300 MILES AN HOUR.

Shannon News, 7 April 1925, Page 4

300 MILES AN HOUR.

LIKELY TO BE REACHED SOON.

The year 1924 closed with a new speed record of nearly 280 miles an hour, by Lieutenant Bonnet in France During 1925 a speed of 300 miles an hour should be exceeded, stated Mr E. Handley Page in speaking on aviation prospects. This does not mean that a commercial machine will fly a* this speed between London and Paris; for example, but that over a measured distance of two and a half miles this speed will be attained. In commercial aviation new types of aircraft will be in service on the Continental routes, particular attention being paid to increased safety and reliability. New three-engined machines capable of flying on any two engines, should one break down, will be largely used and will eliminate any possibility of a forced landing. Great improvements are looked for in 1925 in the formation of aeroplane clubs, by means of which it will b« possible for a very large number ot people to learn to fly at a very smaL cost, a project that is being, subsidised by the Air Ministry. A speed of over eighty miles an hour’with a pilot and passenger ha# been reached with a low-powered machine fitted with what is practically a large-sized motor-bicycle engine. A continued improvement of this type should make the cost of flying exceedingly small and bring the time much nearer when machines of this size will enable air trips to the Continent to take the place of an ordinary motor-bicycle or motor car outing on a Saturday afternoon.