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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0042.PDF
JANUARY 19, 1928 WMM381B New Zealand Airmen Still Missing HOPE has been abandoned of the safety- of the two New Zealand airmen, Capt. Hood and Lieut. Moncrieff (Capt. Knight, according.to some reports received, did not start with the others), who attempted to fly from Sydney to Welling- ton, a sea flight of 1,450 miles, on January 10. Their Ryan monoplane was reported to have been seen off the New Zealand coast but investigation did not confirm this. Time signals, presumably from the machine, suggested a possible descent near the coast, whilst a landing at some remote spot inland is still thought probable. Warships have searched 24,000 square miles of ocean in vain and have-now returned to port. A search inland is being continued. Opposition to this flight was first raised by the Australian Government owing to the type of machine used, but later an exception was made in this case. African Survey Flight THE second mishap to Sir Alan Cobham's " Singapore " flying-boat is expained more fully in a later report, which states that a gale of exceptional violence dragged the machine from its moorings, but fortunately it beached itself on the only strip of sand in the region. It proved necessary, however, for relays of R.A.F. men to hold the machine in position throughout the night, whilst wading waist-deep in the sea. Bad weather persisted the next day, and then it was decided to head into the gale, and with the engines full out and the aid of a tug this was accomplished. A rowing boat with a R.A.F. crew was pitched on to the " Singapore " as it rode to sea, and the men had to lie flat to avoid the propellers. Three were thrown oveiboard, but were able to swim back. Eventually the " Singapore" was drifted to the sheltered bay, and firmly secured. Only minor repairs were necessary. Great Flying-Boat Cruise THE four R.A.F. " Southampton " flying-boats which left England last October for Singapore and Australia flew from Colombo to Trmcomalee, Ceylon, on January 12. French South American Tour CAPT. COSTES and Lieut. Le Brix are now flying from South America to New York. They reached Panama on January 13 from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and were greeted by Col. Lindbergh, who had flown from Colon for the purpose. Costes and Le Brix were the first two airmen to make the non-stop flight across the South Atlantic, and since then they have been touring South America. Earlier reports stated that on reaching New York they would attempt an Atlantic flight to Paris. tJ.S.A. to Nicaragua Non-Stop Flight MAJOR LOUIS BOURNE, U.S. Marine Corps, with another Marine officer and a sergeant, made the first non-stop flight from the United States to Nicaragua on January 14 in a Fokker monoplane. Starting from Washington on January ] 2 they flew to Miami, Florida, and stopped for one day to over- haul the three engines. Then at 5.31 a.m. on Saturday, they took off in a very thick fog and crossed the Caribbean Sea to Honduras, and then flew overland to Managua, landing finally on the aerodrome, where Col. Lindbergh came down a week before. The distance covered was 1,150 miles. Their machine will be used in Nicaragua for transporting troops, supplies and the wounded, together with another Fokker monoplane already in the country. American Attempt on Duration Record MR. CLARENCE CHAMBERLIN, who flew the Atlantic with Mr. Levine, failed on January 14 to beat the duration record lay 30 mins. 7 sees. He was accompanied by Mr. Roger -Williams and remained in the air over Long Island for 51 hrs. 52 mins. 24 sees., which was 40 mins. longer than his previous record in April last, when Mr. Bert Acosta was his companion. Since then the German airmen, Herr Risticz and Herr Edzard put up a record of 52 hrs. 23 mins. in a Junkers monoplae, which is still unbeaten. A petrol leak occurred during Mr. Chamberlin's latest attempt, as well as .other defects. He expects to try again any moment. Champions of the Air LADY BAILEY has been awarded the honour of champion .airwoman of the World in 1927 by the International League of Aviators. She is the holder of the altitude record for ,light aeroplanes of the two-seater class and President of the Suffolk Aeroplane Club. The claims of Miss Ruth Elder and Madame Lille Dilleuz were defeated as their flights ,over part of the Atlantic were undertaken with the assistance of men pilots. Col. Charles Lindbergh was proclaimed the champion airman for 1927. Other airmen were made awards as representing their various countries:—Great Britain— Flight-Lieut. S. N. Webster, for winning the 1927 Schneider Trophy Race. France—Lieut. Costes, for his South Atlantic flight. Italy—The Marquis de Pinedo, for his South Atlantic flight and tour of the United States. Spain—Senor Llorente, for his flight to Spanish Guiana. Holland—Lieut. Koppen, for his flight to Batavia and return. War in Iraq R.A.F. PUNITIVE operations against the Wanabi raiders have begun. Using Ur of the Chaldees as their base, four squadrons were sent out under the command of Air Commo- dore Higgins. On reaching Artawaiyah, the home of the marauding Sheikh, Faisal ed Dowish, they found that the majority of the population had vanished, leaving only a few women and children. Later reports stated that the Sheikh had been captured by Ibn Saoud, King of Hedjaz ; so if this is true it should make the Air Force expedition unnecessary. America Adopts Slotted Wing THE Navy Department has stated that all American Army and Navy aeroplanes will be equipped with the Handley-Page automatic slot device. The Government has obtained the rights for this from the English company. Aerodrome in Rhodesia AN aerodrome is to be constructed at Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia, and will be included in the standard route for annual flights by Royal Air Force detachments. Chief of Danish Air Force Dead THE death is announced of Col. J. P. Koch, Chief of the Danish Royal Air Force. He was a well-known explorer, and took part in several Greenland expeditions, which included the 1900 Amdrup expedition. Italian Air Force Honours Afghan King DURING the King of Afghanistan's visit to Rome on January 10, the Italian Air Force gave a brilliant aerial display in his honour. About fifty machines, comprising fighters and Caproni bombers, performed evolutions in massed formation at a very low altitude. The King and the Queen, who were escorted by the King and Queen of Italy and Signor Balbo, Under-Secretary for Air, afterwards inspected the Italian machines which were lined up at the Ciampino aerodrome. Loening Prize for Students GROVER LOENING, the well-known American aircraft designer, has established a prize fund of $5,000 to be used as an annual award to winners of an inter-collegiate aviation contest, to be held each year under the auspices of the National Aero- nautic Association. This contest will be open to all students of American Colleges who own aeroplanes. Brussels-Belgian Congo Air Service. ON January 14 M. Lippens, Belgian Minister of Railways and Communications, presided at the opening meeting of a Commission to consider the opening of an air line between Belgium and the Belgian Congo, which, it is hoped, would start in 1930. Armstrong-Siddeleys in Canada. THE Times' Ottawa correspondent says that Armstrong- Siddeley Motors, a subsidiary of Armstrong-Whitworth, which obtained a contract for eight fighting aeroplanes ordered for the Canadian Air Force, has entered into arrange- ments for the manufacture of parts of the aircraft engines by the West Plant Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company. Twenty Years Ago Extract from "The Auto" Precursor ofFLIGHT), Jan. 18,1908 :— " Henry Farman's Record Flight.—An immense stride has been made in aeronautics by the winning of the Deutsch- Archdeacon Prize. . . . The Grand Prix d'Aviation of 50,000 francs offered by M. Deutsch de la Meurth and M. Ernest Archdeacon . . . to be awarded to the inventor of a flying machine who shall first accomplish a flight of one kilometre in a closed circuit without touching the ground, has been officially won (on Jan. 13, 1908) at Issy-les- Moulineaux by Mr. Henry Farman, in his first and single flight made at 10.15 (that morning). . . . The duration of the flight, according to the time officially taken by M. H. Kapferer, was 1 min. 28 sees., and the average elevation was between four and six metres from the ground." 42
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