Fast New Service To Rongotai Airport

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28952, 21 July 1959, Page 6

Fast New Service To Rongotai Airport

An architect left Christchurch at 7.30 a.m. yesterday, arrived in Wellington before offices had opened, spent almost six hours on calls\ about contracts, and was home again at 4 p.m. in time to attend to urgent business in his own office. A good number of other Christchurch businessmen made the same sort of calls.

i This quick round trip was made possible by the inauguration of regular Viscount services to the new Rongotai airport Besides chopping an hour and 20 minutes off actual flying time, the opening of Rongotai brings Viscount air services within 15 minutes’ drive of both cities whereas, the trip from Paraparaumu to Wellington took almost an hour, the tinie it takes the Viscount to fly between the airports. ■ “Only time to skim ‘The Press,”* was one man’s description of the flight up. It is literally true. The Viscount just reaches its most economical altitude 19,000 or 20,000 ft—when It throttles back for the descent. The change from climb to descent is quite’ marked. All the time this aircraft is eating up the distance at more than 300 miles an hour—up and down again. I The Viscount, City of Christchurch, with a number of guests of the National Airways Corporation among the full load, made one of the first flights from Christchurch to Rongotai yesterday morning on a perfect day. i Viscount services between the two cities will travel inland on the way up and off the coast on the way back. This gives agreeable scenic variety for even those bent on* commerce. “Wellington airport” is fighting for substitution of this name for the traditional Rongotai as hard as “Christchurch airport” had to battle to overcome the popular parlance of Harewood. But the Wellington City Council has done so much to make the new airport that local people think the change is proper recognition. No Apology Needed I Wellington has no need to apologise that its terminal is a temporary conversion of the former de Havilland aircraft factory. It is a magnificent makeshift and some Christchurch visitors yesterday were even so bold as to say that it almost matches the Christchurch terminal. The huge floor area gives a splendid concourse and the authorities have seen that it is not cluttered in any way. Passengers from Wellington are dropped from the coaches at the main door and walk directly down the long concourse with its rows of documentation counters on one side and nursery, first-aid post, post office, gift shop, bank offices, and T.A.B. facilities on the other. The public space then opens out into a big lounge, 80ft square, with cafeteria and restaurant beyond. “Walkways” . To board aircraft, passengers I walk out through enclosed “walkways” (really above-ground tunnels) which branch out in almost to the aircraft steps. This /ives complete protection from rain or Wellington winds. This is not a fad. Wellington airport authorities sas that it is in line with the best overseas airport practice and will become doubly desirable when Rongotai takes its full share of traffic in November on the closing of Paraparaumu. Then it will be necessary to channel hundreds of passengers daily during the rushes through regular trunk services, North Island feeder ! services, and Cook Strait traffic iwhich will make the airport | many times busier than Christchurch. This takes no account of the heavy freight services. Rongotai will also become the centre of New Zealand for flying. For that reason N.A.C. is installing

its chief pilot there, its central Operations office, which ■ also redrafts national schedules -in the event of delay, and other Dominion-wide services. All these offices are oh a mezzanine floor. . . Building Conversion The building,conversion on this £5,000,000 airport cost about £40,000. The result is cheap at that price. Instead of trying to disguise a hangar-type building, the architects have taken it as it is. The saw-tooth roof, with Scores of skylights, has not been blanked off with ceilings so natural lighting is good. The roof trusses—there are dozens of them —have not been cloaked. They are picked out in bright colours and give distinctive character. Drab waHs glow with pastel colours and the few unused comers have been cunningly concealed with ♦ multi-coloured wooden louvres or wide-mesh netting. One interesting sidelight is the provision for public parking close to the terminal's main entrance. The rights have been let on concession. The first quarter hour is free, the next hour costs Is, and then a sliding scale operates up to 5s a day or 23s a week. ‘‘You have to pay to breathe here,” said one official, referring to the spate of concessions recently granted by the City Council.