SPEEDS TRAVEL

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 120, 16 November 1929, Page 29

SPEEDS TRAVEL

'PLANES IN AUSTRALIA

COMFORTABLE-AND' SAFE

"The Leader'? (Australia) publishes an article dealing with ■■-transport byair. . The one bar to-/the rapid pro : gress of civil aviation, it is stated, was the doubt as to;.the safety of flying, but this duriiigt the last few years has been effectually removed not .only by achievements but: also in Australia. The wonderful exploits of Hinkler and 'Kingsford Smith, to mention only two, did much' to focus- attsjitfion on aviation, and to demonstrate how-safe flying can be made. But it is doubtful if ; these exploits have done as much to convince the public of the safety of flying as the unparalleled achievements of the commercial aviation companies operating in Australia. '. •.. Since the inauguration of the first air mail service hundreds of thousands of miles hive been flown in all parts of the continent, and the percentage of accidents has been negligible. Week after week the 'planes of various companies have flown over regular routes without mishap. or delay. Civil aviation in no other country can boast of a better record. ': 7 The recent east-west aerial race has also done much to convince people of the reliability of modern aeroplanes. Nearly, all.' of. the seventeen' 'planes which started-from Sydney were small machines of the Moth type( Yet although they were-flown to the limit of their speed . day" after day there was oaly one serious accident. Even that accident could'not be attributed to any defect in the machine. After the first coujile of stages all of the pilots began to-take risks' in order to win the longest air race in the worH. It was through flying low so as to ; void the stronger wind resistance of higher altitudes that Pratt and Guthrie met with disaster. It is safe to say that in a race by car across Australia with a similar number of starters more than one machine would fail to complete the journey. PASSENGER RISK LIGHT. ' The' risks inseparable from aerial racing are not attendant on ordinary civil aviation. The passenger 'planes, which are overhauled daily, are usually high-powered and flown by»the most expert pilots. They fly well within their maximum speed, and the engines are not ruined by being pushed to their utmost, f ; The pilots are also familiar with the routes over which they fly, and there are adequate emergency landing grounds. Nothing is left to chance. J ' There are several commercial aviation . companies operating in Australia, and the "watchword of them all is reliability. The records of such companies as West Australian Airways, the Qanfas Company, in Queensland, and the Australian Aerial Service's, Ltd., of Victoria Bpeak for themselves* in that regard. 'Planes of the Australian Aerial Services, Ltd., alone have flown more that 750,000 miles without a fatality. Apart . frqm the expedition in the delivery■ "of "Mails1, commtfr'eiaT aviation has proved a great boon-to Australia, and the advantages of travel by air cannot be denied. The saving of time alone makes flying worth while. The journey by train from Melbourne to Broken. Hill, including stops, occupies 39J hours. The same journey by air and also including stops occupies only nine'hours. Other comparisons are: Melbourne to Hay, 15 hours by train, 3$ hours by air; Sydney to Broken Hill, 60i hours by train, 18^ hours by air; 'Sydney to Adelaide, 38 hours by train,'.lßJ hours by air; Mildura to Melbourne, 14i hours by train, 5 J hours by air; Hay to Adelaide, 44 hours by train, 5$ hours by air; Mildura to Sydney, 50 ■'[, hours by train, 19 hours by air;' Echuca to Deniliquin, 2 hours by train, 35 minutes by air; Narandera to Adelaide,' 50 hours by train, 8$ hours by air; Broken Hill to Adelaide, 15 hours by train, 5J hours by air. When the first railway carried passengers at a speed of about nine miles an hour, medical men* of the time declared that the speed Would prove injurious to health, and it waß even claimed that the travellers would eventually become insane. Nowadays the travellers certainly would become insane if the trains did not travel at. a considerably greater, speed than tltat. To-day trains are travelling at six or more times their original speed, but no one doubts their safety. Twentyfive years ago a person, who'travelled in a. motor : car was considered foolhardy. The same prejudice existed against aeroplanes, but it is' now quickly dying out. - ABSENCE OF THRILLS. Modern aircraft maintained by qualified engineers and flown over surveyed and charted routes by efficient pilots provide safe and comfortable travel, except in very bad weather. Then commercial aviation companies refuse to take the risk of sending out a 'plane. Those who expect to get a thrill out of flying in a passenger 'plane will be disappointed. There is a complete absence of thrills. There is not oven a sinking feeling around the heart such, as is experienced in an elevator. In an enclosed cabin the passenger does not even experience the thrill of travelling at a speed of nearly 100 miles an hour. Looking out of the cabin window at the country beloif one would imagine that ho was slowly floating along. Statistics have shown that the majority of aeroplane accidents happen to machines which are not qperating on organised mail routes. These machines should not be confused with commercial aircraftj which operate under the air navigation regulations of the Air Navigation Act of 1920. In a leaflet issued to passengers before they undertake a flight one company points out that special clothing is not necessary for air travel. The clothes ijvhich would be worn on a motor trip are adequate. Dizziness experienced when looking down from tho top of a building is unknown in an aeroplane, as thero is no connection with the earth. A person is not at all affected by riding backward in an aeroplane, as is sometimes tho ease in a railway train. . In order to turn, .an aeroplane "banks" slightly, and one wing is raised above the horizontal and tho other lowered. This is a perfectly safe movement.." Pilots of passenger 'planes do not, put their machines into vertical "banks.*.?' * , NO NEED FOR CONCERN. Passengers, bay«. no cause, for alarm when they-hear" -the :engine slowing down; this is only an indication that the pilot is preparing to land, that he wishes to reduce-spoed, or that he desires to; fly'at a lower altitude, which may, in Jiis opinion, be advisable owing to calmer weather or better visibility. '': ;■■ '-■■. ••■ •■. One must not be concerned if the machine, when starting, taxis slowly to a corner x of the aerodrome. The pilot is really manoeuvring for position to obtain the most advantageous take-off

or ascension. An aeroplane always starts and lands head against the wind, and after a short run rises almost imperceptibly from tho ground. Slight deafness is sometimes caused by atmospheric pressure, and immediate relief can be obtained when ascending or descending by either just blowing your nose with the nostrils pinched together, or swallowing. You will obtain the most enjoyment from travel in an aeroplane if you "let yourself go"-—that is, relax. You can. do no-good by holding on tightly or anticipating the movements of the aeroplane; by, .placing yourself in any particular position. "Air pockets"* dq not exist, and when "bumps" occur they are caused by vertical currents of air, which have a similar effect on aeroplanes as very rough roads have on motor-cars. Air-sickness affects" fewer passengers than sea-sickness. The best cure for air-sickness is fresh air, . and ventilators should be opened. Drinking water and glasses are carried on all regular mail service aeroplanes. . It is prohibited by Government regulations to smoke or light matches in ah aeroplane, and nothing, whatsoever should be thrown out of the windows. RULES OF THE AIR. Flying in Australia has been made more safe by adoption of rules of' the air by the Federal Government, which passed the Air Navigation Act, in 1920. Among other provisions the Act states that no place shall be used as an aerodrome or as a regular place of landing or departing by passenger aircraft carrying passengers unless it has been licensed for the purpose by the Minister. An aircraft shall not fly over any city or town except at such an altitude as will.enable the aircraft to land outside the city or town should the means of propulsion fail through any mechanical breakdown or other cause. No person in any aircraft shall engage in any trick flying exhibition, flying over any regatta, race meeting or meeting for public games or sports, or over any city, town or populous district, or engage in any flying which by reason of low altitude or proximity to persons or buildings is dangerous to public safety. Except with the consent in writing of the Minister no flying machine other than a seaplane or amphibian, carrying passengers, shall fly over the sea for a longer distance than 50 miles, in a direct line from coast line to coast line. CONVERTS TO FLYING. " One of the best tributes paid to aerial travel was by Mr. E.T. Matthews, who made his first flight when he was mayor of Deniliquin.. He flew from Adelaide to his home town,, and on being asked for his impressions said, "I sent a telegram before leaving Adelaide, and ar-' rived home simultaneously with • it, about 500 miles, and did not have to brush my hair or shoes." Lord Stradbroke, a former Governor of Victoria, after his first flight, said, "It seemed to me a wonderful thing that the pilot should be able to tell me the time of my arrival at Essendon before I left Mildura, and to complete tho journey over a new-, route five minutes' ahead of timCi The movement was so slight that it would have been easy to write letters, etc.; during tho journey. This being so, flying will soon be resorted to by business men whose time is of consequence, as they will be able to do a considerable amount of work during their journey." Ono,of. the.keenest advocates, ofi flying in Australia is the Governpr-General, Lord Stonehaven, who makes extensive use of aeroplanes to travelfrom one part of Australia to another. His first flight impressions were:—"As a means of obtaining a rapid impression of the greatness and wealth of Australia, and of the extent of development in the way of irrigation, roads, railways, clearing and cultivation, a trip by air affords an opportunity which cannot be obtained iv any other way." Mr. H. A. Hunt, Commonwealth Meteorologist, said;:—"One appreciates the entire absence of dirt, dust, and smoke. As tho result of my .'trip I acquired such a sense of the security and the absence of danger of aeroplane travelling, that I would not be deterred from taking a most extended voyage." "