AERIAL MERCHANTMEN

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 160, 2 April 1921, Page 9

AERIAL MERCHANTMEN

WILL CARRY A HUNDRED PASSENGERS AT RIGHTY MILES AN HOUR We are in no doubt, now, as to the problems which confront us in tho establishment and maintenance of commercial airship services. The final session of the air conference at the Guild, hall, which was deyoted entirely to airships, niade the position perfectly clear. We know what is hopeful and also what is discouraging. Above all, we realise the necessity for gaining the experience which is still lacking in the operation of large commercial airships. This need was emphasised, time and again, during the debate which followed the reading of Sir Trevor Dawson’s paper. Whereas with aeroplane transport we have valuable data already upon which to draw, the working of big commercial airships is completely in tho air still, in more senses than one.

In the London "Times” H. Harper deals with the more important points of Sir Trevor Dawson’s paper and the discussion which followed. A fundamental point is that it is on the world’s ocean routes that airships will have their opportunity, and more especially for direct communication between Europe and America. South Africa, India, Australia, and the East. For long-distance travel a large airship of about 4,000,000 cubic feet capacity is indicated; a yess’l, that is to say, about twice the size of the largest yet built. Here a fact which emerges is that the two commercial Zeppelins which the Germans are sail) to be about to build to America for a service to Europe, will be vessels of 3.600,000 cubic feet capacity, carrying 100 passengers and six or seven tons of mails. They are expected to fly at a maximum speed of 80 miles an hour, which, should give them a regular cruising speed of about 60 miles an hour—a great advance, of course, on the speed of the fastest ocean liner. Advantage of Large Airships. A point reaffirmed by the conference is that it is a fundamental characteristic of airship design that increase in size results in greatly increased carrying capacity and radius of action. Big airships ensure also a maximum of comfort for -passengers on journeys lasting several days; while an incidental but important point so far as most travellers are concerned is that there should be an almost total absence of sea-sickness, or rather air-sickness, in large, powerful airships. When all is said and done, the success of an airship service must depend on a regular volume of traffic. Here, Sir Trevor Dawson is of opinion that qn long routes the saving of time by airship will be so great, as compared’ with earth transport, that no difficulty should be experienced to diverting to the air the relatively small portion of existing traffic which, would be necessary to provide loads for a pioneer service of airships. Examples given of time-saving by air are certainly striking. The journey from London to Cape Town, occupying eighteen days by steamship, shou.d hu done in five days by airship;, while to India the normal sixteen days’ journey should, by the air route, be reduced to four or five days. . Taking the traffic between Europe and the United States on any given week, there must, Sir Trevor Dawson thinks, be some hundreds of people to whom a crossing of the Atlantic in two or three days, instead of six or more, would he well’worth an expenditure of, say, 56 per cent, more than the usual steamship fares. Passenger and Mail Rates. Here it .is appropriate to mention that Air Commodore Maitland, with Service records at his disposal, and thinking in terms of an air route between England and America, considers that the probable cost on a well-patronised service need not be more than about 56 per cent, higher than the present first-class steamer rates, with mails at about 6d. an ounce. It is a favourable aspect of airship services 6 that terminal points, or airstations, could be. situated close to cities or centres from which traffic originates, thus saving passengers the delay and inconvenience entailed by having to travel to seaports to board ocean liners. Ihe use of mooring masts or towers will be of great assistance. also. They can to erected at any suitable point on the fringe of a city, while their value in allweather flying may be gauged when it is stated—as it can be on expert authority —that an airship - should be able to couple up to one of them even in a wind as high as 76 or 86 miles an hour. > One must not ignore such points as affect the view of capitalists. Thou;*, well-run airship services may be expected to show good profits when fully established, those who institute them might, it is argued, have to face losses during the stages while traffic is being built up and the services are justifying by actual performance the confidence of prospective users in their reliability and * Dawson recalls that at the beginnings of railways development it was thought very generally that the enormous cost of permanent way and equipment would make it impossible to earn dividends, great difficulty being experienced, in consequence, in raising public money. But those who were able to see the economic possibilities reaped eventually their reward. Hf.re. surely, is a hint for investors in airships. Guaranteed Loads. One suggestive fact emerges. The Ifamburg-Ainerika Company, financing German airship work, both before and since the war, has, it is understood, made money by so doing, thought it is not clear to what extent the German Government has helped. This raises ths question of the attitude of our great shipping companies, and their view is interpreted as being that some sort o u guaranteed mail contract, or other definite and assured form of revenue,, is required before it is a reasonable proposition to sink money in commercial airships. Little'doubt is entertained that they would pay ultimately. But how long would it take? How many millions would have to be expended before any adequate reward was obtained. These are pertinent questions. Certainly there would be a different feeling towards airship ventures if th-.-Government were known to be solidly behind we organised schemes. In Germany they have that assurance; but in this conn, try, so far, the atmosphere is one ol hesitation and doubt. It is interesting, while on this theme< to note that Sir Trevor Dawson, speaking with knowledge and experience, thinks I'hat airship harbours and docks should lie provided, owned, and maintained by the State, and that airship lines run by private enterprise should pay the Government reasonable fees for the use of such landing facilities. In the immediate future the ouesihon arises of finding useful work for such existing airships as are surplus to service requirements and can be adapted to commercial use. Sir Trevor Dawson speaks hopefully. He thinks these converted war craft should be quite suitaT>l? for experimcntnl mail-carrying. B believes also that statistics ns to operation and maintenance could he obtained from the 'flying of such vessels, wgich would be extremely useful. It may to hoped, therefore, after the intimation that the authorities are so ready ano anxious tk> meet private enterprise, tha something tangible may be recorder

Th.- very vital fact which should not be forgotten is that the which enabled the Germans to develop t.licir naval Zeppelins was gained by the constant use of airships tn civil dying. Air Commodore Maitland made a shrewd

and important point, too, when he drew attention at the conference to the fact that commercial airships will be very easily and quickly convertible into ships of war. There are, in fact, wider aspects of this question which, involving as they do Mie safety of the Empire, it would be the height of folly to ignore.