"WITHIN THREE YEARS."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 233, 2 October 1928, Page 10

"WITHIN THREE YEARS."

TASMAN MAIL SERVICE.

UIM MAKES A PREDICTION.

THE MACHINES REQUIRED.

"My forecast is that within two or two and a-half years there will be a regular service running between Australia and New Zealand," said FlightLieutenant Ulm, in an interview at Blenheim. "It will be a heavier-than-air service, and it will run just as regularly and just as efficiently as the ordinary mail service. With a properly organised service there is, in my opinion, no reason why aircraft should not reduce the distance between London and New Zealand, through Australia, to two weeks. There is no reason to-day why the greater length of the journey should not be regularly covered; there is the type now to do that as far as Sydney." " What are the requirements for a machine to give a regular service across the Tasman ? " he was asked. "We have .learned a tremendous amount from the crossing we made," replied lieutenant Ulm, "and the conferences we have had with Dr. Kidson have been most illuminating. We cannot speak too highly of the invaluable assistance and advice he has given us. That flight has indicated that the machine should have a range of from 2000 to 2200 miles, and should be able to reach, if necessary, 15,000 to 18,000 feet above sea level—a 'ceiling' of 15,000 to 18,000 feet— with full load, to get above trouble, and that we cannot do in the Southern Cross. The ' ceiling' is dependent upon Ibad, and coming across the Tasman we could not get above 8500 feet; the load and extraordinarily bad conditions kept us down to that." "Are there machines available with those requirements T " " There are, and there will be," answered Lieutenant Ulm, " but it is a matter of finance. Machines filling all the requirements run into very big money. " The machine that is going to make a success of the Tasman flight must carry at least three-quarters of a ton of mail in addition to passengers, and at the slowest must give a service which will guarantee that mail posted in Sydney on Monday will be delivered in New Zealand by noon on Tuesday, allowing for a big loss "of time in distribution after delivery from 'plane to post office." Later on, Flight-Lieutenant Ulm remarked: " There is a world of thought in the idea that on our flight across the Tasman we could have carried just one ton of bombs and dropped them on Wellington."

"And then?" "Then Wellington would have been pretty well wiped out." " And you T " "Would that matter? "