Imperial Valley press., 1928-06-04
Southern Cross
Nearing It's Goal
Continued from Page %

SuVa, FIJI Island.
On. the log 81 the flight tspf
froG radio reports broadcast he tho
plane were recorded hours uf trouble
and anxiety. hut the latest WORT
was that everything is okay aad
the weather is fine.
: For fully six hours. the longest
pes.od since their t,hf Off ear,y
! Sunday there had been no hint Of
trouble Of any kind in 90, radio
messages.
/ At 1880 4. m. today, Honolulu
/ time, O. a. m. Pacific coast stand
ard timeJ the estimated position Of
the plane from its latest report was
about 1000 miles out from the
Island of Kauai, where a start was
made at j:20 Il. m. Sunday morn.
ing.
shortly after . a. m. the South.
crn Cross was over the pho,niN
group Of islands, mere dots IN The
wide cXpansc Of thr Southern Pa
/ cific.
{ The tiny islands were the first
! land the plane has been near since
the departure from the Hawaiian
group.
Radio messages told Of passing
Canton island, in the Phoenix group
/ shortly before Il. III. at an average
. speed Of nearly 100 miles IN hour.
Canton island was to have been
the landing place for the plane in
event Of emergency or if the crew
decides it would be impossible for
the giant trimotorcd Kokkcr mono
plane to make the Fijis with its
supply Of gasoline.
Carried Big Load
The Southern Cross carried nearly
400 gallons of gasoline in its main
tanks and few additional gallons
in emergency tanks when it left
Barking Sands, on the island Of
Kauai.
This supply was only slightly
larger for the 3l3S mile flight to
the Fills than was carried for the
2400 mile hop from the mainland TO
Honolulu.
No estimate of the remaining
supply of gasoline was given as the
southern Cross sped past the PhOc-
nix group Of islands.
But the fact that it made no
move to halt was taken as assur
ance that Captain Charles Kings
ford Smith, commander of the
plane, was convinced the Southern
Cross was amply fuelcd for the en-
tire flight.
The Southern Cross was making
speed of approximately 100 miles
an hour during the early stages of
the flight, a speed slightly better
than that of the trip from Oakland
airport to Honolulu.
Trade winds to the back of the
plane helped carry it along over the
wide Pacific.
Late in the night this speed was
cut down somewhat for night flying
according to the radio messages.
Kingsford Smith and his compan-
ions, Charles Ulm, relief pilot, Har-
ry Lyon, navigator, and James
Warner, radio operator, repeatedly
expressed their confidence in the
ability of the plane to make the
Fiiis.
Radio messages during the latter
part of the night said:
Everything is okay. We are all
in good spirits. We will make Suva
easily
For time after the take off
from Barking Sands at j:20 a. m.
Sunday cVerying was reported in
perfect order on board the Southern
Cross. Then at 1915 a. m. short
circuit developed in the battery
charging circuit and radio stations
were asked to stand by.
This was soon corrected but an
hour later came Il message telling
of rain squalls.
In mid afternoon the ominous
threat Of serious motor trouble hoV-
cred over the plane, but the crew
quickly adjusted the starbard mot
or.
Laughs 1t Off
\ few minutes later Warner
laughed it off by saying:
" Tim drew cartoon of Harry's
Uyon'S) eyes popping out when he
heard the starboard motor sputter-
ing"
MtullbH was fSdlH llluC VI lilh
squalls at $40 p. M. "They have
been bothering us off and on all
day. a message said.
Shortly after i p. IN. the most Omi-
nous message thus far i'll the flight
came through to anxious radio lis
tcncrs. LEFT motor splitting fire
it was said.
Five minutes later the radio add
ed: "Storm clouds ahead"
Then for an hour and three quar-
ters the plane was lodging storm
clouds, banking sharply and turning
first to the left and then to the
right,
"It's a great game" said War
ncr.
At the same time the plane was
ascending steadily. 1t rose from
the altitude of 600 feet it had main
tanned during the day to an altitude
of more than $500 feet.
This climb was necessary to Get