AVIATION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5294, 2 July 1928, Page 3

AVIATION.

COMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT. ADDRESS AT ORPHANS’ CLUB. At Thursday night’s meeting of the Paeroa Orphans’ Club the following

interesting address on aviation was delivered by Bro. V. J. Innes, chairman sesssiop:— man of the session so successfully accomplished by Kingsford Smith and ih's companions, a glance at the value of these long distance flights and the development . of air communications may not be amiss. The great value of air communication to the Empire is apparent Sn one considers the widely scatd nature of the different portions, id communication is vital—the interchange of ideas is a, bond of Sunion of considerable strength. An illustration of the desirability of rapid communication is furnished by w the Imi erial Conferences which meet every four years.' In the case of the Prime .Ministers of Australia and New Zealand, the time taken ijn .travelling to and from Great Britain amounts to ten weeks, and adding the time occupied by the Conference, is more likely to .amount in all to four or five months. With an effective form of air communication this time might be reduced', as far 'as travelling is concerned, to a matter of 20 days in all, rendering it possible for Prime Ministers from out-lying parts of the Empire to meet in consultation more . f “Again, our strength in future wars depends largely op the progress of civil aviation within the'Empire. Just as the Navy depends to some extent on the Mercantile Marine, so war aircraft will depend on the reserve of trained pilots, mechanics, and aircraft factories of civil aviation, which cannot be improvised on the spur of the moment. The Civil Aerial Transport Committee which wag formed in 1918 emphasised the importance of all • civil machines being readily convertible to military use. .Our. island dominions, particularly the homeland, a.s they .are by. the sea, are parfculayly vulnerable to sur.pjfee by air, and thus, for protection, - 'air supremacy is essential. The Air Convention of 1919, which was signed by all the Allies of the. Great W.ar except Jappn, United Stated of America, and Canada, framed important detailed regulations for air. traffic. All contracting countries agreed to permit passage of aircraft over their country, but they forbade non-con-tracting parties this privilege. “In planning the air routes of the Empire commercial advantages and strategical requirements have both received 1 full consideration and are merged as far as possible . The greatest development ip recent years mainly concerned the routes to Western Europe from Great Britain. There . are four British companies in —. <£ai.ly operation at present. A daily maintained from Manchester via London to the Continent, connecting with line.s to Germany, Russia, and Austria. Developmept ■ civil aviation in France has made greatest strides, and the number of ai ! r lines in operation is at present greater than in any other country. The development of the East African air route is now almost complete, and constant communication is majntaini . ed between Paris and the French African colonies as far as Dakar, which will be the ‘jumping-off’ place for the South American route. JKany of the German, lines are in daily operation, connecting with lines to Austria, Russia, Denmark, and Great Britain. Three large compan'es have been operating in Australia, .cartying, J 'ihAgsengers andi mails for the last five ’'yedrs. Eight thousand miles is flown ; weekly, and 1 a high standard of efficiency -has been maintained. ' ’P' “Certain geographical and economic : 5 principles Would appear to affect the question of airways in the Empire. Firstly, if they .are to pay they must ’ < touch commercial points. Then, safe- / ty Is on'e of the main considerations. and emergency landing . grounds must be numerous. Presentday machines carrying 24 passengers bftve a speed up to 100 miles per. hour ’ for about four hours. The limitation to four hours is due to the question on the part of the pilot. ' It would seem, therefore, that the extra distance between. aerodromes should not be more than 400 miles for daily services. Coast lines, waterways-, rivers, and lakes are naturally fol Mu-ed by the airmen, but mountainous regions are a partial barrier owing to their altitude, the cold, and the difficulty of finding good landing, grounds. “The air route from Great Britain to the East has been developed considerably recently. The stages are about 350 miles apart, but the journey can be quickened so as to reach India from London in three flying ten hours a, day. An obstacle on this route is made by the fact that will. .not permit aircraft to over that country, which fact '‘’necessitates a considerable detour. A ■ fortnightly majl service has been 'operating as far. as Bagdad for the ' last five years.

a^r route through Africa from. Cairo to Capetown been improved. There are now 43 aerodromes on this route, the average distance between them being. 125 miles. A flight of four light Air'Force machines’'flew from England to Capetown and back in 1926. The distance covered' was 14,000 miles. The journey was accomplished strictly according to programme. was without incident. The position of Egypt in relation to the airways of the Empire should be noted. From here lines diverge to Ind'a and the East, to the African colonies, and to Europe. Thus Cairo ■ is a most important a ir junctionSingapore bears a similar relationship, with regard t'o Australia, Hongand the Pacific Islands. The Indra-Australia route, via, the Malay Peninsula, has been explored by the Smith brothers, Cobham, and more .Recently by Bert. Hinkler, but has hot Ofeen developed as yet to any great Egajftent. It would appear that there is insuperable difficulty in linking by «air the most distant parts of the Empire. The Smith brothers in their

land machine were again and; again j in grave difficulties with waterlogged

aerodromes, and special tracks of matting had, on occasions, to be laid to enabe them to take off. All such difficulties were eliminated by Cobham, flying a seaplane .and taking advantage of the natural aerodromes of the sea. The manner In which Hinkler, in his small machine made :a solo flight to Australia demonstrates that this route presents, but few difficulties, apd'as an arterial communication its importance cannot be over, rated.

“The flight across the Pacific of Kingsford Smith and his gallant companions was made in a three-engined aircraft, which, by the way, is, a similar machine to those chosen by imperial Airways for. the Middle East route. His success in conquering the vast expanse of ocean marks the most important progress in the development of air routes of recent days. Although it is unlikely that this route will ever be developed commercially to any great extent, the success shows the possibility of quick concentration, of aircraft at any of our possessions in the Pacific, should it be necessary. In contrast, the ill-starred venture,of our gapant countrymen, Hood and 'Moncrieff, indicates the necessity of using suitable machines on thesp ocean flights. “The recent visit of the Imperial Airways Commission to New Zealand would point to the fact that the vital importance of rapid communication between the most distant parts of the. Empire and the Motherland is clearly recognised. “The conclusions to be drawn are briefly as follows: Firstly, the organisation of the air resources of the Empire is essential to the full and economical use of air power for the various purposes of imperial defence. Then, the mobility of our air forces is dependant on the progressive development of Imperial air routes. In this development the interests of civil and service aviation are inter-con-nected, and close co-ordination is required between the Imperial anfl Dominion Governments.

“A great advance in cohesiqin -and co.oi-dination is being made. As a. result, questions of policy i.n> times of international emergency will be easier of solution. The increased facilities for inter-communication and commercial intercourse' will react throughout the Empire and unite still closer its component parts, thus promoting an understanding of each other’s point of view and difficulties-”