THe AIRWAY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 633, 9 April 1929, Page 14

THe AIRWAY

By “THE ROC"

IS it possible for a pilot seated in the cockpit of his machine a few thousand feet up to pick out a missing plane from the tangled undergrowth and clumps of trees which stretch before him?” This is one of the many questions asked by John Citizen when he reads of the scouring searches being made by airmen for the Southern Cross and its gallant crew in the wild and rugged country of the North-West of Australia.

nothing really definite is known about the nature of the land in which these intrepid airmen are expected to have landed, it is generally assumed that the country is rough and inaccessible. If such is the case, numerous difficulties confront the crews of the searching planes. Height and visibility form obstacles, for it is not an easy task to distinguish a disabled airplane in the dark stretches far below. From a height of 3,000 or 4,000 feet pilots, arid especially observers, have Quite a good range and may see ahead for 30 or 40 miles. But scanning the areas ahead to pick out land-marks or other objects is not a problem to be compared with prying directly down below the machine Into darkened and camouflaged depths to sort out a single airplane. The Southern Cross would appear a very small object from a few thousand feet up, while with its particular dull colour the monoplane, if nestled in an area where rocks, scrub and trees stretch for miles, would be practically invisible. It would be the obvious thing for Kingsford Smith and his comrades, if they are not injured, to show signals. A fire during the night and the burning of green timber during the day in order to make a good screeii of smoke, would be effective signals, easily picked up by a pilot some miles away. So far the searchers have failed to pick-up any signals, and thus the solution of the mystery may rest in one of three factors: the search parties are tcouring the wrong portion of the country or the airmen are either suffering the injuries of a forced landing or are lying lpw, afraid to make smoke signals in the fear of attracting hostile natives. But with Kingsford Smith’s ingenuity and experience as a pilot one would imagine the second suggestion to be the least probable of the three, for, however Lad the conditions are surrounding a forced landing, a good pilot can usually manage to save his life and other occupants of the plane. HOW IT IS DONE When a pilot Is flying low over some rough and rugged country most unsuitable for landing and the engine begins to falter, there is a strong temptation, unless it is evident that something is badly damaged or broken, to keep the machine up. Giving in to such a temptation has been the cause of many fatal accidents. Seldom does the engine pick up again, and the machine loses flying speed,” stalls, and dives out of control to the ground. When engine trouble develops while flying low there is a recognised golden rule—choose the best landing spot offering, no matter what it may be, and make the best of a bad business. It will in all probability mean serious damage to the machine, but in the majority of cases will certainly mean a saving of life. Most of the shock will be absorbed by the engine and the frame of the plane. The pilot is perhaps faced with the most difficult of forced landings when the engine stalls while he is flying over mountainous country covered with clouds. The safest thing to do in such circumstances would be to jump with a parachute, but unfortunately the parachute, as a safety device, has not taken on to any extent in either Australia or New Zealand. Therefore, the one thing left to do Is for the pilot to stick to his machine and glide gently down into the clouds, knowing only too well that sooner or later he will collide with something.

Under such circumstances an experienced man will keep control of himself and will have a good chance of escaping with his life. By sensing the speed and level of his machine he will keep sinking gradually, and thus when his eyes do meet some obstacle, such as a tree, with his machine properly under control, he will crash at a low enough speed to save his life and other occupants of the plane. Thus, may be realised the chances for Kingsford Smith and Co. in .he case of a forced landing. And if there is a pilot capable of bringing the Southern Cross down in a forced landing to save the life of its occupants, that pilot is Kingsford Smith.