'NO WORRIES’ FOR CHCH AIRPORT

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31341, 11 April 1967, Page 3

'NO WORRIES’ FOR CHCH AIRPORT

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, April 10. Christchurch International Airport is the only airport in New Zealand which has “no foreseeable worries.”

This opinion was given this afternoon by the president and chairman of the Northrop Corporation of America (Mr Thomas V. Jones), who is seeing four members of the New Zealand Cabinet tomorrow.

These are the Minister of Civil Aviation (Mr Gordon), the Minister of. Defence (Mr Thomson), the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon) and the Minister of Lands (Mr Maclntyre).

The Northrop Corporation is primarily interested in telecommunications and electronics, but it is building the

fuselages for the Boeing 747 “jumbo jets,” and it is the manufacturer of the Northrop F 5 Freedom fighter, which has been mentioned as one of the aircraft being considered as a Canberra replacement. Mr Jones said that the new aircraft in the “jumbo jet” class would not require more runway than the present commercial airliners—possibly less. Referring to existing New Zealand airports, he said that Rongotai would certainly not be “comfortable,” and that Mangere would probably be glad of its suggested ability to be extended beyond the present 8500 ft. “Christchurch alone, with its 10,000 ft and capability for further extension, is the only one which seems to have no worries,” Mr Jones said. “It must be borne in mind, however, that the big international freighters will re-

quire no more room than the present jet airliners,” he said. Looking into the future, he said that the cargo-liner of a few years hence would be a super-jet aircraft which would cruise at more than 600 miles an hour, and would carry cargo well in excess of 65 tons. “Research is proceeding now on sophisticated equipment which will permit the new large aircraft to use airstrips which are not fitted with the latest landing aids,” Mr Jones said. He suggested that New Zealand, as a producer country, could not do otherwise than gain in the future, as the new jet air-freighters would bring many of the big overseas markets, including Japan, within 12 hours’ flight of New Zealand.