CIVIL AVIATION

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 76, 31 March 1945, Page 7

CIVIL AVIATION

NEW BRITISH PLANES

POST-WAR DEVELOPMENT

O.C. WELLINGTON, this day. "I look forward to the day, and I hope it is not very far distant, when every morning a mail plane will start rrom New Zealand and within a weeK or less deliver letters in England," said Sir Harry Batterbee, High Commissioner in New Zealand for the United Kingdom, when addressing the Wellington Rotary Club. It was impossible, he added, to over-rate the value of such a quickening of communications in drawing the two countries together, not only in time, but in thought and spirit. , During the war Great Britain had concentrated for the most part on fighters and night bombers, while America had devoted much attention to day bombers and transport planes. Naturally, therefore, their civil aircraft were at the moment more advanced that the British, but new types which would compare favourably with those built in any other country were now being planned. New types were the Brabazon 1., a long-range aircraft specially designed for trans-oceanic flight, of an estimated weight of 110 tons. On this type much experimental work had still to be done and no production date could be given at present. The Brabazon V. (a) and the Brabazon V. (b) were 14-seater and eightseater respectively which should be of great use in New Zealand. They should both be flying this year, and it was hoped to begin quantity production soon thereafter.

Interim Types Till these planes were produced, interim types would be the Lancastrian, which was a converted Lancaster bomber to carry 10 passengers, mails and freight, and the York,.a transport version of the Lancaster, and seating up to 24 passengers. Both were now in production. Other interim types being designed as civil aircraft, and expected to show considerable improvement over the Lancastrians and Yorks, were the Tudor 1., known as the thin Tudor, a four-engined pressurised aircraft seating up to 10 passengers and intended for transatlantic service, and the Tudor 11., known as the fat Tudor, a medium to long-range plane seating 41 passengers,by day, with sleeping accommodation for 22. "There have been various conferences lately on the subject of world civil aviation, and 1 am glad to be able to say that on this subject there is general agreement between all the members of the British Commonwealth," said Sir Harry. "They all desire to see international co-opera-tion in the development of world civil aviation after the war. They desire to see the same spirit of friendly rivalry, but of close co-op-eration, existing after the war between the civil aviation services of the United Nations as happily exists between their air forces in the war.

International Regulation If wasteful cut-throat competition is to be avoided and there is to be orderly development of world air routes, all the nations of the British Commonwealth think that there must be some system of international regulation. It has been agreed, as the result of the Montreal and London conferences, to establish immediately a consultative Commonwealth Air Transport Council, and to hold the first meeting later this year, on which, in addition to the United Kingdom and the Dominions, the Colonial Empire, Southern Rhodesia and Newfoundland will be represented. At those conferences a survey was made of Commonwealth air routes, and full plans were drawn up for their operating as soon as possible, and in addition arrangements were made for the pooling of experts and of information of all kinds. Thus the natiens of the British Commonwealth have affirmed their unity of attitude on all the major issues, and have taken steps to organise their own civil aviation on lines which, let us hope, may provide a model of co-operation. They are determined to make the British Commonwealth services second to none, and also the aircraft, just as they have been in the war."