AIRMAN’S VISIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 924, 18 March 1930, Page 1

AIRMAN’S VISIT

HIS FIRM BUILT GIANT BRITISH AIRSHIP FUTURE OF AIR TRAVEL “If design and construction continue to go on as at present I have every, confidence that the future mode of travel will be by means of airships.” • The head !of the firm that carried out the detail design and structural manufacture. of the famous British airship, the, RIOL gripped two small but bulging coloured suitcases and leaned over the rail of the Ulimaroa, enjoying his first view of the Waite-ma-ta.

Captain J. D. Paul, an airplane pilot, and his wife, are . visiting New Zealand for five months. Captain Paul, though a young man, is chairman of directors of Boulton and Paul, Limited, Norwich, a big English firm of airplane builders, constructional steel workers, engineers, wire-netting manufacturers,' and woodworkers. The greatest' achievement of the firm was- its- important share in the production of the giant RlOl. BUSINESS TRIP Captain Paul’s visit to New Zealand is a business one, but is not associated with the aeronautical activities of his firm. “It is not my intention,” he said, “to investigate the possibilities of the introduction of the airship in either Australia or New Zealand. “In England we are fully alive to the fact that these are potential flying countries, but it is difficult at this stage to forecast what the future holds in respect to airships.” Although he did not make a trip in RlOl on its initial flight, Captain Paul was a passenger on a later occasion, and said he was struck by the extremely steady motion in flight and the absence of noise. He considered it a wonderful experience. He was an air pilot, but a trip ill the airship was more to his liking than one in an airplane. When he made the trip the RlOl carried 53 passengers and a crew of 36. The RlOl can carry a crew of 50 and no fewer than 100 passengers, said Captain Paul. It is fitted with an eye to comfort. The dining room seats 50 at a time, and other facilities are a lounge, a smoking room, a promenade and decks. There are 50 double sleeping berths. The airship is 730 ft. long—l3oft. shorter than the Mauretania—-its maximum diameter is 132 ft„ its gas capacity is 5,000,000 cubic feet, its engines develop 3,000 horse-power, its maximum speed is 70 miles an hour, and its range is 4,000 miles. Captain Paul will spend a few days in Auckland before leaving for the South.