CHAPTER XV
READY FOR THE ATLANTIC FLIGHT
Conditions Governing the Flight—Arrival in Newfoundland—Mount Pearl Farm—Snowed Up—The Test Flight—Local Interest Intense—Wireless Difficulties—Details of the Atlantic—An Aerial Lifeboat—Clothing of the Trans-Atlantic Airmen—Estimates and Anticipations—Over a Ton of Fuel—A Letter for the King—An Inspection by the Governor—Storms—Prospects of a Race—Revising Plans—Grieve—Navigation Problems and Methods—Weather Forecasts—A new Starting-ground—Nervous Tension—The Aviators are Amused by Their Correspondence—A Would-be Aerial Bandsman—False Weather Reports—Services of the Air Ministry—Weather-bound at St. Johns—Harry’s Confidence—Four Magnetos and a New Propeller—Address from the Mayor of St. Johns.
CHAPTER XV
The regulations governing the competition required that the flight be made from any point in the British Isles to the United States, Canada, or Newfoundland, or in the reverse direction, within seventy-two consecutive hours. The competition was open to all persons of any nationality not of enemy origin, and no aeroplane of enemy origin or manufacture could be used. The starting-place had to be named by each competitor and also as nearly as possible the proposed landing-place. All starts had to be made under the supervision of officials appointed by the Royal Aero Club, and only one machine could be used in each attempt, which could, however, be repaired en route. The machines had to be marked so that they could be identified on landing on the other side. Intermediate stoppages were permissible, as also was towing on the water, and if a pilot left his machine to go on board ship he must resume his flight from approximately the same point as that at which he went on board. (The latter condition seems at variance with the one permitting towing.) It was permissible to alight on the water for the purpose of making minor repairs, and an aeroplane could lie alongside a ship for the period for making the repairs.
Harry and Grieve arrived at St. Johns, Newfoundland, on Sunday, March 28th, 1919, and immediately about to prepare for a start on April 16th, when they would have the advantage of a full moon, if conditions otherwise were favourable. It was their intention to start about 10 p.m. English time, and they expected to reach Fermoy, co. Cork, Ireland, between 4 and 5 o’clock on the following afternoon. They arrived before their rivals, Raynham and Morgan, the Martinsyde personnel. Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the Sopwith machine, in its gigantic packing-case, from the city to the temporary aerodrome, although the distance to be traversed was only a few miles. The roads between St. Johns and the aerodrome were in a shocking condition, and the immediate approaches to the aerodrome at the best could only be described as sodden.
The shed in which the machine was housed was of timber, 55 feet across the front, 50 feet deep and 30 feet high. The front was made up of door sections sliding between grooved panels to either side, where they were removed and laid on the ground when the machine was brought out. The replacement of these doors presented no little difficulty when the wind was high. The shed overlooked a slight downward incline, with an eastern aspect, facing St. Johns Harbour and the Atlantic Ocean, neither of which, however, was visible from the aerodrome. The name of the place was Mount Pearl Farm, four miles west of St. Johns, and was the largest area of cleared ground in the vicinity. It was rough, uncleared ground that made it difficult to get the machine from St. Johns to the aerodrome.