AVIATION DEVELOPMENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 964, 6 May 1930, Page 14

AVIATION DEVELOPMENT

TUNKERS INTERESTED IN NEW ZEALAND AGENT’S FLYING CAREER Investigation of sales possibilities in New Zealand is to be made by Junkers Aircraft, Limited, with headquarters at Dessau, Germany. The concern may consider manufacturing in Australia should development of its business proceed. Mr. Theodore Scholl, sales director of the firm, is in Australia now and a representative, Mr. TV. P. Wiltshire, of Farnham, England, arrived at Auckland from Sydney this morning on the Makura. Mr. Wiltshire is an ex-member of the Royal Air Force, with war flying experience on the north-west frontier of India and commercial flying experience in New Guinea from the coast to the goldfields which are being opened up in the interior.

He is accompanied by his wife and is considering making his residence permanently in the Dominion, preferably in Auckland. Mr. Wiltshire told an interesting story of flying incidents, besides speaking# of the intentions of the Junkers concern. “I flew with the force in India from 1923- to 1925,” he said. “Yes, I was engaged in bombing tribesmen on the frontier. I was flying with Squadron 27, and, in 1925, we had about 45 days in the open. The tribesmen had removed a couple of our Hindus and four squadrons were operating to get the Hindus back. We dropped a couple of thousand bombs. The Hindus were killed, too, I believe, but it must ha> - e been all right for we all received medals. The flying was done from Miram-Shah and Tank. “It was marvellous flying on the frontier and the men in the Bristols did wonderful work. They did nightflying above the Himalayas and they deserve Victoria Crosses for that.” In New Guinea, Mr. Wiltshire first became concerned in commercial aviation. Passengers and supplies were taken from Lae to Wau above extremely difficult country. Five Junkers machines were now in use in New Guinea and had been found suitable for the hazardous work of regular communication with the goldfields. Mr. Wiltshire managed 320 hours flying in four months of the wet season—he has done more than 1,000 hours flying—and he confessed that life on'the New Guinea coast required hard work and entailed many risks. FLYING NECESSARY

Malaria troubled many, but the experience gained in New Guinea was invaluable. Flying from Port Moresby, on Torres Straights, to Finschhafn, on the north-east coast, or to Rabaul, in New Britain, provided full aviation tests. New Guinea and the neighbouring island groups provided a vast field for flying, which was essentially the most practicable means of communication there.

In Australia in the past 18 months, there had been orders to the value of £54,000 for Junkers machines and. should New Zealand present sufficient opportunities. Mr. Scholl would probably come to the Dominion. In Sydney, Mr. Scholl recently announced a plan to reduce the Fremantle-Sydney flying mail time by four hours, con* tending that the giant G3B .Junkers monoplane <ould make the journey, with one stop at Broken Hill, in 2G hours. The machine weighed 271 tons and carried 45 passengers. its range was 2,5-00 miles. AW 33 Junkers machine operating in South Australia now is the same model as the “Bremen” machine which, weighing one ton, carried a load of three and a-half tons in a trans-Atlantic flight. Mr. Wiltshire said great success was expected with the all-metal Junkers Junior light airplane, costing £BOO exfactory.

The model was shown recently in London at an Olympia Aero Show. It carried two passengers, had a range of 400 miles and a wing span of 32 feet 9$ inches, and covered 25 miles to a gallon of petrol. No hangar was needed for the machine, which was pegged out in the open and provided with canvas covers for the cockpits and the engine. It was fitted with an Armstrong-Siddeley “Genet” engine. Mr. Wiltshire will inquire into the possibility of forming air services In New Zealand, believing the AucklandWellington route to be practicable.