FORGING AHEAD

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 597, 25 February 1929, Page 16

FORGING AHEAD

AMERICAN AVIATION N.Z. AIRMAN’S VISIT Filled with admiration for the immense strides which are being made in United States aviation, particularly the civil branch, Captain N. H. Barlow, of the New Zealand Air Force, Christchurch, has returned from America. He arrived on the Aorangi yesterday after an absence of three months, dur? ing which he attended the International Aeronautical Conference at Washington. “Aviation in America can teach us a few things,” he told The Sun man. “It is being developed on an amazing scale, and civil flying services carrying mails are fully organised. “One can see mail planes arriving in Chicago every three minutes at certain times. The machines now in use can maintain regular time-tables, as they are capable of withstanding almost any sort of weather. The main trouble is bad visibility, but the pilots become used to their routes and are remarkably independent. MAIL SERVICES PAY “There is no doubt that mail services are the logical tasks for civil aviators. The Americans are fast developing that necessary ‘air sense’ among the people, but they realise that there is no money in passenger flights except in the case of the big threemotored planes carrying 12 or 14 people. Few companies cater specially for passenger flights in the small machines, but they are making immense profits out of mail contracts. Captain Barlow visualised a regular mail service between the North and the South Islands. An airplane could carry 2,0001 b of mail, which was worth £4OO. Naturally, the American companies were prospering. Another factor in the success of American aviation was the tremendous amount of capital being invested, while extensive laboratory and flight research was being carried out both by the Government and by private organisations. Captain Barlow visited several of these laboratories which he described as amazing in their complete thoroughness. Such plentitude of capital and resea’ ■’h was resulting in America forging ahead as a builder of up-to-date airplanes. Henry Ford had sunk vast sums of money in airplane factories for the benefit of the nation rather than for his own gain, and his machine was among the best. During his stay in America Captain Barlow flew extensively and gained richly in experience. “I have a few little stunts which will be new to them in the South,” he said