The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-17
LONDONERS TAKE
THE FLIGHT CO0LLY


seals ON the marked parts OF the biplane
were untouched and that she had other
wise observed the regulations imposed
for the winning of the Daily Mail prize
of $4,000.
More and more details Of the flight
and the landing are slowly Hitering into
London. When the two weary and
chilled fiiers climbed out OF their
wrecked plane Louf. Brown was still
sufficiently alive to say triumphantly TO
the pilot
what do you think Of that for fancy
navigsting?'
VERY good" said Capt. Alcock, and
they gravely shook hands on II. The
feat Of Lieut. Brown In bringing the bl-
plane across the ocean 'on only three
sights wss n personal triumph Of the first
ma gnitude. for some doubt had been cast
on the ability Of Lieut. Brown. an ANA
tetir navigator, who had studied the SCI
ence only as a hobby. TO guide his craft
to Ireland. And they had landed In the
very shadow Of the great wireless sta
ton for which they had announced In
Newfoundland they were aiming. .
Brown slightly IniuRea.
Lieut.. Brown was slightly injured on
the nose and mouth by striking the FOR
ward part Of tha cockpit during the
bumpy landing. Both men were tempo
rarity totally deaf In the stiffness fol-
lowing the stopping of the engines and
were too dazed to stand upright or walk
steadily They speedily recovered. how
ever. and walked to the wireless station.
Here they distributed as souvenirs soggy
cigarettes they had carried with them
across the ocean. and also in their exu-
beration gave away two black. rain
soaked and very much disgruntled little
cats which as mascots had made the
trip.
The two pussies were entirely insensi-
BILE of tho honor which had been hesped
upon them by being permitted to make
the flight and showed an Immediate
tendency to resume the simple life they
had led in Newfoundland. As far az
the cats were concerned the flight was
a miserable failure
In telling of the trip Capt. Alcock
said the sun came brightly out Of the
clouds and mist only once when the
biplane had reached a height of 1000
feet. more than two miles. Only three
observations could be made during the
entire trip. The altitude of the machine
varied from a few feet. just above the
leaping erests of the waves. TO the chill
solitude OF $4,000 feet. Never during
sighted. so poor was the visibility in the
mist, drizzle and fog.
"once during the night did not know
whether / was upside down or not"
Capt Alcock said. Another time we
shot up very hurriedly when We unex-
pectedly caught n glimpse Of the Attain
tic through the fog just below us
The tearing away OF the little propeller
turning the generator in the fierce blasts
encountered shortly after leaving New
Efoundland left the fiiers deprived of all
communication with the outer world.
when the tiny propeller whirred astern
Lieut. Brown saw that one of the stray
wires had been carried away with II.
He did not tell this to Capt Alcock I'M
Ill after they had landed In Ireland.
Would Have Turned Back.
Had I known that would have
turned back" Capt. Aicock said.
So bad was the weather encountered
that Lieut.. Brown was compelled to un-
strap himself ard chip ice from the
petrol gauge.
at was hailing and showing Capt.
Alcock said In telling of the biplane's
troubles at n height OF 1000 feet The
machine became covered with ice by
o'clock In the morning and remained no
until an hour before we landed. My
radiator shutter and water temperature
indicator were covered with ice four or
five hours Lieut.. Brown continually had
to climb up in ths fuselage to chip Off
the ice with knife. The air speed indi-
Gator also gave trouble, being full Of
frozen particles. which came out when
we descended TO a lower altitude an hour
before landing.
For a time We spoke to each other
through the communication telephones.
but these broke down after four hours
and we had to discard them. Then had
to shout to Lieut.. Brown. Most of our
conversation consisted OF tapping one an
other on the shoulder and going through
the motions OF drinking"
Thirst, rather than hunger. troubled
them most on the fight. Capt. Alcock
said After the breakfast at the wire
less station Lieut.. Brown went to bed.
while Capt. Alcock ruefully inspected
his machine. unavoidably wrecked in
the rough bog. Lieut.. Brown, after
tossing about for a time. unable to get
any sleep, with nerves tingling and
with ears still ringing with the noise
Of the engine, got up again. BY noon
both mon were apparently entirely re-
covered from their awful experience,
and willingly distributed autographs TO
admirers who demanded them. Capt.
Alcock wanted to borrow a plane and
fly TO England.
Il have had enough flying for a bit"
Lieut.. Brown said firmly. and there the
matter ended.
Transatlantic Postman.
While at the station Capt. Alcock dug
out OF his clothes a bunch Of rain soaked
letters.
I'm the frst transatlantic air post
man." he said cheerfully. and spread the
rain soaked episteS out to dry. Cues
flight, he said that only once was there
any real danger" That was when tho
machine went into a nat spin when
Capt Alcock was unable TO tell just
how the machine was moving. The
swinging of the compass needle from
side to side was noticed by Lieut.. Brown,
who motioned to the pilot in time to
prevent disaster. On another occasion
the pilot found that the plane was diving
straight toward the ocean. So near
was the water that Capt. Aleock was
compelled to Snatch" the machine out OF
its dive with such energy that the big
bomber almost went into a loop.
200 Gallons of Petrol Left.
At times during the trip the bomber
made as much as l4O miles an hour
through the stormy atmosphere. The
tanks still contained 290 gallons Of
petrol, enough for ten hours more of n.y.
ing, when the plane reached Ireland
The London papers generally give full