Mr. Cobham's flight of 1,800 miles from England to Melbourne
has ended with great success. We congratu- late him and his mechanic, a Sergeant of the R.A.F., who took the place of the one unhappily killed by a chance shot in Mesopotamia. The machine which stood the test as well as the men bore the trial of their endurance, resource and cool courage was a De Haviland Biplane, fitted as a seaplane when crossing the ocean between Burma and Australia. The engine was a 885 h.p. Siddeley "Jaguar." It is seven years since this journey was first taken by air, and there can be no doubt that, although from reading some descriptions of these flights one might think them merely sensational and of no immediate practical use, yet they do in the best sense advertise an advance of civilization and increase interest tI man's power to annihilate terrestrial distances. We must also congratulate the oil manufacturers and other firms which have contributed towards the cost of the flight.
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