THE FLYING SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 83, 5 October 1917, Page 2

THE FLYING SERVICE

CAREER FOR YOUNG NEW ZEALANDERS

- PROGRESS AT CHRISTCHURCH FLYING GROUND.

Of the-many •training centres in-New ' Zealand .possibly the least known is at a little spot called Sockburn, almost a suburb of Cbristchuroh,- where the still hours of very early morning see young New Zealand-aviators preparing for their entry into the nation's airfleet. Thisl ground is not under military discipline, for, the tTaning of flying cadets in New Zealand has been left to private enterprise, but the men, none the less, will be regularly drafted into the fighting strength of the Allies. Mr. C. W. Hervey, secretary to the' Canterbury^ Aviation Company, Ltd., who arrived in Wellington to-day, speaks .hopefully of the work that is being done-at the Canterbury Aviation ground. The company was floatedl as the result of a very enthusiastic meeting of Christchuroh citizens, in order to assist in the training of men who are desitned to be the most urgently needed in the final issue of the war. The work has gone ahead, and the company is already achieving Ithe worthy object of its founders. While in Wellington, Mr. Hervey hopes to enrol many pupils for the flying course at Christchurch. He states that in the ■ southern city any wrong ideas regarding the hazards of. aviation have been I dissipated by the wonderful control of -he machines displayed by the instructor •(Mr. C. M. Hill)- and his pupils. The course opens to any. young man a fine career, • having demonstrably less risks l.ian are encountered in the regular forces/ Tho fee at Canterbury is £100, ani the pupils reside in special quarters at the aerodrome during, their six or eight weeks' training. Upon passing his preliminary flying tests, the pupil receives a grant in New Zealand of £75 on-behalf of the British Government, and is sent Home at flic Army Council'^ expense to undergo his extended training in- the Royal Flying Corps. Eight pupils, Mr. Hervey said, had already qualified, and were about to start for England. The ■ first pupil to enter the r-nterbury school, and the first to gain i» "rilot's certificate, was Mr. E. F. Wildi' younger brother" of the late Captai •■ .'thony Wilding, the famous tennis :. 'pion. The early pupils of the scho^ jrawu from different parts of the North ;»d South Islands, had shown a wonderl {•'. keenness in their work, and had done { >at credit to their instructor. Major Sfo, i.an had particularly commended the nstructional methods of Mr; Hill, laying- stress on the importance of the frequent ascents and descents ensured by the system of short flights practised over the extensive . manoeuvring ground j,t Sockburn. The flying ground, Mr. Hervey said, lay just'five miles from Christchurch by tramline, in an ideal stretch of flying country, »hich had been most favourably commented, upon by experts. The actual landing ground was much more extensive than that at Hendori, and the Canterbury Park, racecourse alongside afforded an additional clear stretch of landing country for any pilot who might have to make a hurried descent out of bounds. The hangars, standing on the edge of an unfenced stretch of some hundred and fifty acres of land, contained a very well-equipped workshop, where the pupil was instructed very fully in engine work and the details of' aeroplane construction, as new machines were built. The air fleet consiated of three complete machines* and two others in ' the making. A Bleriot. monoplane/ is used, riot for flying, but merely to "taxi" about the ground, to give the pupil an idea of the controls arid the rather unconventional ways in which a .machine will "behave on its runners. This machine is identical in type with ihe monoplane on which >vis Bleriot made Iris astounding cross-Channel flight on 25th July, 1909. It was experimented with by a Frenchman at' Christchurch before the war, but never made a sus-. tamed flight. The second machine is a late model C&udron dual-control biplane, the safest type of aeroplane afloat, fitted- with a 60 h.p. Anzani engine. In this machine the pilot (Mr. C. M. Hill) takes up each pupil, and by means of the dual control, worked from either seat, the pupil is quickly initiated into the mysteries of flying, and is sometimes controlling the machine before he is aware of the fact. The third , machine is a. Caudron type biplane, fitted with the 45 h.p. Anzani engine used by Scotland in his pioneer flights in New Zealand. This biplane was actually constructed down to the last detail by the pupils, under the direction' of Mr. J. G. Mackie, the company's mechanic, and it proved to be a machine' of exceptionally good gliding qualities and absolute stability. On it all the pupils of the school have passed their pilot's tests so far, and the paesing of six pupils in 3f hours on the same machine is claimed as a record for any school. Mr. Hillhas looped-the-loop on this machine. The company has two Anzani, engines of 100 h.p. each on the water, and biplanes of the Caudron tj/pe are building itt the aerodrome for their reception. Questioned regarding the possibility of aeroplane construction in New Zealand, Mt.. Hervey replied that he did not think •the idea was feasible at present, since the'impossibility of standardisation and extensive production, apart from inability to make engines, put the industry out of the question as a war-winning measure. He added that it was doubtful even whether the output of aeroplanes in Britain or America could be stimulated by •local "funds, as the factories there were working at their fullest capacity. But New Zealand could supply, aviator* of a splendid type,, as the schools at Auckland and Christchuroh had. proved. Concentration on man-power for the air fleets wouii. be more profitable than dissipating time, and energy on the production of-a/i few-machines.