AIRMEN OBJECT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 135, 5 December 1944, Page 6

AIRMEN OBJECT

AUCKLAND HARBOUR BRIDGE 6.C. , AUCKLAND, This Day. The building of a bridge across 'the Waitemata Harbour might prejudice the future development of the port as a flying-boat base, according to Flight Lieutenant G. R. Canavan, R.A.F. (retired), who recently relinquished the post of control officer in charge at Mechanics' Bay. Flight. Lieutenant Canavan said that in spite-of the general'trend toward land planes he considered flying-boats would continue to be built, especially where very large airjeraft were wanted. A bridge across the upper harbour would als6 have some effect on the safety of land craft proceeding to Whenuapai in bad visibility. ■

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco and others throughout the world were already a bugbear to pilots in thick weather and certain winds, said Flight Lieutenant Canavan. The idea of a bridge for the Waitemata . was not popular with pilots using the harbour now. The prevailing winds, from west to south-west, made an up-harbour take-off common, and the danger lay in the fact that heavily-laden. boats needed approximately a mile to leave the water and then some miles to rise higher, than 200 or 300 feet. The cloud base in Auckland was frequently as low as 200 to 300 feet in heavy weather and rain often limited visibility to about 1000 yards. Under those conditions a bridge with a height of even 100 feet was dangerous for boats landing, as well as for those tak-mg-oif. Land planes approaching Whenuapai also frequently made use of the harbour to approach under a low cloud base, and a bridge in the vicinity of Kauri Point would lessen their safety margin.

The Waitemata was one of the finest harbours in the world from the point of view of landing flying-boat's F.ight Lieutenant Canavan said. It could provide unobstructed runs for four, or five . miles in moderate weather, by the added use of the Rangitbto Channel, and overseas pilots had praised its suitability. Flight Lieutenant Canavan was formerly a flying-boat pilot ,in the Royal Air Force, and flew Sunderlands in Britain and at Singapore until 1938. He has been control officer at Mechanics' Bay for the last five years and has left the Civil Aviation Department at his own request to take up sheep farming in Northland.