BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

Evening Star, Issue 22453, 25 September 1936, Page 6

BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

CANTERBURY’S MODERN AEROPLANE. To provide facilities for advanced training of pilots for commercial flying as well as to cater for air-taxi work, the Canterbury Aero Club has decided to buy from Australia a Monospar cabin monoplane, becoming the first club to purchase a twin-engine machine in New Zealand. The Monospar, which has done only a few hours as a demonstrator in Australia, has been bought following a complete survey of the club’s position as regards aircraft. This was the result of the accident to the Fox Moth some months ago, when it was taking an injured deer-stalker to Christchurch from Springfield and overturned when landing in a small field in fog near Christchurch. It has now been decided not to rebuild the Fox Moth. The Monospar, bought mainly to give senior pilots experience in handling a dual-engined aircraft with blind-flying and wireless equipment, carries four passengers and a pilot. Two Pobjoy motors arc fitted and the machine has wheel control swinging from pilot to pupil, full night and blind-flying equipment, radio equipment operating on both long and short waves, dipping;

landing lights, cabin engine-starters, hydraulic wheel brakes, and full navigating and instrument lighting equipment. . The Monospar has a cruising speed of 123 miles an hour and a top speed of 135 miles an hour. Its normal range is 585 miles and it will take off in 195 yards and land in 120 yards, a performance that compares favourably with the Moth. is claimed that passengers will find this machine as comfortable as a sedan car. All five seats face forward and are arranged to provide the maximum range of vision. The cabin can be heated and ventilated at will, and the machine can be flown with one engine out of commission. A Monospar from which thistype Is developed won the King’s Cup in 1934. The Monospar machines are built by General Aircraft, Ltd., Middlesex, and the Pobjoy motors are made by Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft, Ltd.. Kent. W.A.S.P. Air Lines, Ltd., of Sydney, uses Monospars on its service between Sydney and Narromine. Mr J. J. Busch, who has been appointed chief instructor to the club, has left for Melbourne to inspect the new machine before it is packed for shipment to Lyttelton. It was expected that the plane will be delivered in a fortnight. NEW FLYING MAPS. The Department of Lands and Survey has issued a series of maps for the use of aviators in New Zealand, for the purpose of encouraging civil aviation. These maps are in a series of six, representing the six great divisions of New Zealand. The maps were compiled in the head office of the department from the latest available information and from information from the aerodrome engineer’s office of the Public Works Department. In a map of such importance as for the use of aviators and aeronautical .navigation, the scale of the town drawings should remain constant, as any distortion would be of a serious nature in a map where accuracy is such an essential feature. To overcome this distortion of the scale, which is almost inevitable owing to the effect of atmospheric changes upon ordinary drawing materials, the Department specially imported a transparent material in which any stretch or contraction is negligible. In order to cover the cost of printing and compiling the maps, a small nominal charge is made by the department, for single maps of'one division, or for the series of six. with a satchel which can be fixed in the pilot’s cabin so as to be readily accessible to the pilot. The department hopes that pilots will take advantage of these maps which will provide them with better flying guides.

WEATHER REPORTING AT SINGAPORE. Improvements have been effected, in the weather-reporting service at Singapore. The experts there' now provide pilots who are departing for Europe, China, Australia, or the Indies with specially-prepared charts. These indicate wind strengths and direction alo:- • sections aircraft are about to follow, together with other data upon which pilots can base their schedules, states the ‘ Imperial Airways News Bulletin.’ Prepared by the meteorological superintendent, such detailed charts embody all necessary information as to wind-direction, speed, and rainfall in Tndo-China, Sumatra, and Java, right to the north of the Malayan Peninsula, and also in areas around Singapore.

IMPERIAL AIRWAYS TRAFFIC PROGRESS. Figures going back over the past few years show that, during this period, tho loads carried by Imperial Airways have been increasing so rapidly that they have more than doubled; while during a recent period of 12 months the company’s cross-channel aircraft carried more passengers than all foreign airliners put together. How traffic has been increasing is shown by statistics comparing the loads carried by Imperial Airways in 1924-25 (their first year) and 1934-35. In 1924-26 the mail loads comprised about 200,000 letters. By 1934-35 they had increased to over 17.000. letters. Passengers for tho year 1924-26 amounted to just over 11.000. By 1934-35 they had grown to over 62.000.