TASMAN FLYING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 9

TASMAN FLYING.

REGULAR SERVICE.

PROSPECT THOUGHT GOOD.

" SMITHY'S" CREW RETURN.

"SMITHY'S" CREW RETURN. The conviction that an aerial transport service across the Tasman is well within the bounds of possibility, and at no very remote date, was expressed by both Captain P. G. Taylor and Mr. H. M. Mackav, two members of the crew who flew from the Ninety-Mile Beach to Sydney in the Southern Cross last Sunday week, when they arrived in Auckland by the Monterey this morning. Captain Taylor is going on to Pagopago by the vessel, while Mr. Mackav, who is managing director of the New Zealand Airways, Ltd., is returning to tho company's headquarters at Dunedin.

"There was nothing exceptional about our flight," said Captain Taylor. "The wind was favourable, and the other weather conditio.is were reasonable. The Southern Cross functioned well, and the trip was made without any anxiety." For a regular service from New Zealand to Australia, said Captain Taylor, .a suitable type of macliifte must be developed. "By that I mean a type which eliminates the possibility of having to make a forced landing at sea— and it is already in the stage of development. That will be achieved with a multiple-engined 'plane, the units of which are accessible to the engineers during the flight. This will enable repairs to be effected in case of minor mishaps, which in the past have made a foxxed landing necessary.

"Within Four or Five Years." "The possibility of a Tasman service impresses me very much, and also ttfose with whom I was associtted on the fiight, and who were in a better position to form reliable conclusions," said Mr. Mackay. "Our general opinion is that within tho next four or five years some definite move will be made to inaugurate a service." Provided Government assistance was forthcoming from both sides of the Tasman, Mr. Mackay stated that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was prepared to associate himself with the project. A subsidy was essential foxsuch an air service in its initial stages, until such time as public confidence was established.

_Mr. Mackay investigated the air services at pi-esent in operation in Australia, the New England service between Sydney and risbane, anfl Arts Aircrafts, whose machines fly between Melbourne and Tasmania. These services had impressed liim very mucli.

Ocean Flying Easy. Flying over the sea 'was essentially easy, as there were no obstructions and less likelihood of striking "patchy" air than over the land, continued Mr. Mackay. The vast field across the Tasman provided opportunities for picking a cuorse,' where unfavourable elements could be evaded, and where the pilot could be assisted by essential meteorological report®. As evidence of the high standard to which the Australian air services had been brought, Mr. Mackay stated that during his stay in Sydney the New England Service had missed only one trip. Owing to torrential rain in Brisbane last Wednesday, the northern aerodrome became so waterlogged that the machine was unable to take off. Despite the fact that Sydney experienced similar bad weather, the northbcVicl 'plane ran to schedule.

Referring to the trip of the Southern Cross, Mr. Mackay said that he had never experienced such comfortable air travelling. "We had no roll Over the Tasman," he said, "and, sitting in my armchair, the only movement felt was an occasional lift or drop by the machine."

Regarding the type of machines suitable for a trans-Tasman. service, Mr. Mackay favoured the Avro 10, which was practically similar to the Southern Cross, but was a lottle more up to date and faster, its cruising speed being about 110 miles an hour. This type, which had a carrying capacity of 10 or 12, was in use in the Australian services.

"Smithy's" Next Flight. Captain Taylor mentioned that the plans for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's flight to England and back to Australia with passengers were nearly completion, and the flight was expected to be made next August. Captain Taylor said he expected to travel as co-pilot, and he would be returning to Australia to rejoin the "old bus." At the completion of that flight Sir Charles was planning another voyage across the Tasma nto New Zealand, and he hopes to take part in that too.'