled to leave again about 2 ■ p.m. direct for Auckland, where they 1 expect to arrive about 4 p.m. .. . On th® journey they flew over as many towns as possible, without too much deviation. At 11.30 the machines were seen over Wanganui, bells and whistles proclaiming their approach. The plane with Squadron-Leader Kingsford .Smith soared immediately over the Avenue. A large crowd from all parts of Taranaki' assembled on the Hawera racecourse. A civic welcome was accorded them on their arrival, and representatives Of the local bodies in the province entertained the airmen at a luncheon. R.S.A. LIFE MEMBERS GOLD BADGES PRESENTED Press Association WELLINGTON, Monday. At a large and enthusiastic assembly of returned men to-day, Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith and his three companions were each presented with gold badges of honorary life-membership of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association. The president of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association, Mr. W. Perry, as chairman, welcomed the airmen as fellow-Diggers, and men-

tioned that the association was sending by the Southern Cross on its return flight to Sydney a cordial reply to the Australian soldiers’ greeting, brought by Kingsford Smith. Mr. Perry said that the names of Kingsford Smith, Ulm, Litchfield and MeWilliam would live in history with those of Columbus, Tasman and Cook. He congratulated the airmen on awakening an air sense in New Zealand. The aviators were loudly cheered when replying. All thanked the Returned Soldiers’ Association for the great honour done them. At the official Government luncheon in honour of the airmen, the Prime Minister presented Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith with a film of the arrival of the Southern Cross in New Zealand. FLYING-BOAT COULD CARRY TASMAN MAILS AIRMEN CONFIDENT (Special to THE SUN) WELLINGTON, Monday. “For a mail service across the Tasman we want a flying-boat, a machine different from the Southern Cross, and one capable of attaining an altitude of 15,000 feet,” Flight-Lieutenant Ulm told his hearers at the Goveriynent luncheon to-day. The airman, who seemed confident that an aerial mail service between Australia and New Zealand would ultimately be established, described the conditions met with on the flight from Suva to Brisbane. Crossing the Tasman the plane had to climb to an altitude of 8,500 ft. when one storm was approached, and practically every part of the Southern Cross was below freezing point. Since arriving in New Zealand they had tried to calculate the weight of the ice that had formed on the wings of the machine. The ice was at least an inch thick and they estimated that there was about half a ton of It. They were of opinion that had they risen to a height of 15,000 ft. they would have escaped the storms. “There is the scientific side to these flights, as instanced by the two considerations I have mentioned,” he said. “Provision must be made for heating those portions of the machine on which ice might form. “There is no necessity to go outside the British Empire for the machine that will give the service.” Flight-Lieutenant Ulm added that he and Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith had always believed it would be possible to establish an aerial mail service across the Tasman.