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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0892.PDF
894 FLIGHT. AUGUST 30, 1934. cabled it to the High Commissioner in London. From this end it proceeded, via Dominions Office and Foreign Office, to respective ambassadors, envoys, and charges d'affaires in the countries concerned, to be passed, in turn, to the appropriate departments in each country. The replies went back to the Melbourne committee through the same circumlocutory channels. In a comprehensive report to the Council, Wing Com- Cole refers, among many other matters, to the difficulty in drafting conditions for the Speed and Handicap races, chief of which was lack of precedent "It was recog- nised," he states, " that whatever conditions were framed they would be subjected to severe criticism on matters of policy. For the purpose of safety, control was compulsory and stopping places were prescribed along the route. The main reason was to narrow the area ot search in case of mishap. The choice of Charleville as a control point has been criticised, but the committee decided on it to compel aircraft to avoid the Central Australian Desert." It has been argued that the Charleville control is superfluous, and that an aeroplane which can fly 2,553 miles non-stop from London to Baghdad should be allowed to fly direct from Darwin to Melbourne, a distance of less than 2,000 miles. May I recall that in 1929 Kingsford Smith and three companions were lost for several days in North-West Australia, and that, although they were eventually rescued alive, another party which set out from Sydney to search for them were less fortunate. Charleville Control Necessary Central Australia holds many grim secrets. It is a locality to be avoided at night by international racing pilots who scorn the use of wireless equipment and frown on the regulation which compels them to carry an emer- gency water ration. Charleville was the original southern terminal of the Qantas service, which in 1922 started opera- tions from Longreach. In 1926 the company obtained an extension to Normanton (Gulf of Carpentaria) in the north, and in 1929 to Brisbane on the east coast Its final exten- sions, granted in 1934, are t° Cootamundra (N.S.W.) in the south and to Singapore in the west. For the benefit of competitors in the MacRobertson race, all Customs regulations have been waived, subject to foreign aircraft leaving Australia within three months of arrival. Health formalities will be brief. Examination at Darwin will occupy about three minutes. The one require- ment, after "contact with the East," is a certificate of immunity from smallpox. The Koepang-Melbourne route has been surveyed from the air. Ground arrangements have been finalised at all checking points and controls. The Naval Board is sending its supply ship, H.M.A.S. Moresby, to the Timor Sea on searchlight patrol. The garrison at Darwin will floodlight the whitewashed wall of the gaol. The local aerodrome has been enlarged for the safety of competitors landing at high speed. Wing Com. Cole states that a careful estimate of the duration of the Speed race indicates that the winner will probably land at Darwin on the afternoon of Monday, October 22 (assuming departure from London on October 20), cross the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria during the hours of darkness (Aus- tralia knows neither twilight nor the Daylight Saving Bill), and reach Melbourne on Tuesday, October 23, before day- break. Official reception is planned accordingly. The chairman of the Air Race Committee sends us an advance copy of the Koepang-Melbourne route to which final data is being added before issue to all competitors as an aid to navigation (see p. 891). The map details a system of aerodromes, landing grounds, safety precautions,, and guiding and beacon lights both on land and across the 512 miles of Timor Sea, where the light-path thrown from the Moresby Will be extended by searchlights mounted on every available lugger and junk of the North-West pearling fleet^ For night-lighting of controls and checking points the committee has secured a large supply of portable search lights, floodlights, beacons, neon tubes and kerosene flares, in addition to adequate stocks of red, white and green Verey cartridges for signalling. Wing Com. Cole reminds us that the Northern route runs through Australia's most sparsely populated area. Covering 523,620 sq. m., the Northern Territory is five times as large as Great Britain and Ireland, and has a population (according to the latest census) of only 4,616, with a high percentage of aboriginals. It is devoid of engineering facilities, electric power and direct land-line communication. In many districts it is also short of water, food and accommodation. Aerodromes in the interior cannot be floodlit, but the committee has evolved a com- prehensive system of kerosene-flare paths which will operate at Newcastle Waters, Cloncurry, Charleville and Narromine, and has prepared a separate chart of these lor guidance of competitors. Another shows the system of communications between Singapore and Melbourne. Communications and Lighting In its report the committee states that, to decrease delay in reception, by overland telegraph, of messages regarding competitors' movements, it has arranged for the use of W/T stations at Darwin and Rockbank (Victoria). The latter is remotely controlled from Amalgamated Wire- less headquarters in Melbourne. Intermediate stations will be manned by the R.A.A.F. Wireless Reserve. A mobile R.A.A.F. W/T station will be on duty at Charle- ville. At a cost of £1,500 to itself, but without charge to the committee, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia), Ltd., has established direction-finding equipment at the Darwin, Charleville and Melbourne stations. Marking and lighting the fmishing-iine on Flemington Racecourse has received special attention. Obstruction lights on the railways bounding the racecourse to north and south have been installed by the Victorian Railways Department. The finishing-line proper will consist of neon bars ground-sunk between two 6ft. illuminated pylons. Various other arrangements completed by the com- mittee, "but not itemised in the report owing to their comparative unimportance," relate to collection and transmission of meteorological data, instructions to con- trol officers, and provision of interpreters. A special sub- committee has formulated a general scheme for reception of the winning competitor at Flemington Racecourse, and it is hoped that Prince George will be present. In conversation with foreign entrants during a recent tour which extended to Scandinavia, and from corre- spondence with America, I have heard nothing but praise for the work of the organising committee In many cases financial backing has not been forthcoming; in others there is uncertainty whether aircraft still under construc- tion will be delivered on time. At least three American entrants who, according to "New York Correspondents," had withdrawn in disgust at the regulations, have since written me that they have every intention of competing ; while a fourth, J. H. Wright, in a letter dated August 16, informs me that he is being helped to start in the race by the Utica Civic Flight Committee, which has just been formed to assist him "financially and in other ways." The much-discussed matter of transport from America is in that country's own hands. More than two months ago the U.S. Navy Department was approached on tlv: subject. It was asked to provide free accommodation 111 one of its aircraft carriers for all competing machines and their crews. This would solve the preliminary difficulty* and expense of getting them across the Atlantic, packing, freight and insurance charges, and the labour of unpacking and reassembly in England. The proposal is still under consideration. As-an international gesture there is much to recommend it. (News of entrants will be found on p. 910.)
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