"BRITANNIA" HERE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1868, 30 September 1913, Page 7

"BRITANNIA" HERE.

NUCLEUS OF OUR AIR FLEET. There arrived among the cargo of tho White Star liner Athenic yesterday a very large and cumborsomo case, the 'contents of which are probably of more moment to New Zealand than ono can readily surmise. This is _ the Bleriot monoplane Britannia, which has been presented to tho 1 Government of New Zealand by the Imperial Air Fleet Committee in conjunction with the "Standard" newspaper (London). The machine, which will probably bo landed to-day at tlm King's Wharf, is a two-seater military aeroplane, driven l>v an 80 horse-powor Gnome engine. The monoplane was thoroughly tested before being shipped to New Zealand, tho Britannia's pilot on several occasions being that intrepid air-man, Mr. Gustav Hamel. On ono occasira Sir Joseph Ward was taken! for an air-trip by this pilot. The seats for pilot and passenger are arranged in tandem fashion, and in the kinomatdgraph picture of Sir Joseph Ward's flight skyward only the . heads andi shoulders of tho pair could bo seon above the taut expanse of tho.great planes. What are we going to do with it, now that wo have got it ? That is the question that is exercising the Defence authorities. Nothing can be done in the way of flight until there is a. pilot, and at present tho Defenco Department doos not have one. It has, however, a Lieutenant Piper (formerly of-the King's College, Auckland) taking a course of military aeronautics at Aldershot, who may in six months or so bo ready to tako charge of the Dominion's clipper of the clouds, but until that happens the Britannia will have to be stabled at tho Mount Cook barracks in Bucklo Street. SergeantMajor Woodward, one of the local area officers, has a good theoretical knowledge of aeroplanes, and he may be requisitioned to fit the parts_ together. When the aeroplane is full-rigged, the public will be_ given an opportunity to inspect the air-craft at a time and place to be announced later.