BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

Evening Star, Issue 22571, 12 February 1937, Page 2

BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

BY GYPSY INOTH

THIRTY-THREE YEARS’ DEVELOPMENT. • Thirty-three years ago last December Orville Wright rose from a launching rail and flew for 12sec landing safely at the end of that brief, history-making aerial voyage without injury to himself or damage to his machine. An an epitome of just over three decades of aerial progress it is only necessary to contrast the first tiny plane of tha W.right brothers with one of the new; giant airliners which Imperial Airways are now putting into service on their Empire routes. Tie machine Orville and his brother Wilbur piloted in the world’s first aeroplane flights on December 17, 1903, was driven by an engine developing 13 horse-power. Its speed through the air was not more than 30 miles an hour. The new airliners now coming into service on the Empire routes are driven by engines developing approximately 3,000 horse-power and they are capable of a speed of just on 200 miles an hour. The first Wright biplane, with its pilot, weighed a little under I,ooolb. The new airliners of Imperial Airways weigh, when fully loaded, nearly IS tons. The Wright biplane would lift into the air only one man, its pilot. The new Empire airliners carry a normal “ pay load,” including crew, of be* tween three and a-half to four tons. As a . final contrast to that tiny oneman plane with which aeroplane travel began 33 years ago _ there is the fact that the spacious interiors of our latest “liners of the air” provide smoking room, promenade lounges, and fully equipped kitchens, and in addition to all their luxurious day accommodation comfortable sleeping berths for passengers at night. IMPROVEMENTS AT MASCOT. It is confirmed that the sum allocated for improvements at the Mascot aerodrome, Sydney, amounts to £74,000. This will be expended c as follows: —New aerodrome buildings, £40,000; landing ground improvements, £30,000; night lighting equipment, £4,000. FIGHTING FOREST FIRES BY AIR. In America and Canada plans are now being developed for improved systems whereby aeroplanes and wireless can be employed in fighting forest fires. New ground equipment is being provided, and fresh -methods introduced for still further increasing the efficiency of the aeroplane as a fire-fighting machine. The Forest Service is to; experiment with dropping chemicals on to small fires to hold them in check till ground crews reach the danger zones. Bombs, too. are to be dropped from the air on small fires, the idea being that they will scatter enough earth on the flames to check them until the arrival of the fire-fighting crews."