RlOO GOING WELL

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1037, 30 July 1930, Page 9

RIOO GOING WELL

PROGRESS OF FLIGHT OVER ATLANTIC MAKING SPEED OF 60 Reed. 11.15 a.m. LONDON, Tuesday. The British airship RIOO left Cardingtou on her flight to Canada at 3.45 a.m. today. She is now speeding toward the open Atlantic, having passed over Ireland. Squadron-Leader Booth wirelessed that everything is O.K. The airship made good progress today on her voyage to Montreal. She was reported by wireless at intervals during the day and this evening gave her position as well out over the Atlantic north-west of Ireland. The weather was lino but rather cold. The airship was making a speed of 60 miles an hour. A message from New York says officials at the weather bureau there predict bad flying conditions over the eastern half of the ocean, with showers and adverse winds. POOR FORECAST Clearing skies and moderate northeast winds are predicted west of 60 degrees west longitude and as far as Nova Scotia. From there to Montreal poor conditions are forecast. Commander Sir C. D. Burney, of the Airship Guarantee Company, which constructed Te RIOO, said he anticipated that the flight would be more comfortable than a voyage in an Atlantic liner. If the airship could do the outward journey, as he hoped, in 60 hours and return in 50 hours it would prove that they were “getting atop of things,” and that the time is approaching v.-hen airships will be a commercial means of transport. Commander Burney’s Idea of future airships was that they would have a displacement double that of the RLOO and travel 85 to 90 miles an hour, cruising speed. They would then be able to guarantee a regular paying service across the Atlantic.