ACROSS THE SKYWAYS.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20272, 14 August 1937, Page 28 (Supplement)

ACROSS THE SKYWAYS.

WORLD’S AIR-LINERS. FORGING FRESH LINKS. A “BEHIND TIIE SCENES’’ GLIMPSE. (By Robert Brenard, author of “The Romance of the Flying Mail.’’) Test flights, and other developments now impending, will soon turn fresh pages in the great story of world air progress. Eighteen years ago, when the first of the post-war 'commercial flying routes came into operation, the total of the world air-lines did not reach a figure of more than about 3000. According to the latest statistics available, however, this figure for the total mileage of world air routes is now rapidly approaching 300,000; while great new projects which are about to be realised will soon be adding thousands of additional miles to the world air-total. Just recently success has attended the inaugural flights on an important new link in the world air-chain. This Is the 770-miles route connecting Bermuda with New York. This service is being operated Jointly by Imperial Airways and Pan-American Airways. Recently the former company sent out to Bermuda one of their big new Empire type flying-boats named “Cavalier,’’ while Pan-American Airways allocated their flying-boat “Bermuda Clipper” to this particular route. Both flying-boats carried out successful survey flights, “Cavalier” starting from Bermuda and the “Bermuda Clipper” from New York. The flyingboats kept in touch with each other by wireless during these test flights, while short-wave wireless signals also enabled those in the operations department of Imperial Airways in London to follow “Cavalier's” progress as she flew from Bermuda to New Y r ork. Now this Bermuda-New York service is to be flown regularly with passengers and mails, providing yet another important link in the great chain of globe-girdling routes. A Fresh Triumph. A fresh triumph in long-range flying will come with the preliminary air voyages which are about to be j made to and fro across the North Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland. For some time past experts have been busy with the technical equipment for these ocean tests. The Irish Free State authorities, for ' example, have established a powerI ful wireless station at Foynes, on the river Shannon. A similar long-range i station is also being provided on the [ other side of the Atlantic in New- | foundland. These stations will be j able to keep in constant touch with ! the flying-boats making the first j trans-ocean trials. Some little time ago “Cambria,” one of the speciallyequipped long-range ;flying-Sboats of Imperial Airways, flew over to the Shannon and carried out suooessful wireless tests with the shore station at Foynes; and now these experiments are to he continued by another of the j company’s long-range flying-boats, i “Caledonia.” Her tests off the Irish i coast will be followed by an Inaugural I non-stop flight which she will make i from Ireland across to Newfound- ! land. j These preliminary flights, when they have provided the technical data j required, will he followed by the es--1 tablishment of a regular Atlantic alrj mail between Ireland and Newfound- | land, and this Atlantic service will , furnish a vital link between existing Empire air-lines and the network of I routes operated in Canada and the j United States. j One of the researches which has I been In progress, with a view to a j regular trans-Atlantic alr-matl, has i been directed towards obtaining data, as to the direction and strength of ocean winds blowing at the heights at which the big flymg-boat9 will operate. A system exists already whereby steamers on the Atlantic send out weather news by wireless. But this, of course, refers only to conditions at surface level. What has been required has been information as to the strength and direction of winds at 1 appreciable heights above the Atlantic. To obtajn this data meteorological experts have been making voyages to and fro across the North j Atlantic in steamers, and while they [ have been en route they have been sending up, at regular intervals, small pilotless observation balloons. The movement of these balloons has been followed by the experts by means of special instruments, and in this way information hitherto unobtainable has been forthcoming as to the average strength and direction of ocean winds at heights of many thousands of feet above the surface of the water. One | faot which emerges is that prevailing | winds on the North Atlantic tend to I blow from west, to east, and tills will | mean, as a general rule, that air voy- * ages from Newfoundland to Ireland “ will be accomplished in quicker time __ than those In the reverse direction. Latest News. Some of the latest news to hand as to civil air progress deals with the ] trunk route which Canadian enterprise has been forging between tlie Atlantic i and Paciflo. Organised for night as j well as day flying, this great transI | continental air-line will carry loads j across Canada from Halifax to Van- • couver. The provision of this transCanada flying mail, and the establlshj ment of a North Atlantic route—to--1 gether with the opening-up of the I Pacific for regular commercial flying i , I —"'Hi bring air transport within reach |of its ambition of a great chain of } j Empire airways stretching completely round the world. [ Meanwhile progress which is of great significance is reported in connection with other aspects of Empire ! j air development. Recently the big j new C class flying-boats of Imperial j Airways, which have been operating j j for some time over Empire sections j J between Southampton and Alexandria, “ | extended their flights over another ! j link to Kisuml on Ihe African route; i land now, afler the successful corn-) 'w ; pie I ion of a series of survey flights, j ,'s. 1,10 Mrican marine route lias been continued on down the easl cas! lo ! an Durban. Ibere lo cornier•( wifii fbo ll’ hilernal airways of South Africa. A j or completely new organisation of air- ! oroiogy, lias been provided along Ibis ! | new East African coast route- an orla j -- 1 nisatitui typical or (be remarkable ,j | developments in progress in eonnee- J jf j lion witli I lie great new Empire air- i m; "’l scheme now about to come info * operation, and which will lie applied

first of all to loads air-borne between England and South Africa. It is by this scheme the biggest ever undertaken in air transport history—that flrst-class letter-mails are to be airborne throughout Ihe Empire without anything in the nature of surcharges special labels, or other formalities 1