REGULAR AIR MAIL.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 28 February 1928, Page 6

REGULAR AIR MAIL.

ACROSS ATLANTIC. NEW ZEALANDER’S PROPHECY OF FUTURE:. AUCKLAND, Last Night. A New Zealander who has distinguished himself in the held of aeronautical research, Mr. H. F. Parker, an old Nelson College and Canterbury College boy, arrived from Vancouver by the Niagara to-day. As a result of Mr Parker’s researches helium instead of hydrogen was adopted by the United tSates NavyDepartment for inflating airships and. dirigibles. Ho 1 discovered what is. known us the water discovery apparatus. Leaving Canterbury College in, 1915 Mr Parker went on active ser-; vice and was engaged as a pilot with, the Royal .Air Force. Hr- received injuries as a result of in 1916, and on being invalided home interested himself in aeronautical engineering. On completing his water discovery apparatus he took it to England and America and eventually it" was adopted in America. * ' Since then he has ma<ie his hom«in the United States, doing a considerable amount of work for the United. States Government. He is now malting a short - holiday visit to New, Zealand. Speaking of flying generally in the United States Mr Parker said he was convinced that the day was not far distant when there would be a ■.■ regular mail and passenger air servwe across the Atlantic. He believed the service would be an airship ono because airships were more economical for the purpose. In the long flight across the Atlantic aeroplanes did not have much margin and carried a great amount of petrol consequently the number of passengers and the quantity of mail would be very limited. ■‘Commander Burney,” the-British pilot, is expected to make a journey' across the Atlantic in one of the new. British airships within the next few months ” said Mr Parker. “I mot him recently in America where he was. endeavouring to form ft company so that a regular service might bo operated With the service he expects to carry 100 passengers and 10 tons of mail the journey to occupy about two days.”