New Challenger

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 564, 17 January 1929, Page 9

New Challenger

Broken

Antarctic Silence By Loud Roar of Airplane BYRD EXPLORERS’ HARD TOIL f United r.A. — By Telegraph — Copyright)

Reed, 9.5 a.m. B ALL tile quiet monsters of down to-day on a new p] challenge them. A slim, g stretched wings was set down and spurting snow behind it. In a few hours It will be winging its way above impassable cliffs and over ice across which men have trudged painfully to gain a few miles, that they might know something of the Antarctic —that land which has wrecked so many hopes, and taken so many lives. For it is the first airplane to wing its way over the Continent, since Graham Land has proved to he an island, and not an integral part of this mysterious country. The plane is called the Stars and Stripes, for just by chance, or because the crates fitted, it was that plane (significant of America’s farthest south in the Antaictic) which was first brought dowr here by the Byrd expedition. It was a day of gr-tification and jubilation to the men who have carried boxes and crates; who have hauled goods and supplies by dogs and human hands for" miles; who have worked with broken lips, and skin and eyes sore from blindness; worked till they could hardly see from fatigue. MEN CHEER ACHIEVEMENT Tile graceful creature of the air was rigged and slipped over tile side to-day without a hitch, and when, under the push of many hands it slid out on to the smooth white surface uninjured, and carrying with it all the hopes of many months, a great cheer went up that was as spontaneous and grateful as the hearts of the many willing men could make It. It was the first actual visualisation of all the long labours by the expedition’s members, and they felt that their work had at last had its first actual reward. Merely a thing of steel and wood and fabric, with a purring giant in its bow, it represents an accomplishment, and even though no great amount of exploration may be done this year, that airplane is the symbol of everything the expedition has meant to those who have given to it their entire energy and work. The unloading of the plane was begun yesterday, when the heavy crate in which the fuselage rested was lifted and swung athwart the ship, so that it rested on the bulwark and a pile of timbers. Then the bolts were unscrewed, and the sides were taken off to reveal its clean symmetrical lines. ASPIRATIONS TYPIFIED There is something about an airplane which typifies more than anything else to some people the aspirations of man, and Polar explorations are conceived and founded on lofty ideals, and represent some impelling forces in life. That was what that airplane meant when it was revealed, and when it had been carefully slung over the side, with men holding grimly to the guy-ropes and protecting it with their bodies, lest it be injured. It was a piece of work of which everyone might feel proud, from the men who ran the winch, to the mechanic out in the snow, who dug himself into a hole and wrapped a rope around him so that it might not slip. The first test flight will be in a few hours, when the plane will be taken up by Captain Alton Parker, of the Marine Corps, and put through its paces. The plane will fly over * country which never before has witnessed any means of travel less primitive than Jiau’ing with dogs. Its motor is being warmed up now, and the final checking of the valves and the inspection of parts is being made. The wings were carried over the side on the shoulders J f the men, and down a slippery plank, with not a single mishap or scrape of the tender surface. Once, when it was thought that the downward weight was a little too much for the men below, a man took a headlong dive from a high rail to the snow, landing sprawling on his face, but jumping up in a second to put his shoulder under the weight and give just the added holding power that was needed. FLYING DIFFICULTIES The plane will be taken to a base nine miles from here as soon as it is tested, and though it may be flown hack and forth a few times with loads between ship and shore, it w'ill be kept there, where it will be secure if the ice goes out suddenly.

AY OF WHALES, Tuesday, this silent white land looked lenomenon which appeared to raceful shape with blue outon the ice, and is now roaring When Captain Amundsen landed here 18 years ago to-day, the bay ice was all out, but to-day it is as solid apparently as when, we arrived, so flying between the ship and the shore must be done cautiously if the plane is not to get on a piece of floating ice so small that a take-off would be impossible. Another thing which limits flying is the extraordinary visibility down here. On days when it seems fairly clear it is almost impossible to distinguish the surface, and a man walking on sjiis will find himself stumbling over obstacles which he cannot see. The result is that landing, except for a few days of the month, is always risky, as there are no shadows to indicate undulations on the surface. This difficulty will be obviated at the base by many flags to aid the pilot in judging Jus distance from the ground, but there are days when no artificial assistance is of the slightest effect. Then flying is out of the question. However, Commander Byrd and his pilots believe that a number of important explorations and mapping flights may be made before winter storms put an end to the operations.