Hinkler's Dash.

The Australian airman Hinkler's wanderings over the two America's resulted at last in a flying sensation—probably the culminating flight of 1931. When he started hopping about in North America, Hinkler was pursued by newspapers that scented a big flight plan, but as he worked southward they appeared to forget about him, and when he made his final dash over the South Atlantic (west to east) he seems to have taken everybody by surprise. When he landed at Bathurst (Gambia) from Natal (Brazil) he had made three records—first trans-Atlantic crossing by a light aeroplane, first west to east crossing of the South Atlantic, and first solo crossing of that ocean. He was not exactly solo, for he carried a Brazilian monkey mascot, but she will not disqualify him for the solo record.