Home-Made Airplane Wrecked at Rotorua

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 969, 12 May 1930, Page 1

Home-Made Airplane Wrecked at Rotorua

PILOT UNINJURED FLUNG FROM COCKPIT From Our Own Correspondent ROTORUA, Today. The home-made Whakatane plane, with its owner, Mr. John Allison, as pilot, made a trial flight yesterday, reaching an altitude of 500 feet. A perfect landing was made to refuel, but on rising again no altitude could be gained, and the plane crashed soon after, and was wrecked. On rising, the plane cleared a tree and disappeared to the eastward, flying very low, but while the large crowd was cheering on the ground, Mr. Allison was in difficulties out of their sight. He found it impossible to clear the trees near Steele’s farm, and turned his plane in an effort to land. A haystack prevented his landing in the first field, as he anticipated, and he had to attempt to cross the scrub to the next field, but his left wing became entangled in some teatree, and the plane tilted, flinging Mr. Allison from the cockpit. The plane pivoted round, crashing into a shallow creek. The wings and benzine tank were crushed into the cockpit, and had the pilot remained in his seat he must have been seriously hurt. As it was, he was merely bruised and shaken. The crowd on the aviation ground, some five miles away, was anxiously waiting for the plane to come into view, but hundreds, fearing trouble, rushed in motor-cars along the Te Ngae Road. Mr. Allison was found calmly surveying the wreck, covered with mud. His building associate, Mr Victor Allen, was soon on the scene, and the plane was dismantled and removed. Mr. Allison had hoped to take the plane back to Whakatane this week for exhibition at the show. He admitted that the engine was not powerful enough to lift the plane with the full capacity of fuel. He was deeply disappointed, but has plans prepared for a better model.