LONDON-SYDNEY AIR SERVICE

Evening Star, Issue 18716, 19 August 1924, Page 8

LONDON-SYDNEY AIR SERVICE

A TEN-BAY CRUISE. MAMMOTH LINERS PLANNED. [Per United Press Association.l AUCKLAND, August 18. Plans arc now being prepared to pave tbo way for the inauguration within three yean; of an airship service between London and Svdnev, and its possible extension to New Zealand, according to details supplied by Sir Keith Smith, who arrived by the Niagara from Vancouver cn route to Australia to take up the proposition with the Government and other interests. With Sir Keith Smith is Mr A. H. Ashbolt, who lias Just completed a five-year term as Agent-Gcnoral for Tasmania, and who, during his sojourn in London, was instrumental in starting the movement for an air- . jhip service to Australia.. Sir Keith Smith and Mr Ashbolt are both interested in this ambitions venture, and the details are so far advanced that, Mr Ashbolt was in a position to discuss the schedule of fares and the prospective itinerary of the service. The fares have been based on the present scale for voyages by P. and 0. steamers. On this basis the first class fares for the airship service will not exceed £l2O for a single trip from London to Australia. The airships will he. veritable liners of the air. An idea of their size may he formed from the details of the accommodation. Provision will bo mado for 120 passengers and Iwelvc tons of luggage and mail matter. Their cruising range on a non-stop run will be 2,500 miles at an average speed of seventy miles an hour. Tims I the ships will be able to do the journey from Loudon to Perth (West Australia) in eight and a-half days, and from London to Svclney in ten days. These periods allow for wayside .stops at different stations along the ro'ute. thus enabling the passengers fo have a look at foreign scenes in a manner similar to that enjoyed under the present system of ocean navigation. At each station the airships will be replenished with fuel and other supplies. The equipment and general furnishings of these aerial cruisers will be on a scale of comfort and attractiveness. The, car will be fitted with cabins of different dimensions, one series giving accommodation for two passengers in each cabin and four passengers in the larger cabins. There wifi be smoke room, dining room, and a promenade or look-out. platform right on top of the structure, allowing the, passengers an unparalleled view of the world below. A feature of the construction and equipment will be the safeguards against fire. Special provision will be made, for the use of kerosene as fuel. This will eliminate the danger that, was present in two recent crashes of airships. Arrangements for the preliminary tests have been completed, and masts are being erected at stations at Cairo - , Karachi, and Bombay. Two old airships, Ro3 and 836, will be anchored to the masts for two months to test the strain and stress of the air currents. There will be other experiments regarding weight, and from the knowledge gained the perfected airships will he built, being finished probably in two and a,-half years’ lime.