IN THE AIR.

Taihape Daily Times, 21 May 1919, Page 5

IN THE AIR.

HAWKER FAILS, MACHINE FALLS INTO THE SEA. FORTY MILES FROM IRELAND. NEW YORK, May 19 The London correspondent of the New York Times states: — The Admiralty has officially announced that Harry G. Hawker, who left St. John’s, Newfoundland, yesterday, in an attempt to iiy across to Ireland, landing at Brooklands aerodrome if his petrol was sufficient, just failed to accomplish his self-appointed task, and was picked up at sea forty miles west of Loop Head, on the coast of County Clare, at the mouth of the river Shannon,

Another London message, however, states that the machine was found in the sea in the position already stated, but that the bodies of Hawker and his companion, Commander Grieve, had not been found. FATE STILL DOUBTFUL.

The Admiralty announces that Hawker’s machine went down 49 miles west of Loop Head, at the mouth of the Shannon. All ships have, been advised by wireless. No information as to whether the pilots have been rescued Is available. NO HOPE FOE HAWKER Received May 21, 9.0 a.m. LONDON, May 20. All hope of finding Hawker has been abandoned. There is a gale in the Atlantic. THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION.

Received May 21, 9.0 a.m. NEW YORK, May 20.|

The St. Johns’ correspondent of the New York Times said it was the presence of an American seaplane at Trcpasscy. which strengthened Hawker’s determination to attempt the TransAtlantic flight He h'oped the full moon would bring favourable weather.

REFUSAL TO ABANDON HOPE

BY A NOTED AIRMAN,

leeeived May 21. 9.4 sa.m. LONDON, May 20

Pickles, a noted airman, refuses to abandon hope, and thinks Hawker may 'have been picked up by a vessel not fitted with wireless, or he might be | afloat in his own machine 's lifeboat. Tickles attributes'the mishap to exhaustion of petijol owing to head winds I encountered during flic last, six; 1 & hundred miles. The fact that Hawker started in unfavourable weather proves that he was out, not for the prize, but to give Britain the honour of the first crossing.

DIRIGIBLE TO MAKE ATTEMPT,

Received May 21, 9.0 a.m

NEW YORK. May 18

It is officially announced that the naval dirigible, cabled on May 11th, is ready to start its flight from New York to Newfoundland on the first favourable opportunity. Upon the success of this undertaking depends the plans for the Trans-Atlantic flight t'o England via the, Azores.

HAWKER REPORTED AT SEA

LONDON, May 19

Admiral Tapper, commanding at Queenstown, having received a wireless massage that Hawker was down, despatched a wireless to a warship at sea to proceed immediately and search the area around jtosition 52.30 north 11, west, for a radius of thirty-eight miles. Limerick received a. wireless at 5.30, stasng that Hawker had been compelled to descend to the sea one hundred miles off Niglo Bay. He was evidently heading for Shannon estuary. Official confirmation of this was lacking at 9 o’clock.

The Admiralty (announces- that -a Sop with machine came down 40 miles west of Loop Head, near the mouth of the Shannon. All ships* have boon advised by wireless. There is no information as to whether the pilots were rescued.

NO NEWS OF HAWKER

LONDON, May 20

The Admiralty has otdered many vessels to proceed to sea to assist in the search for Hawker. No success was reported at .11 last night. The search continued all night. Admiral Tupper, at Queenstown, in a message early this morning, states that the earlier report concerning the (descent of a Sopwith plane forty miles off the coast is now considered unreliable.

In the House of Commons, on the motion for adjournment, Mr W. Elliatt condemned the Government ’s inaction. The House and country would feel the Government had been lamentably remiss and desperately careless alike' of the country honour and the life of a very gallant gentleman.

Mr J. W. Pratt, one of the Lords of the Treasury, replied that he did not SCO how the Government could be held responsible. He could only promise to convey to the Government what had been said.

Captain Wedgwood Bonn asked what steps the Government had taken to assist Hawker during flight by the provision of pilot or rescue ships.

NEW YORK, May 19.

The New York Times’ London correspondent states: A later wireless to the Admiralty says that Hawker descended to the sea near the Shannon. His machine has not yet been picked up.

A SUCCESSFUL AIRMAN. Harry C. Hawker has veen very successful in exhibition and prize flights He won a prize of £IOOO given by the Daily Mail for an around Great B’ritain com petition _ He went to Australia in January, 1914, and gave exhibition flights at Caulfield (Victoria), and Randwick. His machine then was a Sopwith biplane, of small dimensions, engined with an 80 h.p. Gnome. When Hawker took up aviation at first, he spent a year in England, learning all that could be taught in those days (1912-13) and in the course of his studentship he made a British aviation record by flying for eight hours twent y-three minutes with out a stop. After that he went on, and made what were then height records for pilot alone, pilot and one passenger, pilot and two passengers, and pilot and three passengers. Just before the war broke out he succeeded in a flight around Great Britain on a Sopwith seaplane. It will be noted that Hawker pinned his faith to a machine fitted with engines of but 375 horse-power. This is quite a smallpowered vehicle compared with the other competitors. CONDITIONS OF THE FLIGHT The proprietors of .the Daily Mail offered the sum of £IO,OOO to be awarded to the airman who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States, Canada, or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland, in 72 consecutive hours. The flight may be made either way across the Atlantic/ The competition is open to persons of any nationality holding an airman’s certificate issued by the International Aeronautical Federation and duly entered on the competitors’ register of the Royal Aero Club. The entrance fee is £IOO. No pant of the entrance fee is to be received by the Daily Mail. Only one aircraft may be used for each attempt. It may be repaired cn route. It will be so marked before starting the other side. Any intermediate stoppages may only be made on the water. Towing is not prohibited. Start and finish: The start may he made from land of water, but in the latter ease the competitor ■must cross tlie coastline in flight. The time will be taken at the moment of crossing the coastline in flight or touching land If the pilot has at any time to leave the aircraft and board a ship he must resume his flight from ■ approximately the same point at which he went on hoard.

THE MACHINE USED BY . HAWKER.

Discussing the various entrants for the Trans-Atlantic competition, a London paper said recently: While the majority of constructors have assumed that such an essay as the flight of the Atlantic is practical only with large machines, the Eopwith firm, which was the first in the world to do notable things with small biplanes, has entered a machine to be piloted by Mr Harry Hawker, the twcnty-sevcn-year-old Australian, which has only one 12cylinder, watercooled, nominal 375 h.p. Rolls-Royce “ Eagle” engine, the overall length of the aircraft being but 3.lft and the width only 46ft din. The petrol tank capacity is 400 gallons, against a consumption of 16 gallons an hour. According to a test of nine hours’ flying, already made with the machine, and in the course of which over 900 miles wore traversed, a fraction over a third of that volume of petrol was burnt. Therefore, the calculation is that the fuel capacity would enable the biplane, which is equipped with wheels, not floats, to fly for 25 hours. It has a proved speed of 100 miles an

hour. At that speed on the proved rate of fuel consumption it would take 19?, ?hours to Ay over the chosen course. By contrast, an airship would take at least twice as long. The Sopwith biplans is a well-tried type adopted from the firm’s war pianos, while the Rolls-Royce engine is a type that has'been standardised and issued to the services by the thousand; consequently such an entry, differs enormously from anything possible before the war. Then machines and everything about ;:.n> air- rapt capable of attempting such a Hat were experimental. Todav one discuses standard material and tested pHut. The fact that the nearer such aruraft were to fly eastward to Eng’ond the lighter its load w >uld become i, gradually consumed petrol and gave ',•!? engine increasingly

easier work. The calculated speed of the machine does not involve the maximum strains to which such machinery can be submitted, as in fighting in the air. On the contrary, everything is planned for the engine to work at its normal . &s distinct from maximum, power. Perhaps the most notable feature in which the Sopwith biplane differs from standard practice . is the ingenious manner in which a j lifeboat is furnished to form a fairing | of the fuselage, from which it can be j released instantly from the pilot’s seat. | Certainly this is a more original and j practical way than equipping a machine j with floats. Floats arc excessively j heavy in proportion to the rest of the j gear, which absorbs much power in the ; matter of head resistance, and are of , doubtful value in the event of a forced | landing in mid-Atlantic. The period j during which floats support a machine j in such circumstances of alighting, or | in such circumstances is extremely i limited, while, should the circumstances j of alighting or the condition of the j sea surface be in the least unfavour- j able, the floats might be broken and j rendered useless. !