FLIGHT POSTPONED

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 833, 29 November 1929, Page 9

FLIGHT POSTPONED

PARLIAMENT MEMBERS DISAPPOINTED BRITAIN’S BIG AIRSHIPS LONDON, Thursday. The flight arranged for members of Parliament, in the airship Riot has been definitely postponed until the New Year. It is improbable that the airship will go aloft again before the spring. A British official wireless message says the Secretary of State for Air, Lord Thomson, referred to the matter in the House of Lords last evening. He said that in the period of 16 days during which the flight might have taken place, there were only two days that were unsuitable, but those happened to be the days selected for the outing. Last Saturday was one of the days in question. The conditions were remarkably bad, so much so that the Sritish battleship Malaya was prevented for 30 hours from getting into Plymouth Harbour. All along the east and south coasts shipping was held up, A 20,000-ton liner was weatherbound at Liverpool. Football matches were abandoned and the conditions generally were entirely abnormal. The Minister said he would not fix a definite date again for the flight of the members of Parliament. Asked why the Air Ministry had had two airships. RIOO and RlOl, built simultaneously. Lord Thomson said It was trying two sorts of designs. The differences were very marked, notably in that RlOl was equipped with Diesel engines, whereas RIOO had ordinary petrol engines. RIOI FOR AUSTRALIA HOPES OF LONG JOURNEY IN SPRING Reed. 11 a.m. LONDON, Thursday. It is understood that the Air Ministry has every hope that the RlOl will go to Australia in the spring. It is also hoped that an Anglo-Australian airplane service will be operating in 1930.