BIG TOTAL OF FLYING

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21384, 29 January 1935, Page 11

BIG TOTAL OF FLYING

LONG LIFE OF BRITISH AIRLINERS FEW REPAIRS AFTER THREE YEARS (By Air Mail—From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, December 29. British airliners which have just been stripped and thoroughly inspected after no less than 4600 hours' flying have astonished the experts. The time spent in the air is equivalent to nearly 500,000 miles, an enormous total to be reached by a single vehicle of any kind—land, air, or water—in the three years, and much more than sufficient to put many ground vehicles on the scrap-heap. The recent close examination of Handley Page Type 42 biplanes of the class employed by Imperial Airways on the cross-Channel routes, in northern Africa and between India and Egypt, has proved that the modern aeroplane is one of the sturdiest and longest-lived of all vehicles. Very little work was needed to put every part of the airframe in perfect condition. Wings and fuselage were found to be without fault. The paintwork was as good as when the craft first left the Handley Page factory; the only part requiring any attention under this head was the leading edge of the wings, where rain had penetrated. The fabric wing-coverings had not been renewed or redoped during the entire period of service, which demonstrates beyond argument that hasty impressions of the short life of a fabric-covered surface are illfounded. When the cabin furnishings were detached for inspection of the fuselage, the main structure was found to require neither replacement nor repair. Aft of the passenger cabins the fuselage was in equally good case. In all, the inspectors' reports indicate a record of durability and trustworthiness worth many more spectacular achievements; no foreign commercial aeroplane has ever approached it, and it is doubtful if any vehicle of any kind has rivalled it.

So trustworthy are these biplanes that for months three of them worked all of the London-Paris services of Imperial Airways—up to five services a day in each direction—without reserves. They are the quietest landplane airliners in commission, and their standard of comfort is famous. They rank also as the most economical big aircraft yet constructed; to them is largely due the decreases by more than onehalf of Imperial Airways operating charges a capacity-ton/mile since 1925, and the attainment of an annual average of nearly 5000 flights an aeroplane in the company's fleet. No other commercial aircraft in the world are worked so intensively. Safety and Comfort The long and roomy fuselage -of the Type 42, which carries a crew of four and up to 38 passengers, is underslung with the wings above it, affording the passengers an uninterrupted view downwards. Engine noise is screened by the lower wings. The airscrews rotate in a plane which does not intersect the passenger saloons, an arrangement which further lessens the noise heard in the saloons. Every f.assenger has at least 75 cubic feet of cabin space, implying plenty of room and air. The highly efficient biplane wings enable the craft to take off with full load in nine seconds, which means that it can be operated safely and easily from small aerodromes.

Imperial Airways pilots have flown Type 42 machines considerably more than 2,000,000 miles in all kinds of weather—fog, storms, low clouds, gales. Many thousands of miles have been flown at night. No single occupant of one of theso machines has yet suffered the flightest injury.