Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Wednesday 22 February 1928, page 15


WIDGEON II.

SUCCESSFUL TRIAL.

SYDNEY, february 21.

After several days of vexatious delays, owing to engine trouble, the Widgeon II. made a successful trial flight at Mas cot this afternoon. It was a red letter

day for Wing-commander L. J. Wackett i

(the designer and builder of the new Amphibian aeroplane), and when he brought the machine to a standstill at

the conclusion of its first flight he was greeted with a shower of congratulations. At 5 o'clock Wing-Commander Wackett, an engineer, and a mechanic, with para-chutes adjusted, hopped into the machine, which was swung round and taxied down the aerodrome. At the western end she was swung round against the wind, which was blowing from the south-east. With a roar from the engine the machine sped across the aerodrome for a couple of hun-

dred yards, and then lose into the air. She climbed very quickly to about 2000 ft., and appeared to ride perfectly at this height. After being in the air for about five minutes she glided gracefully to earth again, and a perfect, landing was

made.

In an interview, Wing-Commander 'Wackett expressed his delight and satis-

faction with the way the machine had behaved. He said that the whole time he was in the air he was doing net less than 90 miles an hour. She climbed very fast, and was extremely easy to fly. Asked how she compared with the original Widgeon I., Wing-Commander Wackett re-plied that she was very much faster. He added that he hopes to get a greater num-

ber of revolutions out of the Siddeley Jaguar engine in the new machine. Wid-geon II. will be given further test to-

morrow.