Antarctic's First Plane, Found In Ice

Arvisp writes "In 1912 Australian explorer Douglas Mawson planned to fly over the southern pole. His lost plane has now been found. The plane – the first off the Vickers production line in Britain – was built in 1911, only eight years after the Wright brothers executed the first powered flight. For the past three years, a team of Australian explorers has been engaged in a fruitless search for the aircraft, last seen in 1975. Then on Friday, a carpenter with the team, Mark Farrell, struck gold: wandering along the icy shore near the team's camp, he noticed large fragments of metal sitting among the rocks, just a few inches beneath the water."

Comments

I claim the movie rights

[suso]

And inside they found a pipe in a keg of gun powder that had a pipe with clues that mean that there is a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

Re:I claim the movie rights

[MistrBlank]

I'll claim rights on a second story and write the one that has the pilot still sitting in the cockpit with his chest blown out. And several miles below the ice surface there's a temple that's a home to aliens that another alien race comes in to exterminate after the expedition team frees them.

The Independent is a little dishonest here

[Suki I]

A few paragraphs down in TFA:

Mawson had hoped to stage the first flight over the Antarctic ice cap, but the plane crashed on the Australian mainland before he set sail. No one was hurt, but with the wings damaged and no time to repair them, the explorer adapted the craft to haul his sledges, adding skis to the undercarriage and a special tail-rudder.

It was an airplane before being loaded on the boat, then it was just a cool looking tug.

It was made of gold?

[drinkypoo]

Then on Friday, a carpenter with the team, Mark Farrell, struck gold: wandering along the icy shore near the team's camp, he noticed large fragments of metal sitting among the rocks, just a few inches beneath the water."

The plane was made of gold? I guess they don't build 'em like they used to, huh?

The famous Miskatonic Antarctic Survey found

[minginqunt]

I hope you're all preparing to welcome our new Shuggoth overlords.

I suspect I, for one, will.

Re:Cue the pissing contest

[nschubach]

We get tired of the competition between Ohio and North Carolina for the origin vs. actually flying the first plane so we have to look elsewhere to pick fights.

just be careful...

[catbertscousin]

Take some dogs with you when you drill, and if they start going nuts about any large, plant-like objects you find, leave them alone!
Also listen for strange piping sounds in the wind.

Re:Cue the pissing contest

[heck]

This European is always astonished how Alcock and Brown's achievement of 1919 is so overshadowed by Lindbergh's 1927 flight. Perhaps that's one of the sources of resentment that lead to 'pissing contests'?

Because Lindbergh was the first to do it solo

And Alcock and Brown weren't the first to make the flight over the Atlantic, although they were the first to do a non-stop. The crew of the NC-4 did it first (but they used more than one aircraft) Alcock and Brown did have balls - climbing out on the wings to chip off the ice as they flew.

Re:Cue the pissing contest

[Culture20]

Which is exactly why we should end this "first" bullshit in the first place.

First Post!

Re:I guess we can thank global warming

[sycodon]

It was still sitting on the ice when he returned in 1929 and 1931, and in 1975 it was photographed after a big ice melt.

Abandoned in 1914, it was still visible at least until 1931. Between then and 1975 or so it was covered in ice but after "a big ice melt it", was visible again. And now, it is barely visible as it is covered in ice again.

Hardly evidence that can be used to support global warming.