We rushed over the three-meter wide crack, dashed down from the forty-meter broad floe and then? Was it possible? Yes, indeed! The scraping noise stopped, only the humming of the motor could be heard. At last we were in flight. A smile and a nod and Dietrichson disappeared into the observation compartment. And now started the flight which will take its place amongst the most supreme in flying’s history. An 850-kilometer flight with death as the nearest neighbor. One must remember that we had thrown practically everything away from us. Even though we had managed by a miracle to get away with our lives, after a forced landing, still our days were numbered. The sky was low and for two hours we were compelled to fly at a height of fifty meters. It was interesting to observe the ice conditions, so we eased down. We believed that in different places we observed from the sky we could distinguish open water all around us. But it was not the case. Not a drop was to be seen anywhere, nothing but ice in a chaotic jumble all around. It was interesting also to see that the floe, which from first to last had given us freedom, was the only floe within a radius of many miles which could have been of any use to us. N 24 got a farewell wave and was lost to sight for ever. Everything worked excellently, the engines went like sewing machines and gave us unqualified confidence. Both solar-compasses ticked and worked, and we knew that if only the sun would appear, they would be of invaluable assistance to us. The speedometers were placed. By the wheel sat the pilot, cool and confident as always. In the navigating compartment was a man I trusted absolutely, and by the engines two men who knew their work perfectly. Ellsworth spent his time making geographical observations and photographs. I myself managed to get what was impossible on the journey north, a splendid opportunity to study the whole flight. The course was set towards Spitzbergen’s north coastland, around Nord Kap. In the two first hours we steered by the magnetic compass. This had been considered an impossibility, hitherto, so far north, but the result was excellent. When the sun broke through after two hours and shone direct on the solar-compass, it showed us how exactly we had steered. For three hours the atmosphere had been clear, but now it turned to thick fog. We rose to a height of 200 meters, flying over it in brilliant sunshine. Here we derived much benefit from the solar-compasses and were able to compare their readings with the magnetic-compass. We had fog for an hour and then it cleared again. The condition of the ice was as on the northern trip, small floes, with icebergs on all sides. There was apparently no system in its formation; everything was a jumble. There was more open water than on the northern tour, but no waterways, only basins.