AVIATION NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 124, 21 November 1925, Page 7

AVIATION NOTES

SUBSIDISED SERVICES 14 R.A.F. PILOTS KILLED CALL FOX INDEPENDENT INQUIRY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) . LONDON, 7th October. The Air Ministry have made arrangements for the dispatch this autumn of a flight of three Service aircraft from No. 47 Squadron of the Eoyal Air Force stationed at Helouan from Cairo to Kano, in Nigeria, to be undertaken for the 'purpose of gaining experience in long-distance flights over tropical countries whero few facilities in the way of the ground organisation required by aircraft exist and with the object of allowing Nigeria to see ihe capabilities of British aircraft. The route will pass thro.ugh the Sudan, French Equatorial Africa, and past Lake Chad to Kano, the capital of Nigeria. The places to be visited for refuelling, etc., will be Assouan, in Egypt, Khartoum, El Obeid, and El Fasher, in the Sudan; Abecher and Fort Lamy, in French Equatorial Africa) Maidugari and Kano, in Nigeria. The flight over French Equatorial Africa has. been rendered possible by the courtesy of,, the French authorities, who have assisted in the arrangements made. The organisation of the flight is being undertaken by Air Vice-Marshal Sir 0. Swarm, the Air Officer Commanding Middle East. Squadron Leader A. Coningham will be in command of the flight, which will start about tho end of this month. . Squadron Leader A. Coniugham, D.5.0., M.C., D.F.C.j is, of course, the New Zealand airman who made a fine reputation during the war for his daring actions in tho air, which .numbered no fewer than sixty. Official records show that iv one period, of fourteen days ho aceouated for ten of the enemy machines. He was mentioned in British and French dis-. patches—ip. two weeks ho was mentioned in French Army Orders four limes. Mr. Coningham is an old bpy of Wellington College, and his contemporaries will watch with interest the result of tho coming important iU'.rial enterprise. Tho annual report on the progress of civil aviation has been published by tho Air Ministry. On tho first day of tho period under review there caiiio into existence Imperial Airways, Limited, the subsidised company formed by the amalgamation of four independently subsidised coraI'lMiitM.. Tho service between Loudon and .Paris was operated not less tlmu-onco a day. in each direction, as also that between London, Brussels, and Cologne; while an additional daily servico to Cologne. was, operated via Ustund. Tho service between ijomlou and Berlin was operated, as ,'it the end of the previous year, three times a, week in each direction. The acrvico between London ■ and Zurich (via Uascl) was operated three times a week in each direction until 17th November, when the services were closed down except for occasional special flights. This voute has been reopened with a daily service, and it is anticipated that it will contintio through next winter. It has sti'i! been impossible up to date to obtain permission from the German Govern-' merit .for the operation of. the service to Prague in extension of- the existing line from London to Cologne. TOTAL MILEAGE. Imperial Airways, Limited, aom-pleted,-*iu accordance with the terms of their agreement, a total mileage during the year of 825,525. In connection with these mileages, it,is of interest to note, the report proceeds, as a further instance of the durability, of British aircraft material, under good conditions of inspection and maintenance, that up to 31st March, 1925, one aircraft of the Haudley Page typo and two of the De Havilland 34 type have each completed about 3300 hours of flying, representing approximately 200,000 miles each, ami three Napier "Lion" type engines have each run an average of .1330 hours, ■ • ■ Statistical tables of British, civil aviation, included in tlie report, show th:it a fall iv air transport, flying occvirrud a.-i compared with the previous ywir, mileage having, declined from J ,004,000 to 800,000,- and passengers caiiied' from 10,010 to 13,478. This J'jill is explained partly by tho lohs cii' flying during the ilrst few mfjutliH in' operation by Iniporial Airways, Limited, partly by the discontinuance; of the Southampton-Guernsey service; by the same company, end partly by t)ir reduction in air transport flying carried ont by the De Havilland Hire Service. The car,, riago of cargo, on tho other hand, showed an increaso from 427.1 tons to 508 tons, thus illustrating the success of the efforts-of- Imperial Airways, Limited, to increaso this branch of their business. A noteworthy point is that from May, 1019, up to 31st March, 1925, .r >",552 passengers were carried by Bri tish air transport, wreviccs and 247,'. 773 passengers took flights in other machines in commercial oporatkm. In tho same period the total mileuge "r>\vn in both ah- transport and other ciminercial flying amounted to 3,126,-' UOO miles. ■ . ' ■ INTERRUPTED FLIGHTS. A table illustrating the efficiency of tho British subsidised services .shows that out of 4328 sLage flights commenced, 40C4, or 94 per cent.', were completed without interruption, and that out of the 264. stage flights interrupted 105 were completed on the Hume day after the interruption. A total of 256 involuntary landings occurred, excluding landings for refuelling. Tho causes of these landings were: Weather, 50 nor cent.; engine, or installation failure, 34 per cent.;, aiid other causes, 16 pur cent. There, was one fatal accident during the year, that which occurred on Christinas Eve, 1024, when seven pusseiu gers wore killed. From May, 191!), up to Jilst March, 1925, tho number til' accidents involving tliu death of y-ass'jngc.'S in nir transport Hying wus four, uinl the mileage, llown i!,1598,----OUO. For tho third year, iv succe'sBion no fatal accident involving passengers occurred in other flying for

hire (mainly "joy ride" flights). One passenger ■ was, however, 'injured slightly. FOURTEEN AIRMEN KILLED IN FIVE WEEKS. During tho last live or six weeks there have been fourteen lives lost in Royal Air Force crashes. An accident at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, last week completed the disastrous total. An officer and a sergeant— both pilots—were killed. Three aeroplanes were flying in formation when two of them struck. A wing broke off and one of the machines dropped liko a stone, the other coming down id a corkscrew. The day before another flight-licu-tcnaut came down at Folkestone. The wing of tho machine seems to have suddenly, cillapscd, either through excessive strain or because of structural failure. Writing on the subject of these frequent accidonts, tho aeronautical correspondent of the ''Daily Ohron- i iclo" says that probably the most J significant fact which has emerged in j flying statistics is that it is aot in i learning to fly that the chief danger lies. Nor when a pilot is experienced is the risk heavy. The majoiity of accidents which are caused by errors of judgment occur not long after an airmen has passed through his period of training. The fact that he has become proficient in the handling of a 'plane gives him a confidence when flying which is not tempered by experience. This, according to the varying temperaments of pilots, may in a moment of cirelsMness cause some mistake to be made. A PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR. This introduces a psychological factor which is now one of the big problems in flying. However good equipment may be, however thorough inspection, and however well planned a course of training, the final question concerns the pilot himself. It is a human problem which now faces, the E.A.F., and it is from this point of view that experts declare an inquiry should be instituted, calling into service, if necessary, some .of our greatest brain and nerve specialists. Every day war flying becomes more arduous, and we should know, as far as possible, the limits of the human brain and body, so far as these ex-, ccssive strains are concerned. 85, Fleet street.