FUTURE OF AVIATION.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17611, 14 November 1922, Page 10

FUTURE OF AVIATION.

SIR W. BRANCKER ON AIR TRANSPORT. NEED FOB DOMINION SERVICE. Cfeom OUB OWN COBBESPONDZNT.) LONDON, October 3. Major-General Sir William Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation, delivered the first lecture in the series arranged by the Council of the Overseas League ; for the winter months. He spoke with | great hope of the future of aviation in this country. From the beginning oi this month, said Sir William, a new subsidy system for British firms had come into operation. Hitherto the three firm's flying machines to the Continent had been in expensive competition. It was now arranged that one firm should take over the London to Paris route, another the London to Cologne, and one the London to Berlin route. Of one thing he was certain —the British pilot was the best in the world. It seemed that something of the same spirit that was found in our seamen was needed for aviation. In spite of financial difficulties and of the lack of Government assistance as compared with the assistance given in France, the design side had made distinct progress. He predicted that before another year we should possess a machine carrying ten or eleven passengers, with an engine of four hundred horse-power. Air transport enterprise provided a military reserve and quickened communication. There were three classes of British air transport to be considered from the military point of view. There were the lines of communication within the British Isles, the British air lines operating across the Channel, and Imperial lines. With regard to the first category, it was extremely difficult to make air transport within England pay. It was good from the military point of view-as was the second. The third was of the most importance from the Imperial point of view. From the military point of view it would not help us at home, but it would provide local reserves. Aircraft which were built for commercial purposes would make night bombers and* troop-carrying machines. ' The lecturer mentioned that next year a certain number of civilian flying schools • would be established, the object being to keep up a national reserve of flying men. They would thus be able to train the new generation coming, on, and in ten years he considered the nation would have a splendid reserve to draw up on in time of war.

Bally Post to India. It was when they got into long distances that air communications were really going to be time-saving, The Imperial value of air transport was going to be enormous. He did not think anyone really realised what it would mean to have a daily post to India, and to take only five or six days to get -there. That was possible l today. It was only a matter of providing thirty aeroplanes at the outside, and a certain number of aerodromes on the route. There were no technical diffU culties in the way, and when nightflying developed they ought to be able to reduce the six, days to India to seventy-two hours. Wheu once the system of wireless telephones was thoroughly established there should be no difficulty, in the way of night flying. People seemed to forget that during the whole of the war there were hundreds of machines up practically every were, surprisingly few casualties. *As a -matter of fact, the atmospheric conditions by night were generally pleasanter than during the daytime; When night flying became common, air transport .would beat the train altogether. The flight from Cairo, to .Bagdad now;, took two- days, while the sea passage through the Bed Sea and ground; Arabia took three weeks. ThQ; airship waß much more ":. expensive than the aeroplane, more suspectible to bad arid more difficult .to handle. So far we had not got the experience ■tpsw' that itiwould-be any more TeKable.^Xt J the great advantage that it could fly by night, and the airship %6uld probably take mails to India in seventy-two hours, whereas if. wouldytake six days a t present to Bend them by aeroplane. The .great distances;from India to Australia would probably ,h;ave to be covered by airship. An aeroplane could only travel 500 miles with an economical load of petrol,Vjvhereas the airship could cover o^yiSbing;from2ooo to 5000 miles without replenishing its fuel. ;•' .-<■/'■

Communication with tie. Dominions. 'Sir "William urged the vital necessity of * establishing aerial communication between the Dominions and Great Britain. It might not pay at first, but, it was as necessary as building a railway or constructing a telegraph in an undeveloped country. In a few years it ffould have to be done for the safety of ,the Empire. i **Mt transport to-day," he Said., "is not what you call a success. We'have to make it absolutely safe." It-must be reliable, comfortable, and economical. Safety was necessary, and could be obtained* He claimed boldly -that air transport, properly organised and looked,after, with its equipment of wireless - for accurately reporting weather conditions, was -just as safe as any'( other form of transport. Having made it safe the public would patronise it, and in due course it could be made to 'pay* In the meantime it was necessary to have a Government subsidy. One of the great factors in reducing the Cost .of aviation was the improvement of the engines. The woodwork, it was found, suffered little from wear j and tear. They bad really never found ! out how long an aeroplane structure | would last, but machines had covered , 250,000 miles in a year without repair. No engine could travel more than 150 hours without an overhaul. In two years, he thought, they would have engines running at least twice that time., Soon there would be machines that would look after themselves,'and the pilot would merely have to see to the engine and the steering. But with the Wireless telephone and the various machines necessary to make flying possible in. any .weather and in any atmospheric conditions, it would bo necessary tq have a navigator as well. The work of navigator and of pilot was getting too much for one man. Eeducing the CostMetal propellers would soon come into general use. At present, after a machine had gone through heavy rain, the wooden propellers had to be renewed. Metal propellers would save this cost, Sir William predicted that • before long machines would be using _ heavy oil instead of petrol. This would rmean that fuel would cost one-fifth of &ifhat it does at present. To-day pilots *;,jjrere able to find their bearings by/ communicating with two ground statioif ~by wireless, the two stations co'ppeiitlng in working out the position of theCpline. , Already the reverse pro-, ( cess had .been accomplished, and some Sof large clones carried machines ijvhich could .work out the bearings by ; in to certain ground stations firebiph sent Out calls, at regular inter<?fsffK- Navigation in tho future would iMjDttithese lines, and navigators would gg&c , •* ■■■

not need to call up ground stations ex- ■■ cept in emergency, f ; The Military Aspect. ; Turning to the military aspect of the question, the lecturer maintained that it was necessary that we Bhould build up. a- great air transport industry in order that we should be in a position to take the offensive. In a few years' time England would gain no advantage from her insular position. In war the side that took the offensive always gained the advantage. If we were content to stand on the defensive in aerial war it would have to be remembered that we had not only to cover the whole frontage of our line of battle, but we had also to cover 20;000ft in the air as well. Admiral Mark Kerr,' who presided, said he had been called an alarmist, but he had simply tried to explain what the danger in war was from the .air. In future anyone with a big air .force could strike a blow at the heart of the Empire from which we should not re-, cover. There was one nation Which had an acid three drops of which dropped from the air would kill anybody. That . would probably make people get indoors, and then there would be incendiary bombs and explosive bombs.