ACROSS ATLANTIC

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 255, 24 July 1937, Page 11

ACROSS ATLANTIC

Five More Experimental Flights AIR MAIL SCHEME Empire Flying-boats to be Used (British Official Wireless.) (Received July 23, 5.5 p.m.) Rugby, July 22. It is understood that five more experimental double crossings of the North Atlantic Ocean in connection with the air-mail scheme are scheduled for completion before the ice at: Botwood Seaplane Base, Newfoundland, closes the route to flying-boats i’or the winter. These flights will probably be shared by the two long-range Empire flying-boats, the Caledonia, which returned from America four days ago in the record time of 12 hours 6 minutes, and the Cambria, at present standing by at Lisbon for trial journeys over the Southern Atlantic route.

Land-plane flights may extend this year's North Atlantic experiments. Hattiescamp, Newfoundland’s new aerodrome, should be ready for use in the autumn, and flying trials of the fast new Albatross four-engined monoplane may have progressed far enough for experimental trans-ocean crossings to be .undertaken. Recent crossings of the North Atlantic by the Caledonia have provided data which is extremely valuable from the technical point of view. One of the features of the flights as effected by Imperial Airways and PanAmerican Airways was the excellent service rendered by the Meteorological Department. The weather problems on the North Atlantic, and more particularly the question of prevailing winds, have been the subject of careful study for some considerable time, and the value of the preliminary work is shown by the study of the logs and courses of recent flights. Remarkable accuracy was attained by the forecasts.

Another outstanding feature was the success attained by short-wave wireless communication. Signalling from one shore station to another and also from shore bases to aircraft and between aircraft in flight and ships in their Vicinity was carried out with precision, which is an excellent augury for the success of the regular Atlantic air mall. The first survey flights for the joint Anglo-American Atlantic air service were successfully completed on July C, when the American clipper landed at Foynes, in the Irish Free State, at 10.50 a.m. (British Standard Ttime), from Botwood, Newfoundland, and 10 minutes later the British flying-boat Caledonia- landed at Botwood from Foynes, which it left at 7.57 p.m. the previous day. Many telegrams of congratulation were received by the commanders of the two machines, including a message to each from the Air Minister, Viscount Swinton. Captain A. S. Wilcockson, commander of the Caledonia, said he had petrol enough left for 800 or 900 miles when he landed. In his view a promising feature of the flight was the evidence It afforded of two planes flying to schedule in opposite directions. Radio contacts with land stations and between the planes were maintained throughout, and when they passed in mid-Atlantic, although far out of sight of each other, they exchanged greetings and weather reports. The success of the flights convinced the pilots that there should be no difficulty in operating regular transAtlantic services.

TWO SEADROMES

Construction For Atlantic Route (Received July 23, 8.40 p.m.) San Francisco, July 22. An engineer, Mr. Harold Moss, declared the British Admiralty had approved and a British company was financing the construction of two seadromes for 'the Atlantic route, with the object of permitting planes to reduce their fuel loads and increase pay loads. The plans on which Mr. Moss and an Australian, Mr. M. E. Heiser, have been working for years provide for a combined tank and landing deck for the accommodation of either land or sea planes. It is estimated that the two dromes, each of which will be 2011 i’ee't long by GOO feet broad, will cost fifty million dollars. They will be supported by pontoons.