The Dominion WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1919. THE AGE OF THE AEROPLANE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 130, 26 February 1919, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1919. THE AGE OF THE AEROPLANE

Since the war began few greater marvels have been witnessed than the wonderful development of aviation. During the last four years the aeroplane has developed, of course, chiefly as a fighting machine, ■ but in conditions which strikingly indicate its enormously important possibilities as a vehicle, of'commercial transport. Obviously the position .reached is to be attributed chiefly to the unprecedented calls the war has made upon human qualities of daring, enterprise, and inventive genius. As is observed by the writer of a preface to one of .the latest books on war flying experiences: "Four years of war have done more than twenty years of peace would have accomplished for the development of the airman and the craft he flies." It is as evident that if the opportunities thus created are wisely turned to account far-reaching benefits will result. Looking at the possibilities of aerial transport, and of aviation generally, as they can now be envisaged, it is nothing more than judicious foresight to urge, as the Chief of the British Air Staff (Mα joe-General Sykes) did in an address reported to-day, that the separate portions of the Empire should build and weld together commercial organisations and bs able to protect themselves and render . immediate mutual assistance should danger arise. The total scope of the developments thus foreshadowed is very wide, and it may be''some considerable time- bpfore they are compassed. It has been said by the British Air Minister, Lord Weir, that a word of caution is necessary, against the forecasts of those who predict an immediate, far-reaching, and successful development of commercial aviation. There is a period of transition and development to be passed through, and in spite of the remarkable progress that has been made in many directions this period is likely to present difficult problems. Aerial organisation for defence will present its own problems more or less separate, or at all events additional to those arising out of the commercial use of aircraft. Making all necessary reservations, however, it.is not in doubt that aircraft, besides being

the most formidable engine of warfare yet invented, are destined henceforth to play an immensely important part in carrying on the transport services of the world, and that any country which neglects the development of aerial transport will find itself left behind in the march of progress. The time is already in prospect when a country which fails in enterprise will be relative-

ly in the same backward condition as a country which to-day neglects the construction of roads and railways. It is very necessary, as General Sykes has said, to prepare for the day when all-British air routes will play a great part in the maintenance of the Empire's commercial existence. Swift aerial transport promises also to exercise a -most important influence upon in-tet-Imperial relations generally.' For instance, it is capable of modifying in,a very important degree the awkward problem of constituting a reprjfototative Imperial authority. All who speak on the subject with authority are agreed that the only cmestion open" in regard to the commercial use of aircraft is the . extent to which they are destined to supersede other forms of transport. A comprehensive pronouncement was made, by the British Civil Aerial Transport Committee in its final report to the Air Board which was issued in December. The carriage in aircraft of mails, _ passengers, and goods, the Committee stated, would present no difficulty .from the technical point of view. "Given a demand for the carriage of mails, passengers, and goods, there are no practical obstacles in the way of organising aerial services to meet that demand." In its detail conclusions the Committee observes, amongst other tilings, that for commercial success 6peed is probably the most material factor. It recognises, however, the advisability of striking a balance between speed and weight-carrying capacity, and suggests that in practice speeds of 100 miles per hour are desirable between large centres connected by high-speed railways, although in competing with railway services which are slow or interrupted by sea crossings slower speeds will be found commercially practicable. Ib is further recommended that at present stages of about 500 miles should be the normal limit, but it is added that from the commercial point of view stages should be as lonp as possible. Amongst activities which it is urgently necessary to put in hand forthwith the Committee 'names:— Preliminary inquiries as to routes, landing-grounds, and aerodromes, involving in the two latter cases consultation with local authorities, ths necessity for preliminary discussion with the Dominions and our Allied on broad questions of principle; the immediate establishment of the Bureau in Aid of Research. We consider also that it is a matter of urgent necessity to establish a system of propaganda throughout the Empire in order to convince the whole nation of the vast importance and possibilities of aeriiil transport, and to familiarise the Governments and'local authorities with the subject. There is evidence of the initiation of such u system in ene'my countries. Already, as cabled reports are showing almost from day to day, there have been many notable developments in commercial aviation and in experiments aiming _ at its early expansion. Aerial mail services have been established in Britain, America, France, Germany, and other countries, a,nd as information stands a daily service is being maintained .between London and

Paris. A successful flight has been mado from' England to India, and surveys and preparations are now being made for a flight from Britain to Australia, a preliminary, no doubt, to the establishment of a regular aerial service. The extension of the inter-Imperial service to New Zealand may present some initialdifficulties. Aircraft, of course, are capable of crossing the Tasman Sea, but the risks involved in a transocean passage are greater than in flying over land. In France, where aviation is being extensively developed, such risks have thus far been an impediment to the establishment of a regular service to Corsica. Nothing is more satisfactory in the existing outlook than the apparent readiness of the British authorities to freely co-operate with the Dominions in forwarding aerial development on Imperial lines. There should be no question of the readiness of any Dominion Government to meet the British. Government half-way in the matter. In this country useful pioneer work in aviation has been done at the flying schools in Canterbury and at Auckland, and Parliament has already clothed the Government in some of the powers it will need to regulate aerial traffic. If reasonable enterprise is. shown, aerial mail services will no doubt be established in the near future, and passenger and goods services ought to follow speedily. Early effort should, of course, be made to co-operate in the establishment of an Imperial chain of aerial communications. At what rate progress will be made in this direction is still an open question, but it is self-evident that in the 'interests alike of security and commercial prosperity the problems of aerial development must be attacked henceforth in a spirit of practical enterprise in all parts of the.Empire. '