THE PACIFIC FLIGHT

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 49, 22 June 1928, Page 5

THE PACIFIC FLIGHT

VALUE OF RADIO — Vrom a Press report of the reception of the trans-Pacific aviators in Sydney we take the following tribute to the value of radio in, aerial navigation. and as a means of communication, Deseribing the arrival,.the account says: "Te was a wonderful scene, and thousands who did not witness it heard it described in detail over the Wireless. And when one comes to think of it, what a wonderful part Wireless Las played right throughont the flight. Never for more than a quarter of an hour was the ’plane out of touch with land. This is regarded as the most spectacular success for wireless in an era when the world is marvelling at radio achievements. Mr. Warner was able to keep his apparatus going the whole time, even as the neroplane battled its way through pitch-dark nights and was buffeted hither and thither by terrific wind and rainstorms. Never in the history of aviation or of radio has there been such a romantic achievement. It mattered not whether the aeroplane, in dodging the storms and almost impenetrable clouds, was forced to within a few bundred feet of the water, or compelled to rise to great altitudes, turning sharply to right or to left, Darner let the world know what was happening. ‘Trained radio receivers knew instinctively, by the tone of the messages and the manner of their transmissions, almost every movement of the ‘plane. And even listeners comfortably seated in their own homes heard the Morse signuls as they were relayed by a Sydney station. They heard, too, the constant roar of the engine as the plane was coming from Suva to Brisbane. Thousands of people sat up all night so as not to miss the progress reports. , As a result of the flight, too, the world kus probably entered upon a new ern in gerial mivigation. Through the ageney of Lyon, Kingsford Smith was aware of his true position at all stages of the long flight of 6326 nautical miles, except for two brief intervuls. This has probably revolutionised fiying by increasing the margin of safety, os wireless has increased the safety o£ sea travel in the last decade."