40 FAST AIR LINERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 101, 15 May 1937, Page 11

40 FAST AIR LINERS

Imperial Airways Plans

pITTING of the British Empire's airways with-swifter pinions is to mark 1937 's contributions to Britain 's air communication system. A great new fleet of 40 fast air liners, including the largest squadron of commercial flying boats ever built, is to be merged. Following preparations made this year, a radical step — carriage of all first-class empire mail by air at no extra cost — is to begin. Speeds aTe to be increased over all routes. With the new and speedier equipment, Imperial Airways. aims at a schedule of 2J days to India and East Africa; 4-J days to Capetown and Singapore; six days to Australia, and Canada in a day and a night. The first "all-mail-by-air" service is expccted to be cstablished along the African ronte. It is not yefc knownwhen the schenie to fly all flrst-class mail will bo in operation but it is ex-' pcctcd the noxt mail to bo air borne probably, will bo thafc to India. As soon as ground work is completed and niglitflying mechanism installed throughoufc the xoute, ihe full -mail service will be extended to Singapore and 'then to Australia. i Establishment of new land bases and night-flying equipment throughout the route will be the major work of 193.7. Already considerable progress is shown in India along these- lines. -Lighting installations for regular night-flying have, it is learned, been completed at Allahabad, Gaya, .Calcutta, Akyab and Eangoon. Similar work is being completed at Gawnpore, and beacon lights are to be established at Etah, MogtaiSerai and Asanol. New quarters are being provided, Imperial Airways states, for operating staffs so that night equipment can be operated at shqrt notice. The Indian route is .also to be inore closely knit together with radio and nieteorological serviefrs. Airport equipment in India is being improved and new hangars have been erecled at Allahabad, Galcutta aud Akyb. Eecently an official of tho Civil Aviation Dircetorate of the Government of" India made an air tour of approximately 4000 inilcs to in3pect

progress and discuss the question of sea-.-plane landing sites. The neighbouring country of Burina is also being brought up-to-date . as regaTds air travel, and the Irrawaddy Flotilla and Airways is to establish a netvvork of flying routes throughout that country. A new service has been started between Mandalay and Eangoon, and in the immediato future it is proposod to open a ' service to Tavoy. The immense' work involved in speeding up Imperial Airways services'and carrying a far grcaler volume of piail and goneral traffic has been stressed by Sir. Erie Geddes, chairman ofthe eojnpauy. ' ' i . • - "To woTk up lo tsueh fast timet-able would not be simple if applied to our present system of operations," Sir Eric declared at the annual general meeting of Imperial Airways, Ltd., ." but. when this seale i.s magnified to the dimensions required for «the new scheme, the'problehrs become ever so much more difficult and the training of the personnel, the accumulation of experience, the development of new technique and the reorganisation necessary take time. There is no short cut in this proeess." With regard to the establishment of air services to Canada there has been considerable confusion of thought in Britain. But the actual position, as explained to the Monitor by Imperial Airways, is that , Ihe ' Government has; enlrusted tho company with the development of a trans-Atlantie service. . Long-range experimentad 'flights with two 18-ton, 20Q mile-an-hour flying boats are to be undertaken as soon as weather conditions are suitable. Eadio aids to navigation aro to be tho subject of experiment. Actual trans-At-lantie flights will be undertaken only!

as soon as these experiments have been thoroughly Buccessful and the necessary ground and. radio organisation completed. ' i It is considered possible that first trans-Atlantic flights by Imperial Airways ships will bo undeTtaken in the lale Summer of fhig year. A flying boat of the new EmpiTO typo is shortly to be placed in operation on the Bermuda-New York airway, to . be flown in co-operation with .Pan American Airways.These new flying boats have surpassed' oxpectations, officials declare. Thuir standard.of coinfort, with lofty ceilings and restful arm chairs, weighing oiily 18 pounds "each, - sleeping berths- and- a lounge, is the highest in any British plane. Each ship is fitted with four Bristol Pegasus supercharged ninecylinder radial engines. A fleet of 28 is being built, several -of - which are already in 'the "air. The full speed trial of the first plane delivered registered 199£ m.p.m., and the other planes tested are said to be even f aster. - ■ , Th remainder of the new Empire fleet of 40 high-speed aircraft consists of 12 Ensign class planes, built by the Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, the first of which is to take the air early this year, probably in February. The Ensign class are smilar in size and perfofmance to tho Empire boats. The Mayo Coinposlte Craft, in whloh many hopes of speody and safe transAtfantie voyages are vested, has not yet taken the ai'r. Its initial flight has been long delayed, but it was hoped If. fl'y the dual machine in the spring or 1937. . • Meanwhile the two ships which will make experimental long-distance fliglifs jare the Caledonia and the Cambria,

both of which have been fitted with additional long-range fuel tanks in place of some pay-load accommodation. It is revealecf in the chairman's speech to the annual meeting that Imperial Airways have been experimenting succeasfully, under the direction of Sir Ala.a Cobham, in methods of refueling in the air. ' Should the Mayo plane prove less suceessful than is hoped- — and it may well be found almost useless in rough weather, some experts say, on accouut of the fact that the smaller plane must take "the form of a seaplane with landing fioats' and not a more easily waterborne flying boat — the Empire boala might be refuollcd in mid-air, and thus be ablo to carry a useful pay load. But one of the most curious sidelights on tho Imperial Airways EmpiTC spoed-up is that speeial provision is bo made for tho many British air- trafelle P3 " who do not wish to - be whiskcd at high speed across' continents,"' but pret'er to travel slowly to their ultimale destination, taking advantage of air services. to stop -and see countxies cu the way, • Slow-eoaeh. services are to be iuaugurated, -as a result, to run along the same route as the speed flights. The TJnited States Navy Air service has complimented the progress made by an Amercan commercial transport company by asking for the services of oue of its engineers in installing de-icing euipment. . A. V. Teeple, maintenance engineer and'inspeetor for American Airlines, has left his company on loan to tho Navy. The equipment of which Mr Tecple is to supervise installation consists of anti-icer rings, slinger-ring "boots" and xubber "shoes" from Ihe Goodrich company, at Akron. These devices fitted on the leading edges of the wing and tail surfaces of navy planes and over the propellers aids in breaking up ice formations. By means of compressed air the devices on the wings and tail are aliernataly inflated and deflated, "cracking up" any ice which may form. The "•slinger ringe" fitted bver tho propeller blades release a mixture which lias a low freezing point, thus prevcnting ice f ormation on the blades.