The Alaska daily empire., 1919-05-20
HAWKER'S PLANE PRObABLYLO LOST
 IS THE OPINION
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they declared, without provision for failure, were inflated vests, designed to keep them afloat a few hours. should their craft plunge into the sea. Harry G. Hawker and Lieuten ant Commander Mackenzie Grieye, his skipper, who were encased in full-length, non -sinkable suits, had a further degree of assurance in an ingeniously built boat, shaped so as to form the rear hood of their fusilage and proved by experiment. to possess considerable seawor. hl ness and outfitted with provision and signalling devices.
 Before hopping off," Raynham ard his companion explained their fail ure to take precautions for landing other than the usual equipment fo' a cross-country flight by asserting that they expected "to fly across the Atlantic, not to fall into it. Raynham admitted the chances of rescue in mid-ocean were slight, at least, and said he and Grieve were putting everything into winning" Unlike the huge craft which the American naval crews used to fly to Europe, the planes which scared out over the Atlantic were overland craft-nothing more. They have nc pontoons to keep them afloat, nor permit of towing in case of an acci dent. They are small biplanes oi the scout type, Hawkers Sopwith having wing spread of 46 feet. with a length over all Of 31 feet while Raynham's Martinsyde, which he wrecked soon aftor starting, re sembling a bumblebee in flight, meas ures only Al feet across the wings with a fusilage 26 feet long. Both carry a single motor, the "Sopwith is rated at $50 horse power and the Martinsyde at 275.
 Hawker's craft, rated at 100 miles at hour, was expected to attain 1Of miles with it's undercarrage aban doned by an automatic releasing ar rangement, while Raynham asserted his belief that his engine capable Of making 124 miles with normal load, would do 110 at least, with the extra cargo of fuel required for the ocean flight.
 For communication with ships at sea, both machines carry wireless of limited range, the Sopwith having both sending and receiving appar atus, while the Martinsyde has only the latter, which will serve to pick up information as to position and weather conditions from passing yes sells.
 The aviators, contendcrs for the London Daily Mails 10000 prize for the first transatlantic flight com pleted in 2. hours, announc d be fore the start t'.eir intention 10 lanG at Brockland's Airdome, near Lon don. Hawker's navigator expected to play eastward about 500 miles and turn into the transatlantic ship ping lane. Raynham's steersman, on the other hand, intended to steer directly, for the Irish coat, thus say ing, he claimed, several hundred miles of indirect flying.
 Both navigators declared they would depend upon their sextants and compasses for bearings, together with especially drawn tables for cal culations. Heading east through the night, they expected to meet the sun on it's westward way at time to give them good horizon and op portunity for figuring out their posi- tion During the night, they said they would shoot the stars" and from their observations calculate DO sition. while the sun would be their guide by day Both pilots expected to fly at an average altitude of 3.00c feet, though the atmosphere condi ditions would vary this plan.
 Start of the attempt to cross the ocean through the air found the peO- pie of St Johns wishing the airmen God-speed but shaking their heads in doubt All the assurance of fly. ing sons, returned from the fighting fronts, could not assure them that the man essaying the great adven- ture were not flying into the face of clements which would drive them down to watery graves. The un- known fate of Andre, who disap peared in the Far North years ago in an attempt to make balloon passage over the pole, was coupled with the failure of Major Wood in the Shorts machine in the Irish sea recently as indicating the probable result of the race for the honor of pioneer crossing.
 Of the flyers, three are British one Australian by birth. Hawker the Australian. is -27 years old and mechanic who rose to the rank of flyer under the tutelage of Sopwith one of the earliest of British airmen Tn 1912 Hawker made an endurance record with a plane patterned after that of the American Wright Broth CTS and later attained what was claimed to be world altitude rec ord-2S.5OO feet. During the war he was engaged as an experimental flyer assisting in the development of Sopwith machines
 i (,r;ava combines the qualifications