Flying the Atlantic in Sixteen Hours

rn

al lightening that showed nothing but clouds, abo

then we would pass through a white mountain, emerge into a small area of clear

see sun rising, point machine straight towards it, and we'll get compass bearings." I had already worked out a table of hours, angles and azimuths of

For the rest, the three hours that followed sunrise I remember chiefly as a period of envelopment by clouds, and ever more clouds. Soon, as we continued to climb, the

The downpour seemed to meet us almost horizontally, owing to the high speed of the machin

ning of the machine, kept us free from the downfall so long as we remained seated; but if we exposed a ha

ed whether or not the supply of fuel for the motors was correct, had become obscured by clotted snow. To guard against carburetor trouble, it

the fuselage, while holding on to a strut for balance. This I did; and the unpleasant change from the comparative warmth of the cockpit to t

e storm ended, a repetition of this performance at fairly frequent intervals continued to be necessary. Th

still living for the moment; and although I was intensely glad that four-fifths of the ocean had been crossed, I could afford to spare no ti

end of the flight. Any kind of communication with ship or shore would have been welcome, as a reminder that we were not alto

eet, and were still in drifting cloud, which was sometimes so thick that it cut off from view parts of the Vickers-

machine had scarcely any lateral control. Fortunately the Vickers-Vimy has plenty of inherent lateral s

f navigation. At five o'clock, when we were in the levels round about eleven thousand feet, I caught the sun for a moment-just a pi

the line indicated by it. We therefore remained at eleven thousand feet until, at 7:20 A. M., I had definitely

here the air is warmer, and whe

ously, as if it were backfiring through one of its carburetors. Alcock throttl

eet, where the machine was still surrounded by cloudy vapor. Here, howev

riage might touch the waves. He had loosened his safety belt, and was ready to abandon ship if we hit the water. I myself felt uncomfortable about

D OF GASOLINE

OR THE FIRST

the ocean-a restless surface of dull gray. Alcock at once opened up the throttles, and both motors responded. Evidently a

d with a wind of thirty knots from the direction of two hundred and fifteen degrees true. I had been reckoning on a course of seventy-seven degrees true, with calculations based on

ned that our position at eight o'clock would consequently be about fifty-four degrees N. latitude, ten degrees thirty min. W. longitude. Taking these figures, and with the help of the navigation machine, which rested on my knees, I calculated that our course to

e co

going S. We have had

rs-Vimy around gently, until its com

eastward, just below the lowest clouds and from two hundred to three hundred feet above the sea, we

nds from the rising excitement induced by the hope that we might sight land at any instant. I placed a sandwich, followed b

s a rubber device, fitted to ease the strain, proved to be valueless. Elastic, linked to a turnbuckle, had been attached to the control lever and rudder bar; bu

d, owing to the gradual alteration in the center of gravity as the rear gasoline tanks em

board behind my seat, when Alcock grabbed my shoulder, twisted me round, beamed excitedly, and pointed

inger; and, barely visible through the mist, it showed me two

f calculation, and disregarded the compass needle.