A BETTER RONGOTAI

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 256, 26 July 1935, Page 11

A BETTER RONGOTAI

Kingsford Smith’s Views On Improvements

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

After an inspection of the Wellington City Council model of Rongotai airport, and watching some of Unobservations made, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith expressed approval of the scheme of improvements at Rongotai. He suggested the order in which the proposed improvements should be undertaken as follows: —

First, the realignment of the roadway and the shifting of the paving plant aud other buildings. Secondly, the cutting away of the Moa Point knob to the degree found most effective. Thirdly, the reclamation of part of the bay.

The combination of the first two works will bring about a very great Improvement, giving runways of ample length and eliminating a great deal of the down-draught and eddy trouble, and the full programme will make Rongotai a very good aerodrome, even for the blind flying and blind landing technique which is going to lie a recognised and regular practice on service lines within a very few years now, Sir Charles said. He knew from experience of Rongotai, both with the Southern Cross and with smaller machines, just where some of the air traps were to Lie looked for, and his experience had been duplicated convincingly by the smoke eddies on the model, but, more than that, it was possible to look further back and see where those troubles originated.

“Rongotai will be very greatly improved when the roadway is swung farther to the west and the bitumen plant and other obstructions are removed. That will enable machines rising into the wind to avoid the bad down-draught just in front of the hangar. This, I think, is the first work which should be done, and not a very big one. “The removal of the top of the hill above Moa Point is going to make a big difference in both northerly and southerly weather, and the investigations which are being made in the wind tunnel by the trial of different hilltop sections are a very good approach to the problem of improvement here. Apart from the elimination of eddies and turbulence arising from the wind sweeping past and over the present knob, the removal of this hill, in part or in whole, as is found necessary, will add to the effective area of Rongotai, as it will make possible a lower approach, so that machines will land nearer the southern boundary of the field and have a longer effective runway before them. “It is a clever approach to a difficult problem.” said Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, after his inspection of the City Council model of Rongotai Airport, yesterday. “Without any doubt at all, well-worth-while results will Im obtained from it.” The airman also extended his congratulations to Mr. C. I. Kidson, the originator of the idea, who is also in charge of the model and the observations being made.