AERIAL MAILS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 104, 27 January 1920, Page 5

AERIAL MAILS

ESTIMATES OF THE COST

LARGE AIR FORCE ESSENTIAL FOR DEFENCE So far none of tho Attempts to conduct aerial lijails can be considered ,-s ■■ther than experimental, although some of the services in the United Stares are now aln-oit regarded as c-tablislud institutions, notwithstand'ng that they cover routes already served by railways (writes the London corrc.-paiuient of the. "Christian Science Monitor"). Great Britain has been curiously reluctant to make an experiment of the kind, and the air Iliads inaugurated during the great railway strike wen; only llown for a week. The chnrgo of 2s. per letter restricted the use made of them by the public, and was doubtk'Mi intended to have this effect; it was an service, pure and simple. Prenou/ air mails in_ Great Biitain, such as the London-Windsor | l>ost in 1911, were merely for propaganda purposes, and not intended as prions 'po,;t office experiments. Aviation, so far as official work is concerned, has been almost at a standstill in Great Britain since the end of July. There is great uncertainty i'.s to the future of the various departments; and, added to that, the economy campaign has had a paralysing effect in lh:s and many other directions. Allowing.as much as passible for these depressing influences, it remains a mystery why no definite steps have bc-en taken to ustablish aerial mails which, so far from being uneconomical, would actually bring h revenue. Apart from thb eonviotion afforded by the figure-; presently to bo quoted, which show conclusively that air mails can be conveyed! at a profit to the post office, there is the benefit to be secured''by finding employment for men and for factories? Great Britain more than any other, country engaged in the war has on her hands a class of service and former service pilots and mechanics, many of whom have no other practical training than aviat'on. Large numbers of tlvim are out of employment; but they have to he fed and clothed. Why should they not 1» usefully employed!"

Furthermore, as frequently urged by leading statesmen and military men, it iV essential for tho security of the'eountry, not that a large air force should bo maintained on a war footing, but thai; the industry >of aircraft manufacture should be preserved on such a b/i'si.-i that if could, if Ihe necessity arose, quickly expand and meet, all demands. At prewnt, un. fortunately, the pr-r.-onnel arc being kept .'■> idb.nr.-l-.: Hv-i- •■!■■« h---. ng iheir training; many i/re leaving the country; and aeroplane nfanufacturo is rapidly being reduced to a mere triviality. I" the United States, France, and Germany, this disintegrating process has not been so complete, ami it appears now to have come to an end.

Aerial mails, besides more than paying for themselves and quickening tho circulatory system of ths community, would arrest this disintegration of a vital 'industry. The proof that t'hey would nay is afforded by a vast array of figures before tho writer, of which only the conclusions will bo given. The figures are all based on the working cost of multi-engine machines, on the assumption that only with such craft could reliability be secured. These machines aro much more expensive in upkeep than single-engine machines; and recent ex--penciled of the London-Paris service with single-engine machines shows that almost perfect reliability can be secured ■with them. The same is true in the United /States. And, with perfected organisation, more frequent emergency landing grounds would be provided, with remounts.

The figures given here, then, are all based upon a rather extravagant estimate. One calculation assumes that a four-engino mnchino carrying only one ton at 100 miles per hour in five-hour stages will cost -10s. per ton mile. In other words, the cost of running such a machine for one hour will be .MCO; a machine, as above, carrying half a ton instead of one ton will cost J.'4<X) per hour as a ton-mile proposition. At ,t'2 per ton mile it costs .0131(1. to carry one ounce for one mile. The rates then for the following journeys are:—London-Birmingham, 1.51(1.; London-Bristol, l.Utd.; LonUon-Ncw-eifstle, ij.OSd.; London-Glasgow, 5.03 d. A member of tho Aircraft Manufacturers' Association is quoted as saying that 2s. ner ounce was too high a charge, and that fid. dm- ounce would be remunerative. His statement is undoubtedly true, .ns in no case do figures given here amount to Cd.

One authority puts the cost at ;E1 9s. 4d. ner ton miie. on tho assumption that the Government would provide adequate aerodrome accommodation; in which case it. would cost one-sixth of a penny to carrv one pound one mile; about Is. 3d. to carrv one pound 100 miles;. 13s. Id. to carrv one uound 1000 miles; and J)GS 10s. to carry 100 pounds 1000 mi'.es.

Another cstimale—and one which in the writer's opinion is nearer the marknuts the cost per ton mile at .£1 lis. Bd. Like all others, it includes insurance and upkeep and every conceivable item. It is, however, based upon war experience, and obvious in peace time this would be regarded as extravagant. One estimate, it is noted, conies down to 17s. Cd.

It is not reasonable to expect a full load for each journey, and a. margin should bo allowed for possible errors. The fact remains, a machine with available lifting capacity of one ton can carry some 50,000 average letters, and at Is. each these would yield -£2500 revenue Even at the higher estimates given above, such a, machine could travel ten hours at SO miles ner hour (SCO miles) and still have n margin of -!SOO profit for the iournev!

The figures given are, of course, ret tr. Ik: taken as absolutely accural- ; w:t a!! exeunt the lowest estiumts ar; eerUinly on the side- of cuitii'.ri. ..i:'t it should l>?. remembered that no allowance is undo for. the inevitav.lt; reduction of run-

" ing costs that will come. ,n tho nt-ar future, provided u>nnufnctuivrs are encouraged.