himself was in grave danger of frost-bite, he descended.
About a fortnight later he rose 12,300 feet above sea-level, and shortly
afterwards he performed an even more difficult test, by climbing with
three passengers to an altitude of 8500 feet.

With such achievements to his name it was not in the least surprising
that Mr. Sopwith's choice of a pilot for the water-plane race rested
on Hawker. His first attempt was made on 16th August, when he flew from
Southampton Water to Yarmouth--a distance of about 240 miles--in 240
minutes. The writer, who was spending a holiday at Lowestoft, watched
Mr. Hawker go by, and his machine was plainly visible to an enormous
crowd which had lined the beach.

To everyone's regret the pilot was affected with a slight sunstroke when
he reached Yarmouth, and another Australian airman, Mr. Sidney Pickles,
was summoned to take his place. This was quite within the rules of the
contest, the object of which was to test the merits of a British machine
and engine rather than the endurance and skill of a particular pilot.
During the night a strong wind arose, and next morning, when Mr. Pickles
attempted to resume the flight, the sea was too rough for a start to be
made, and the water-plane was beached at Gorleston.

Mr. Hawker quickly recovered from his indisposition, and on Monday, 25th
August, he, with a mechanic as passenger, left Cowes about five o'clock
in the morning in his second attempt to make a circuit of Britain. The
first control was at Ramsgate, and here he had to descend in order to
fulfil the conditions of the contest.

Ramsgate was left at 9.8, and Yarmouth, the next control, was reached
at 10.38. So far the engine, built by Mr. Green, had worked perfectly.
About an hour was spent at Yarmouth, and then the machine was en route
to Scarborough. Haze compelled the pilot to keep close in to the coast,
so that he should not miss the way, and a choppy breeze some what
retarded the progress of the machine along the east coast. About
2.40 the pilot brought his machine to earth, or rather to water, at
Scarborough, where he stayed for nearly two hours.

Mr. Hawker's intention was to reach Aberdeen, if possible, before
nightfall, but at Seaham he had to descend for water, as the engine was
becoming uncomfortably hot, and the radiator supply of water was rapidly
diminishing. This lost much valuable time, as over an hour was spent
here, and it had begun to grow dark before the journey was rec