AVIATION

Evening Star, Issue 17333, 22 April 1920, Page 7

AVIATION

COMMERCIAL SERVICES. POSSIBILITIES AND ADVANTAGES. LONDON, April 20. (Received April 22, at 9.25 a.m.) Air Commodore Maitland, lecturing at the Royal Society of Arts on the commercial future of airships, said the chief advantage was safe, rapid distance transport and the easy interchangeability of commercial airships into fighting machines to enable the immediate provision of .a fighting fleet with a full personnel in the event of war. Australia had recently made a determined effort to shorten the time occupied by the sea passage to Britain.; but apparently the steamship companies were unable to improve the eervires, because improvement would entail the construction of such immense steamers as to be out of all proportion to the volume of traffic. Moreover, the Suez Canal would prevent the use of the largest liners. The largest airships, however, could fly profitably over the Australian and other main sea routes. At commercial prices it was unlikely that the air services would as yet successfully compete with fast land transport. Better meteorological knowledge was required to enable winds -to be regarded as friends instead of enemies. The route to Australia crosses the permanent easterly trade winds at right angles, and turns'eastward from the Cape, receiving assistance in the " roaring forties." The return journey i% made nearer to the equator, utilising the easterlies. Existing airships could show a profit of 15 per cent, by participating in the Australian service and carrying a ton of mails at 2s per ounce, and "passengers at £l9O each, the flight occupying nine and a-half da-vs.