Portsmouth to Johannesburg Since fortune decrees that this issue of
The Spectator should go to press an hour or two before the time when the winning machine in the air race to South Africa is expected to reach Johannesburg, congratulations to the actual winner must be deferred. But with the elimina- tion of Captain Halse, after his magnificent flight as far as Salisbury, and of Llewellyn in his Vega Cull a few hours later, nothing but a like disaster can prevent C. W. A. Scott, also in a Vega Gull, from repeating the great victory he achieved in the Melbourne race in company with Campbell Black. It is no fault of Mr. I. W. Schlesinger that his gift of £10,000 prize money for an air race from England to Johannesburg attracted a rather small number of entries. One reason, of course, for the lack of competitors is that the race was limited to British aircraft only ; another is that the race was not announced in time for aeroplanes to be specially built for the contest. And it must also be remembered that the R.A.F. expansion is monopolising most of the resources of our aircraft industry, including those manufacturers who normally build onlycivil aircraft. Neither this, nor any other air race, should be regarded as an indication of the safety or reliability of modern aircraft. Rather is it a test of the capabilities of men and machines, when they set out to achieve what would have been considered impossible a few years ago.
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