INTERNAL AIR SERVICES.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20920, 29 July 1933, Page 15

INTERNAL AIR SERVICES.

ACTIVITY IN GREAT BRITAIN. J HEATING' THE RAILWAYS. j LONDON. June 23. Important developments in regit- : lar air services within Great Britain ; marked recently. This is a small j country, and the short distances I which separate the main centres of population do not generally enable the flying machine to show a sufficient advantage in time and comfort against the railway train. Nevertheless, there are certain routes where the aeroplane can show a large advantage, and airline operators are beginning to find them. A Handles' Page Hannibal, type biplane of the Imperial Airways fleet flew from London to Glasgow ■—4OU miles—in three and a half hours. The train takes about eight hours. And on the return journey the flying machine places Glasgow j within eight hours' travel of Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdan. It is : timed to connect with the outgoing midday European air expresses. When world trade begins to revive the big British cities will assuredly benefit from their new proximity to the Continent. For the present the London-Glasgow run is a weekend trip, but the first step has undoubtedly been taken in a path of development which may lead to a great extension of "feeder" services j within Great Britain. j Over another route where surface travel is awkward and slow—from London to the Isle of Wight—Spartan Air Lines have opened regular daily services, following a period of experimental week-end running. On the surface the strip of water which separates the island from the mainland slows up the journey. The ferry boats take up to an hour for the crossing, and the changing between train and boat of passengers and luggage causes further delay. Thus, the fastest train and boat service to the island occupies two and a half hours; against this the three-engined Cruiser cabin monoplanes of the airway enable the traveller to reach the island in 100 minutes, and of this time 45 minutes are consumed in the motor-coach journey from the airways terminu.-: at Victoria to Heston airport. Speed With Safety. The company will run two services daily in each direction during the summer. Their new Cruiser monoplanes, powered each with three 120 horse-power Gipsy 111. motors, embody many detail improvements over the original model. Six armchairs are provided for passengers, each of whom has control of a ventilator. The sturdy metal construction of the fuselage and the smooth running of the Gipsy lIT. motors contribute to the quietness of the cabin. Conversation is easily carried on without raising the voice. The Cruiser is undoubtedly a fine aeroplane—fast, enduring, and safe.

It reaches a maximum speed in level flight of 140 miles an hour, and cruises with engines running at normal speed at 118 miles an hour. In official trials it has climbed on the power of any two engines to a height of 7000 feet with full load on board. Even with only one engine running it loses height extremely slowly; from a height of 5000 feet the pilot can fly 40 miles before the aeroplane has sunk to ground level, which implies a wide choice of landing ground even in the extreme and unlikely emergency of two engines cutting out. A third new enterprise to be launched is a scheme for coastal services in West Scotland, the outer Scottish islands, and to and from the Isle of Man. Saro Cloud flying boats, each deriving power from two Armstrong-Siddeley 340 horse-power Serval motors, have been acquired for the work. Final tests were made of one of them,

the Cloud of lona, with Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, chief pSot of the operating company, in charge, ?nd the craft was then flown up to Liverpool in readiness for the inauguration of the Isle of Man service. The aeroplane, wfckh is fitted with amphibious i»nflfr«|f gear, has accommodation for 12 passengers and two pilots.