Faster, Further, and Higher: Aviation During 1933

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 70, 15 December 1933, Page 5 (Supplement)

Faster, Further, and Higher: Aviation During 1933

PROGRESS AT HOME AND ABROAD

(By

H. L. Chisholm.)

Within the year 1933, Great Britain has had the honour of holding the world records for speed, distance, and altitude at the same time; the first occasion on which any nation has achieved such a feat. Within the year, too, she has lost them all. •;.

From a purely national aspect, therefore, the period has been a disappointing one, and at the moment of writing there Seems to be little likelihood that any of these major re cords'will be recaptured within the near f uture. Any attempts that are made will be private enterprise, since the Air Minister; Lord Londonderry, has publicly stated that his department “had no money for record breaking.”

was this statement —“no money for record-breaking” —and Lord Londonderry’s congratulations to the Italians after their wonderful flight from Rome to Chicago and back in forma- . tion, • that moved Mr. C. G. .; ' / Grey of “The Aeroplane,” to comment: “If Lord Londonderry would do something about getting the records back for this country, British aviation would think more highly of him than while he is content to 'demonstrate his 'exceptional skill in composing charming messages of congratulation to the-Ministers of other ■ nations, whicli -'allocate their public funds to putting up spectacular performances, which are calculated to advertise the aeroplanes and engines i of those nations.” Aviation, however, is wider than national boundaries, and the facts of real ' Importance have been that the speed ■ 'record has been raised from 407.5 i m.p.h. zto 423 by Warrant. Officer Angelo, a former Italian Schneider ‘/Trophy pilot; that due to the efforts • of Britain and later of France, the non-stop distance record, stands at 5630 miles, this distance having been covered by MM. Rossi and Codos. Lastly, Gustav Lemoine (France) has ! climbed to 45,275 feet to wrest the al- ' itltude record from Captain C. F. Uwins, who had reached 43,976 feet. Italy’s Air Armada. There can be no denying that the greatest flight of the year was that of the Italian “Air. Armada.” Once i again Air Marshal Balbo amazed the world by .taking a squadron of Savoia flying boats from-Italy to Chicago, via the northern route, across the Atlantic to the Azores and back, to Italy, losing only two machines out of 25 on the Journey. Without doubt that was one of the greatest of aviation feats. Spectacular in the grandeur of its conception and execution, requiring the high- . est qualities of reliability in man, engine, and machine—spartan training, elaborate organisation and staff work, and finally great leadership, decision; and courage—it revealed the youthful, biack-bearded Italo Balbo as a prince among the leaders of men. Second to the Italians’ flight is the tour- of the Lindberghs around the shores of both sides of the two Atlantic Oceans, which is now nearing completion. Next in order of 'merit comes the I French distance record, followed by. the flight from Cranwell to Walvis Bay by Squadron-Leader Gayford and Flight-Lieutenant Nicholetts. As usual, tire Atlantic flyers and the record-breakers have been busy, but the London-Cape route has been neglected in favour of the trip to Australia. These efforts to fly from one side of the globe to the other faster than has been done previously are becoming of smaller importance as the years march by. Less information of technical value is gained, they become ' mor like sporting events, and, after all, - the breaking ,pf records is but the natural outcome of progress. Flights to Australia. ' Special interest attaches to the solo flight of Air Commodore-Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, and the flight to Aus- . tralia by Mr. 0. T. P. Ulm, which have wrought Australia within a week of London. Sir Ross Smith and his . /arty took a month, so that in 14 years ; the time has been reduced to a quarter. Mr. Ulm, moreover, reached India on his third day from England.

Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Molllson lutve been busily flying. Mr. Molllson flew from England to the Argentine in a Puss Moth, thus- becoming the first

man to cross both Atiantics by air, and later he and Mrs, Mollison made a westward Atlantic flight, the first husband and wife to achieve this distinction. Of the technical achievements, probably the two most notable features this year have been the success of’Senor Juan de la Cierva’s wingless autogiro, which is directly controlled by movements of the rotor, and the rapid spread in the use of the retractable. undercarriage, a development which had previously been pioneered by the Lockheed Company, of the United States. Position in New Zealand. By far the most important feature of the New Zealand aviation year has been the decision of the Government

to increase the air force, and to buy a fleet of 16 niodern aircraft, half of which will be reconnaissance craft and half torpedo -bombers. Provision has also been made in the estimates for the strengthening of the force by the number of the personnel required to ■man and look after the new machines. The Salmond report, although furnished in 1928, by the late head of the Royal,Air Force, does not seem to . have been deemed of sufficient interest or importance by our legislators to have it even presented to Parliament A similar fate -was suffered by the Bettington report prepared . shortly after the Armistice, and itseems'a fair question to ask. why New Zealand should have been put to the expense of obtaining comprehensive reports on the air defence of New Zealand by.two competent.authorities, and then-have

t them pigeon-holed as something to be f forgotten as soon as possible. 1 Tlie aero clubs have continued their s work, and have turned out. a steady r flow of pilots. The federation formed e on the West Coast of the South Island p has now been granted official reebgniI. tion, and admitted to membership of - the New Zealand Aero Club. a During the present year the New j Zealand club approached the Govt eminent with a proposal for the > establishment of a chain of emergency landing grounds throughout the 1 Dominion. This scheme met with the r approval; of the Minister and of his r officers, and a grant of £5OOO has been 1 made for Die preliminary work in conf nection with the formation of the 3 landing grounds, which will be situated > along the main air routes. 1 , The Tasman flights of Sir Charles

Kingsford'Smith and Mr. C. T. P. Uini have been other notable features of the year and a noteworthy flight was that accomplished by Mr. E. F. Harvey, with Miss T. Hunter as passenger, from Cape Maria van Diemen to the Bluff, the first time that this trip has h been undertaken. - .; International, Air Routes.' The year 1933 has also been a momentous one as far as the progress of international air routes is concerned. The England-Australia airline has not yet been achieved, but considerable progress has been made, the airway having been extended from Karachi, first to Calcutta, then to Rangoon, and lastly to Singapore, leaving the last stretch yet to-be covered. Conditions for the operation of this stage have been drawn up and tenders 7 called, but the Australian Government’s handling of its share of the greatest G airline in the world has been the cause of great dissatisfaction. The r two chief grounds of complaint have been the decision, to end the airline * at Cootamundra, instead of Sydney or 1 Melbourne, and the low minimum speed " asked of the prospective operators. * , The choice of the Cootamundra terminal, well away from the centres of population, has been due. solely to * political factors, chiefly the fear of ? competition with the railways, but in ' spite of the widespread and prolonged ; protests that have been ma.de, the Gov- “ eminent has remained adamant. 3 The conditions of the contract call 1 for a minimum speed -of 95 m.p.h. in ' the first and second years of the ser- ' vice and 110 m.p.h. in the third year. ‘ Asked to explain why these archaic , speeds were laid down—“ancient speeds ’ for modern needs,” an Australian ; critic dubbed them—the PostmasterGeneral could only explain that the Government feared that,if it adopted a schedule which would provide for a speed of 125 m.p.ln or. more it would be impossible for Australian operators to tender. . 1 '. Coast-to-Coast Sendees. In the meantime, United States coast-to-eoast services are nearing the 200 m.p.h. mark, the K.L.M. service from Holland to the Dutch East Indies has been spending up to its craft and cruise at 156 m.p.h., with a 180 m.p.h. express due to be put into commission, and the new French Dewoitine has a cruising speed of 186 m.p.h.—, nearly twice Australia’s demand. It is certain, however, that the complete airline will be operation before the end of this year. That, at any rate, will give cause for satisfaction. The Australian railways have always been open to criticism on the score of their differing gauges, so that if and when the change to a uniform gauge is made it will be the cause of enormous expense. Tlie airline terminal promises to be another blot oh Australian transport efficiency, and. when commercial considerations cause its transfer to Sydney, Cootamurra, too, will have proved itself a very good .way in which to waste the taxpayers’ money. ‘ / Once the Australian airway is in operation, the centre* of interest will shift to the Atlantic, which has already received considerable attention from both Pan-American Airways, and Imperial Airways. The importance of this development to New Zealand lies in the fact that once the Atlantic is bridged by an air service, a similar link will be forged between Australia and New Zealand. M. Pierre COt, the French Air Minister, has succeeded in effecting a merger of all the leading French air operating companies into Air-France,'; '.a fact that seems to presage a policy of expansion.

The great German company, ,i the Luft Hansa, now, has the catapult''ship Westfalen- moored midway between Bathutst, Gambia, and Natal, Brazil, and with a fleet of four Dornier Wai flying boats will shortly commence a regular service across.the South Atlantic.

And so the year closes, a term of achievement and disappointment, but no less a time of preparation for 1934 and the future. What successes will these years bring forth?