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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



moving very little faster than at the be- 

 ginning. 



The third patch of ground was a little 

 longer, and when we reached the third 

 pool we were traveling at about thirty 

 miles per hour. 



The sudden impact with the water al- 

 most threw the Vimy on to her nose, and 

 water was sucked up and whirled in 

 every direction by the propellers. Our 

 flying speed had to be gained on the 

 seventy yards of dry ground which now 

 remained ; beyond that extended scrub 

 and gorse bushes. 



The Vimy bounded forward as soon 

 as she left the water, and just managed 

 to get sufficient lift on her wings to clear 

 a ditch and scrape over the scrub. 



I had been informed that the weather 

 would be much better on the western 

 coast of the peninsula, so we followed the 

 railway line across to that side. As the 

 clouds hung only a few hundred feet 

 above the railroad, we were compelled to 

 descend to a perilously low altitude, 

 which was rendered the more hazardous 

 by huge limestone outcrops, rising four 

 to five hundred feet, scattered over the 

 country. 



A FASCINATING LAND 



Along the western shores we found the 

 weather much improved ; the clouds were 

 higher, and occasional bursts of sunshine 

 threw weird light and shadow effects 

 across the paddy-fields and scattered vil- 

 lages. We still maintained a low alti- 

 tude, which added greatly to the interest 

 of the flight and also gave us a splendid 

 opportunity of studying intimately this 

 remarkable and productive country. 



Near Kaular Lumpar we entered the 

 tin country and observed many tin 

 dredges in full operation. Lower still 

 we flew across the rubber plantations, 

 cheered by the planters and waving back. 

 Then, passing above Malacca, we reached 

 vSingapore in the afternoon, after one of 

 the most interesting stages of the jour- 

 ney. 



I had been dreading the landing and 

 take-off at Singapore, as the improvised 

 aerodrome, the race-course, was alto- 

 gether too small for our large machine. 



I glided the Vimy down at as low 

 a speed as possible, and just before we 



touched the ground Bennett clambered 

 out of the cockpit and slid along the top 

 of the fuselage down to the tail-plane. 

 His weight dropped the tail down quickly, 

 with the result that the machine pulled 

 up in about one hundred yards after 

 touching the ground. 



The next day, December 4, was my 

 birthday, and to reach Australia within 

 the specified thirty-day time limit meant 

 that we had to arrive in Darwin on the 

 1 2th, eight days from now, and four 

 more landings to make after leaving 

 Singapore. Thus it will be seen we still 

 had four days in hand. I therefore de- 

 cided to remain the whole of next day at 

 Singapore and work on our machine. 



an "early" dance 



We now had, roughly, 2,500 miles to 

 complete, and in all that distance I knew 

 of only five places at which a landing 

 could be made ; the rest of the country 

 was either mountain, jungle, or swamp ; 

 so it behooved us to look well to our ma- 

 chine, for a single engine trouble and a 

 forced landing away from any of these 

 aerodromes would have ended all. 



The heat at Singapore was intense and, 

 coming from the cold of the English win- 

 ter, we felt it severely. After a heavy 

 day on the machine, we were asked that 

 night to a dance at the Tanglin Club, 

 but physical weariness compelled us to 

 refuse. 



My host, in a very persuasive manner, 

 •did his utmost to induce me to go, assur- 

 ing me the dance would be over very early. 

 However, when we arrived at our ma- 

 chine, at daylight next morning, and were 

 getting ready to start off, my quondam 

 host of the night before and some of his 

 party arrived, all still wearing evening 

 dress. They had just come from the 

 early dance ! 



As I have mentioned previously, the 

 ground was much too small for an aero- 

 drome, and the heavy rain which had 

 fallen overnight made it very heavy. 



My brother and I paced over and ex- 

 amined the ground and discussed the 

 best way to take off, but we were both 

 very dubious as to whether we could get 

 the machine into the air or would pile 

 her up on the adjacent houses in the 

 attempt. I taxied into the position, so as 



