Airmen Take a Holiday

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 473, 1 October 1928, Page 1

Airmen Take a Holiday

FISHING TRIP IN THU SOUNDS Start Before Thursday Unlikely (Special to THE SUN) BLENHEIM, To-day. ' YESTERDAY was a holiday for the flyers. No work was done at the airdrome. It was clear that a start oil Monday would he impossible, so at noon the airmen went to Picton, and after seeing over the Tamahine went down the sound in a launch.

"We thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith to The Sun representative. “The boys liked the holiday. We went fishing and actually caught some fish. It is great, scenery.

“Dr. Kidson thinks that a start before Thursday is unlikely,” said Kingsford Smith, this morning.

From weather reports received by the flyers at mid-day to-day there is little likelihood of the Southern Cross departing before Thursday, says a Press Association message.

Flight-Lieut. IJlm, accompanied by Captain Buckley, flew low over Blenheim at mid-day to-day in the Bristol fighter. On their return to the airdrome they carried out a spin, loop and other aerial acrobatics.

OUTLOOK NOT FAVOURABLE “Had a start been made on Saturday morning with return flight across the Tasman, the airmen might have experienced fairly favourable conditions, considering the time of the year,” said Dr. Kidson this morning. “Had they started on Sunday morning it would have been touch and go, bad weather probably being encountered before they reached Australia.” He added that the anti-cyclone which was in evidence at the end of last week, and which had now ceased to hold sway, \yas almost more than

could be reasonably expected at this time of the year, and it would likely be some time before such conditions prevailed again. For the next few days at any rate, the outlook was not at all favourable. SEARCHLIGHTS TO GUIDE \ PREPARATIONS AT SYDNEY (United P.A. —By Telegraph — Copyright) SYDNEY, Saturday. Captain Chateau is co-operating with the naval and military authorities for the use of searchlights at Sydney, Newcastle and Jervis Bay as a guide for the Tasman flyers. A code will be arranged to indicate to the flyers which light they sight. The Minister of Defence, Sir William Glasgow, has given instructions that every possible co-operation shall be given the airmen. Special arrangements have already been made for flood lights at Richmond. WHEN SUNDAY DAWNED CROWDS DISAPPOINTED (Special to THE SUN) BLENHEIM, To-day. Saturday was a day of alternate excitement and dejection for hundreds of people who had come to Blenheim in the hope of seeing the airmen set out on their long flight. From early on Saturday morning crowds came to the airdrome, and were thrilled when Kingsford Smith flew the Bristol plane, with the two typists who had worked on his correspondence, as passengers. With the assistance of Lieutenant Simpson and two Blenheim men the airmen got to work on the task of changing the worn propellers for those used on the Pacific crossing. People packed thick In front of the open hangar, keenly interested in the work. Then came word at noon that the weather report was bad, and that a start on Sunday was unlikely, and the crowd was keenly disappointed. Suddenly, about 4.30, the word went round that the afternoon weather report was good. Kingsford Smith and Ulra came on the scene and supervised the work of pumping 750 gallons of fuel from drums into the tanks of the Southern Cross. They climbed over the machine examining everything, while Mr. H. A. Litchfield and Mr. T. H. McWilliam, dodging in and out of the cabin, made final adjustments to their instruments. The excitement was intense and cinema men “shot” rapidly, - confident that these were the final preparations, on the completeness of which depended the lives of those four calm, but keeneyed men. People went home to tea • and set their alarm clocks for four j o’clock. Then it was heard that the later weather report was “bad,” and there would be no start. Blenheim j sank into despondency and went to ! bed. In the early hours of the morning, many cars with people from Nelson and the South, ignorant of the last decision, arrived to see the take-off. They stayed to see the plane by daylight before going home disappointed, since Kingsford Smith had so little hope of clear weather for two or three days. AIR MARSHAL AT DUNEDIN LANDING-GROUNDS INSPECTED Press Association DUNEDIN, To-day. Air Marshal Sir John Salmond, after inspecting various landing sites and also the proposed site of the Dunedin Aero Club’s headquarters, returned north this morning.