THE LONGEST STAGE.

The second long halt on the route will be made at Montreal, where seven days will be spent in order that the engine may be changed for one with a higher compression ratio, for the purpose of saving fuel as much as possible during the Atlantic crossing. Additional petrol tanks will be fitted, together with a wireless apparatus of limited radius. St. John’s, Newfoundland, is to be the starting-point for the most difficult stage of the flight after the Pacific crossing. It is not proposed to attempt a direct flight across the Atlantic. The plan is to fly to the Azores and thence to Lisbon, working up to the finishing point in London by way of Madrid, Bordeaux, and Paris. The flight from St. John’s to the Azores (1,350 miles) is the longest stage allowed for. The average daily stage from beginning to end is between 300 and 500 miles. The leader of the expedition is an Oxfordshire man who, when the war broke out, joined the Royal Flying Corps as a mechanic, was taught to fly in France, and went out to Egypt in 1915. He won the M.C. in 1916 “for conspicuous gallantry,” and afterwards gained a bar to the Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Force Cross. He is about 32 years of age. The pilot of the expedition, Flying-officer Plenderleith, is 25 years of age, and is another young man who was attracted to the Flying Corps by the war from a small place near Edinburgh. He saw service in France and was engaged in the defence of London. The third member of the crew, Flight-sergeant Andrews, is a Woking man, 24 years of age, who went out to France in 1915, and whose special care will be the engine and the machine.