BRITISH AIRCRAFT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26631, 29 November 1947, Page 8

BRITISH AIRCRAFT

POST-WAR MARKET NEEDS OF NEW ZEALAND STUDY COMPLETED Daily Times Special Service AUCKLAND, Nov. 28. “We are in the process of developing our'post-war aircraft and you are in the process of developing your post-war airfields. I think that we two should meet,” said Mr F., H. M. Lloyd, sales manager of Hawker Aircraft of Britain, in an interview at Auckland. Mr Lloyd, who is in the course of an extensive tour on behalf of the Hawker-Siddeley group of companies, has ■ already visited Egypt, India, Malaya and Australia, and will leave to-morrow on his way to Iran, after spending six days in New Zealand. A study of New Zealand’s aircraft requirements for both internal and overseas airways has been made by Mr Lloyd. He said that, although New Zealand was a small country, it had one of the most air-minded populations in the world and the air transport in the Dominion could compete with any other form of transport. For this reason, he did not consider that the potential New Zealand market for British commercial aircraft could be described as small. The country would want a number of planes for internal trunk routes and rather more machines, slightly smaller, for feeder routes. Meeting the Demand “I would not say that one should develop an entirely new aircraft, especially for New Zealand, but there are two ways in which the demand could be met,” Mr Lloyd continued. “ Makers could either adapt th<?ir existing aircraft to local conditions or else they could, in designing a new plane, consider it well worth while to take New Zealand’s needs into consideration, because the conditions to be met on small airfields, short hops, and over high mountains are common to many parts of the world.” Mr Lloyd, who also visited Wellington, mentioned the desirability for aerodromes being built nearer to their s respective cities than 4 Whenuapai and Rongotai. x He said that between Wellington and Auckland he was in the air for about two hours but he also spent about another two hours travelling to the aerodrome at Paraparaumu and from Whenuapai to the city. At present, almost as much time was spent in a motor coach as in an aircraft, and he felt that the extension of Rongotai,-if practicable, would be highly beneficial. For New Zealand feeder services, it would seem that a 10 to 14-seater aircraft with a good take-off climb and single-engine performance would be desirable, he said. High cruising speed on these routes was not very important because of the short distances. On the main internal routes, however, New Zealand's requirements were similar to ■ those of other countries, and without special problems, '.f “Because of the short distances in New Zealand, the country does not seem to need pressurised aircraft operating at great altitudes and very high speeds,” Mr Lloyd added. - it wpuld appear, he said, that the Dominion s needs could best be met by' an aircraft powered with conventional internal-combustion engines at least for some time to come, because pro-peller-turbine units gave their best performance at high altitudes and pure jet engines were neither economical nor yet gave the quick take-off needed m New Zealand, • v Tasman and Pacific Routes “ T he position is entirely different on the Tasman and Pacific routes,” Mr Lloyd continued. “There is scope, there, in due course, for a 60-seater plane with propeller-turbines or pure jet motors, and* embodying a pressurJ 52L cab {P T°? operation at high altitudes. Britain is catering for that market, too. ■ “I am going Home to tell the companies the result of my studies of the requirements of,the New Zealand National Airways . Corporation, Empire Airways and British Commonweahh Pacific Airways,” he added. After having devoted the entire energies of her aircraft industry to warplanes for seven years, Britain was tvnoc T rkin f ™ ard on commercial types, he said. He was confident that P ext two or three years Britain would be producing, at fully-competi-tive prices, all types of airliner, equally suitable for all purposes, as world ” GrS ma< * e an ywhere in the