LONGER RUNWAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 100, 29 April 1937, Page 17

LONGER RUNWAYS.

AERODROME TRENDS.

NEEDS OF NEW ZEALAND.

LARGER PASSENGER 'PLANES. Valuable comment was made by Mr. William T. Miller, of the United States Bureau of Air Commerce, prior to his departure for Sydney, upon his observations of air transport in New Zealand, and as to probable developments within the next few years (says the Wellington "Post").

Within the limits of the present development and the use of air travel in New Zealand, said Mr. Miller, the standard of service is high, and consistent attention is paid to all factors making for safety, and the standard of maintenance of equipment. Mr. Miller repented that though New Zealand is not yet making full use of air transport, when development and patronage do come they will come with a rush—and the time for preparation is now, and not after the rush has started.

r lhe aerodromes at l'almerston North, Blenheim, C'hristchu.ch and Dunedin, he said, do not offer difficulties to extension for the accommodation of larger and faster machines. °

Mr. Miller was definite as to the trend in aerodrome development—it is toward larger, not smaller, fields, he said. In America air transport had started in a small way, with small machines, small business, and small fields, in many cases. As passenger, mail and express carriage grew larger machines were built; competition came in and speed increased. Experience in U.S.A. To-day a majority of commercial machines were twin-engined, but fourmotored 'planes were building for greater capacity, greater range and greater speed, he said, and those three factors meant longer runways, notwithstanding improvement in take-off and landing characteristics. Many American centres had had to pay heavily for extensions to too small fields.

A stage would probably be reached when the Government and other controlling authorities would have to go to 'plane manufacturers and represent to them that a compromise must be reached between the still higher performances possible from larger and faster machines and the practicable limits of aerodrome dimensions, but that stage had hardly been reached yet. New Zealand would not see such a volume of air traffic as was developed in larger countries, but New Zealand would almost certainly operate much the same type of machine, though in fewer numbers, for the larger machines were more economical in operation than more small machines giving the same seating and load capacity.

Generally speaking, the standard aimed at as a desirable minimum was a field giving runways of 1000 yards, but blind landings, on instruments alone, were a development which would come as standard practice on passenger lines within the next few years, and then greater fields still and open approaches would be essential.