TO AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1920, Page 12

TO AUSTRALIA.

A FLIGHT IS POSSIBLE. PROJECT RECEIVING ATTENTION.

The possibilities of an aeroplane cross- ' iiig of the Tasrcan Sea arc receiving at- , tention at the present time, and there is some likelihood that the flight -will be. attempted in the not very distant futurs , (says the Dominion). If the New Zea- ■ land. Government offers assistance the , venture will not be long delayed. I I No aeroplane at present in this country , is aapaihle o£ making a non-stop flight • to Australia. It does not appear that an ; aitirely suitable machine is yet in the ' Commonwealth, although the vontur; I could be attempted with an aeroplane of : &s type used by Sir Ko«s Smith on his recent flight from England to Australia." Set a big machine of the most modern typo, easily able to stay in the air for the time required for a crossing of the Tasman. Sea, could be secured from Bri- ' tain with very little delay. British , manufacturers are showing a great deal ' of enterprise in tlie encouragement of ' long-distance flights, and the linking of New Zealand and Australia by aeroplane is one of the spectacular feats, with a real commercial value, that remain to be accomplished. The British Government offered New Zealand, some time ago, a gift of one hundred aeroplanes. These machines were built for war purposes, and the development of commercial aviation since that time has not been so rapid that the value of the war machines is much discounted. These gift machines, some of which have been brought to New Zealand, are not intended for long-distance flights. Aeroplanes of greater endurance and carrying capacity are now on the market, and it is with these newer machines that all the great naval flights of the last twelve months have been I made.