NEW AIR FORCE TRAINERS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22465, 28 July 1938, Page 5

NEW AIR FORCE TRAINERS

* SUPERVISING ENGINEER FROM ENGLAND PRAISE FOR VICKERS BOMBERS (THE PRESS Special Servlce-1 AUCKLAND, July 27. To supervise the assembling of th« five Airspeed Oxford training aeroplanes recently purchased by th« Government for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Mr W. F, Locke, sa aeronautical engineer on the staff of Airspeed (1934), Ltd., arrived from England by the Rangitata. Two of the machines are already in Auckland, and the remaining three will arrive shortly. “I am over here to maintain the machines .for three months after erecting them at Hobsonyille,” Mr Locke said. After being flighttested from Hobsonville the Oxfords will be flown to Wigram and will be stationed there. The machines ordered for New Zealand are five out of several hundred of the type ordered' by the Air Ministry for twin-engined training for pilots, navigational training, -bombing instruction, aerial gunnery, aerial photography, and radio training, including direction-finding. They are up-to-date machines designed largely for use by young pilots who will later be required to fly first-line craft. - Since New Zealand has already ordered 30 Vickers Wellington bombers, particularly fine machines according to Mr Locke. the_ Oxfords were required to give the pilots preliminary training on twin-engined craft, he said. Mr Locke mentioned that the Oxford was a particularly popular machine with pilots in England, a valuable test of the characteristics of any machine. Eight months were recently spent by Mr Locke at Martelsham Heath. England, during type-tests of the Airspeed Oxford. He is a pilot as well as an engineer, and said that he had been able to see many of the very latest fighting and bombing craft developed for the Royal Air Force at close quarters. The Vickers Wellingtons ordered for New Zealand were, he said, one of the finest craft of its type in the world, with great range and formidable equipment. Flight to China An exceptionally long flight from England to China to deliver two Airspeed civil machines to the Government of the rebel, province of Kwangsi in China was undertaken by Mr Locke with other members of the company’s staff last year. He said that the whole journey occupied only 54 flying hours. A course similar to that taken by the competitors in the Melbourne Centenary air race was followed by the two machines as far as Bangkok. Mr Locke said they flew across France, Italy and Greece to Alexandria. on to Cairo and across India to Calcutta, calling then at Rangoon before landing at Bangkok. An effort was made to reach T T r. • i in French Indo-China from E:.;:rk; k, but the weather forced them down at a place called Thackeck on the border of French Indo-China and Siam. “There we were stuck without fuel for a time." Mr Locke com tinned. “I do not think they had even seen an aeroplane before and, strangely, had no idea of the ■. a!u€ of an' English pound note." With fresh fuel aboara tiw machines flew on to \ ninn and ceiled at Hanoi before landing a: thei* destination. The craft, two Krvoyt similar to the one used by the Kata were handed over for the in: of thl marshal of the province. At the conclusion of his busines* in Now Zealand Mr L*'cke will visit Australia for his company beferf returning to England.