6 JANUARY 1923, Page 12

A Reuter message from Washington informs us that Sir Keith

Smith, the Australian airman, who with his brother the late Sir Ross Smith was the first to fly from England to Australia, has completed his plans for crossing the Western Hemisphere in his attempt to fly round the world next April. He intends to fly the Pacific by the far north route, crossing from Siberia to Alaska and thence across Canada, following the route of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. From Toronto he will fly to New York and then by Halifax to St. John's, New- foundland. Sir Keith's plans for his Atlantic crossing are not yet definitely settled, but he will probably fly from St. John's—not to be confused with St. John, New Brunswick—to the Azores, following the route of the American naval airmen who were the first to fly from America to Europe.