AMPHIBIANS ON INLAND LINES

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5318, 3 February 1947, Page 4

AMPHIBIANS ON INLAND LINES

■ — ROTORUA PROSPECTS s SIR JOHN BUCHANAN'S PREDICTI0N The heed for more amphibious aircraft on New Zealand's internal airlines was expressed by Sir John Buchanan, technical adviser to Shorts, the well- " known British firm of aircraft manufacturers, in an interview in Rotorua on Saturday - Sir John, who is shortly returning to England, after flying o-ut to the Dominion via the Middle East, India and Australia, made the trip, which is to ascertain the need or otherwise >for his firm's products, by flying-boat. In speaking of the Dominion's inland airlines, Sir John said that quick transportation — in other words, more airliners — was essential. As most of the* country's large towns were near bodies of water, this pointed to the use of seaplanes or amphibians being used to serve them. Then again, I much of the flying, even on the coun- ! try's internal air routes, was over- ' stretches of water. | "And people would much rather ; travel over water in a seaplane than a land plane. That's the psychological angle of it," continued Sir John.

j In referring to Rotorua's prosj pects of air service, he said that j the lake would make an ideal landing strip for the type of machine ! that his firm was producing, and that the use of the aerodrome • doubled Rotorua's chances of bej coming part of the country's airways system. ■ He stated that New Zealand required even still further to he opened up and developed, and' that one of the ways to achieve this was by increasing transportation facilities, and the bringing into being of better and faster means of travel. ' "I was truly amazed at the eomf ort of the large flying-boats in which I j travelled from England to Auck- ■ lqnd," said Sir John. . He also ex- , pressed the opinion that fares would | drop in the near future as the popuj larity of air travel grew. There was f a use for air travel for leisure as j well as for . hasty business flights. j Then the big flying-boats which would ; be equipped with all comforts would j ci'uise at an easy 200 m.p.h. or so, ! and would allow hqliday-makers more | time to spend on vacation. 1 Sir John left for Auckland yester- | day on his way back to England. I