AIR SERVICE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 2 August 1929, Page 4

AIR SERVICE

AUCKLAND TO DUNEDIN COMPANY BEING FORAIED (By Telagraph—Special to "The Mail") CHRISTCHUR.CII, This Day. To carry passengers and' mails from Auckland to Dunedin, an Aviation Company on a large scale is in the process of formation, according to a report from Wanganui. It is stated that of the £250,000 capital required, £50,000 has been subscribed. It is the intention of the company to buy three tri-motor aeroplanes which will accommodate ten passengers and their luggage. Captain Alercer, instructor of the Canterbury Aero Club, informed a reporter last evening that he heard of the proposition some clays ago. It was a big scheme, he said* but if pilots were given time in which to become thoroughly familiar with the route, there was little doubt of its success. It would take a considerable amount of organising at the beginning, and pilots would have to learn the route by heart so that they would not be held up by wet eff foggy weather. It was not difficult to fix landmarks in one's mind after going over a given course two or three .times, and if, as appeared to be probable, the journey were to be done in stages, there would be nothinlg to hinder the enterprise. All new aviation companies had a hard row to hoe at the beginning of their activities, as had been seen in other countries, but no doubt the New Zealand Government would grant a subsidy if one big company was formed. It would be necessary, of course, to have pilots who knew 'the country thoroughly, said Captain ' Alercer. There were few, if any, in the wav. for New Zealand weather generally was suitable for flying at almost any time of the year, but tri-motor machines would certainly be necessary.