EARTH AND AIR

Evening Post, Issue 27, 31 July 1935, Page 16

EARTH AND AIR

HOW TO FLY

THE GROUND-WORK

The expansion of transport facilities during the past century might make the subject a fascinating story, and the effect on the life of the civilised world is as profound as it is interesting. The expansion in every channel has been sudden and spectacular and in the air promises to be far more rapid than that of railways, roads, and mercantile marine.

New Zealand (writes "Focus," magazine of the Local Bodies Officers' Guild) is in some ways unique from an airman's point of view. It lies in the path of the westerly gales of the "roaring forties" and its rugged topography and narrow shape combine to give a boisterous and turbulent medium for air transport: low cloud, too, is not uncommon in parts of the islands, and the climatic variation over short distances is amazing: one hour's flight will take one from a wet boisterous climate to a calm sunny one. The airman has the advantage, however, of flying in an atmosphere comparatively free from fog, and over country not so well served by land transport 'as elsewhere, where its very rugged nature gives an unusual advantage in time and comfort over other forms of travel. PUTTING PLACES ON THE MAP. We must then expect our air services to expand; but before they can do so local bodies everywhere must realise that the future of air services lies on the ground. Large progressive local bodies can help to foster a very important form of transport; and many small communities, such as Alice Springs in Australia, if -situated on busy air routes, can suddenly become of considerable national importance. A successful air service must be safe, regular, comfortable, and fast. It should serve its own territory better than other forms of transport at present do. So far as the machines themselves are concerned, sufficient experience has been obtained elsewhere for the correct type to be developed. There are perhaps few machines capable of coping with the present poor terminal facilities1 in New Zealand, but with the gradual improvement in this direction many makes of machines should be available to handle the work successfully. Once aloft the machines can comply with the cardinal requirements; but for the unfortunate pilot who has to maintain a regular service, New Zealand at present presents a series of difficult problems. The first difficulty is, of course, the actual landing grounds. £ome'three dozen aerodromes in the making at present exist; but few comply with the requirements of even class D aerodromes, which are not considered safe for commercial services. Local bodies, therefore, who wish to be served by air transport would do well to reserve for this purpose areas which are near the centre of their population, comparatively flat, and free from obstructions, eddies, and low cloud. SIZE OF AN AERODROME. The actual size of the aerodrome is a matter for local conditions, but the minimum requirements are runways of 600 yards, and these should be capable of extension to 800 or, in important centres, to 1000 yards. A square field of 160 acres with the diagonals along the direction of the prevailing winds is large enough for all types of flying. Planned aerodrome development should take place side by side with planned street and zone development in every town in excess of 5000 inhabitants.

In addition it would be to the advantage of the centres to assist where possible in the establishment of emergency landing fields along the routes —these should ultimately lie about 25 miles or so apart. Often a large field can be converted to use at a nominal rental and at small constructional cost.

The service pilot's job in bad weather is not an enviable one: at a speed of 150 m.p.h. a visibility of half a mile gives him only 12 seconds to act. At present extensive cloud can only'safely be passed by flying underneath it, and flying a few feet above water or land is a nerve-racking business, besides being dangerous if heavy rain makes for poor visibility. Once above the clouds the pilot can make fast time in clear air; but at present he cannot safely come down through them as he does not know his exact position. Clouds at 5000 feet may be just topping a mountain 4500 feet high at one minute and at the next will be hiding a flat plain one mile below. He must then have facilities to give him his exact position at any instant, especially in a rugged country such as New Zealand. Broadly, two methods of wireless telephony are used for this, one in which the pilot flies along a beam between two points, and the other in which he is rapidly given his exact position from ground stations when he asks for it. THREE-HOURLY FORECASTS. A third facility which must be provided and which is of equal importance with those of landing and navigation is meteorological service. The present 24-hour service is quite inadequate, and three-hourly forecasts along important air routes from many more observational .stations need to be made available. Repair shops, night landing lights, transport control, and medical services will eventually be required: so that the local body which plans to provide terminal facilities has a very big job to do. This can only be done by careful planning and close co-ordination with other centres, flying companies, and control authorities. ,

Finally, then, flying has come to stay and we must be ready to take advantage of it: there is no way that one can be more easily convinced of the necessity for ground organisation than by taking a flight, say, from Wellington to Auckland, especially if a few showers and a little low cloud are encountered en route, or the machine is compelled by failing light to land a few miles short of its objective.