Imperial Valley press., 1928-06-02
AV|AT0RS
AL)HER|NC
TO PLANS
Southern Cross" Crew
Determined to Proceed
With Flislht.
MAY START MONDAY
KingsfOrd-Smith Refuses
to Be Perturbed by Adj
vice of Hawaiians.
By H. r. EKINS
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent)

HONOLULU, ]une 2.-Exhausted
by the strain of their long flight
from the mainland and the excite
mcnt Of their reception here, the
four airmcn of the Southern Cross
slept late today in their hotel at
Waikiki Beach.
Mechanics of the air force at
Wheeler Field were at work on the
Southern Cross preparing it for the
next hop on the record breaking
flight to Australia.
1t was found necessary to tear
down the starboard motor of the
plane and give it complete over
hauling. This work forced delay
in plans to take the plane to the
Barking Sands Flying Field on the
Island Of Kauai, 100 miles distant
f:om Wheeler Field.
Captain Charles Kingsford Smith.
commander of the plane, and his
three companions, Charles T. P.
I I'M, relief pilot; Lieutenant Harry
Lyon, navigator and James W. War
her, radio operator, hope to take off
from Parking Sands Monday for
Suva, in the FIJI Islands.
This leg of the California-Aus-
/ tralia flight will cover a stretch OF
3l44 miles Of water never before
attempted by any aviator. 1t will
present ;he most hazardous stage OF
/ Kingsford Smith 5 venture.
Captain Kingsford- Smith and
; iau+apap+ ,,IauuaI 70 OtIAx~
1 charts of the Pacific ocean west
ward from Honolulu to Suva to-
( day.
Next Leg Dangerous
Many were convinced the attempt
! would be suicidal and officials of
Bishop Museum, who are thoroughly
familiar with the South Sea Islands
may try to dissuade him.
Captain kingsford Smith, how
ever, appeared determined to make
the attempt. He said auxiliary tanks
would be installed on the Southern
Cross giving it a total capacity of
1900 gallons of gasoline to make the
/ 3144 mile flight to Suva.
On the 2400 mile flight from Oak
land airport to Wheeler Field, the
! Southern Cross carried approximate
ly 1900 gallons at the take off and
had 130 gallons left when the flight
was completed, according to Kings
ford Smith 5 estimate
With the tremendous load OF
1900 gallons of gasoline on board,
the Southern Cross may find it inn
! possible to take the air from the
Barking Sands runway, in the
opinion of aviation experts here.
Richard Grace, stunt flyer, made
several unsuccessful attempts to
get away from Barking Sands last
summer on flight to the mainland.
His was lighter plane with a much
lighter load than that of the South
Crn Cross.
Crew Willing To Go
Lieutenant Lyon said he was per-
foctly willing to navigate the
Southern Cross on the flight to
SCva. Ulm and Warner also said
they were with Kingsford Smith to
see it through.
Lieutenant Lyon pointed out that
the flight will carry the plane over
several small islands where an emer-
gency landing could be made if
necessary.
All of the aviators but Lyon were
| i'll bed early last night.
He wandered about the city re-
newing acquaintances of the days
when he was a member of the
crew of an inter island steamer.
cit will be time to sleep later, -
he said when friends tried to get
him to 60 back to his hotel and to
bed. Finally he gave in and joined
his sleeping companions.
All available South Sea Island
/ landings between Kauai and Suva
. will be carefully studied before the
take off on the next leg of the
f&ght, Captain Kingsford Smith
said
/ Discussing the experiences of the
/ flight from Oakland airport, Cap
tain kingsford Smith said he was
/ convinced the future progress Of
oceanic flights would depend on the
successful use of the radio.
Z" We were in almost constant
touch with land stations or ships
( throughout the flight, " he said.
THE assistance given us by radio
messages was untold y