PROGRESS OF FLYING

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1700, 17 March 1913, Page 4

PROGRESS OF FLYING

—* A YOUNG AUSTRALIAN'S CAREER. AVIATION IN THE BRITISH ARMY. (By Telegraph.— Special Correspondent.) Auckland, Starch 16. A visitor to Auckland on Friday was Mr. Harold Velmont, a young Australian engineer, who, two years ago, went to Europe from Melbourne to study aviation, Mr. Velmont has just been lb Melbourne to 800 his relatives, and he is now going back to join tho service of tho British Government as an ofiicer attached to one of tho flying corps of the Imperial Army. Mr. \ elinont lias had an interesting two years tuition in the art of flying, and has' studied in Franoe and Germany during this time. He now holds a. full pilot's certificate for Britain, and durfiig his career has had some successful flights. In the course of an interesting chat on aviation matters generally. Mr. Velmont said that what had surprised him most Has that the people of New Zealand had not yet been given the opportunity of witnessing a really successful flight from any kind of machine. He was sure, if some of the American aviators knew this, it would not bo long before they invaded Isew Zealand to givo exhibitions. "Few people realise how far tho science of aviation has got," said Mr. Velmont. "When at my homo iu Melbourne, I was surprised to see in tho daily papers many accounis of tho successful flights of foreign airmen, but not a lino to show how the Britishers were getting on. The Royal Flying Corps cf the British Armv are 110 longer t laughed at by the' people of tho Continent. Certainly a year ago when I was in Germany tho German press took every opportunity of ridiculing ' the efforts being made b'y the British Army authorities, especially in dirigibles. When the Mayfly, Gamma, and Beta, the three nrmjr airships, were wrecked in close succession the whole Continent laughed; and no wonder, for tho English were hopelessly out of it in the air at that time, but during the last nine or ten months those members of the English forces, who liavo taken up aviation have dono so very seriously, with the result that when I left Homo ten weeks ago they were doing remarkably good work, and the experts from tho Continent had to acknowledge that in military airmanship they would lie very hard to beat.

• "The troublo was," Mr. Velmont went on, "that the, British Government had really only just awakened to the fact that money would have to be spent fairly lavishly on the upkeep of the aviation corps, and the men who were now undertaking the work were experts who had learned what they could in the Continental workshops, and not younij officers .who thought they would like flying just for the fun cf it."

An interesting feature of aviation was mentioned by Mr. Velmont. This, was the undertaking of ' lengthy aeroplane (lights over the sea. The "Herald" representative observed jokingly that it Mvould not. bo long before tho journey from Auckland- to Sydney, which Mr. Velmont was beginning by steamer that ilay, would bo made by aircrafts.

"Long journeys over the pea- by plane," saidjMr. Velmont, "are not to be thought of with the present development !>f tho machines, but it may be 1 perfectly Fafe to predict that the crossing from /Auckland to Sydney will Ihj mado in six or seven years' time. It is not hard for anyone to predict that if they have watched tho wonderful progress of flying within the last . four years, provided tho science develops at its present ,rale/.Every day sees|some improvement,-and'it ivill , not be long before tho dream of the (lying. ! men, which is to cross the Atlantic, is realised. Mr.' GMiamo White says ho, will possibly cross from Ireland to America in 1915, but of course lie says ho must have engines of such a power that cannot bo .constructed to-day."