AERIAL MAILS?

Hokitika Guardian, 19 September 1928, Page 4

AERIAL MAILS?

FLYINC-BOATS ESSENTIAL. FUGHT-LIEUTENANT ULM’S VIEWS. WELLINGTON, September 17. A confident note regarding the future establishment of an aerial mail service between Australia and New Zealand was struck by Flight-Lieutenant Ulm during the course of his remarks at the State luncheon to the trans-Tasman aviators to-day.

Flight-Lieutenant Ulm had been describing the conditions met with on the flight from Suva to Brisbane when the aviators were brought to know what storms really were. Crossing the Tasman Sea the ’plane bad to climb to an altitude of 8500 feet when one storm was approached, and practically every part of the Southern Cross was below freezing point. Since arriving in New Zealand they had tided to calculate the weight of the ice that had formed on the wings of the machine. Taking into consideration the spread of the wings and their breadth, and the fact that observation showed that the ice was at least an inch thick, they had worked it out that there was about half a ton of ice on the machine. They were of the opinion that had they risen to a height of 15,000 feet they would have escaped the storms.

The natural question regarding these flights was, "Why do it?” "One answer is natural ambition, and another is a love off flying, but there is the scientific side as instanced by the two considerations I have mentioned,” said Flight-Lieutenant Ulm. "We know now that for a mail service j wo want a flying boat, a machine (Liferent from the Southern Cross and one capable of obtaining an altitude of 15,000 feet. Again, provision must be made for beating those portions of the machine which might have ice formed on them, and let me tell you in our fixed opinion there is no necessity to go outside the British Empire for the machine that will give the service.” I Loud applause.) Flight-Lieutenant Ulm added that he and Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith , had always believed it would be possible to establish an aerial mail service across the Tasman, and their flight in the Southern Cross had confirmed their belief. In any established service they felt now that it would be wise to use the maximum amount ol daylight, and in the summer it would bo possible to do practically the whole flight in dnv light. He hoped aviation would benefit from their experimental flight and aminformation they bad gained would be gladly handed over to the authorities in New Zealand.