TASMAN BY AIR

Evening Star, Issue 22638, 3 May 1937, Page 16

TASMAN BY AIR

WHAT TYPE OF PLANE OPINION TENDING TO CHANGE OPERATING COSTS Interest in the Tasman air service has been reawakened after a long period of half-interest—if even that—by the self-evident fact that the full benefit of the Pan-American flyingboat service across the South Pacific cannot be obtained unless this service is co-ordinated with tho England-Aus-tralia air fine by a link across the Tasman (sa3 - s the Wellington ‘Post’). Tho Tasman service has been discussed, redisoussed, conferred upon, and further and further delayed, but it does appear that a decision and action must bo made soon nbw, for whereas in the past Australian opinion was not particularly enthusiastic over a dead-end and probably unprofitable air line to New Zealand, and New Zealand has been at best half-hearted about it, tho attitude will change when Australia sees herself cut off from the real benefits of fast communication with the United States and Canada because of the Tasman gap in the world air route.

The freshening of general interest has revived the particular discussion as to the type of machine with which a Tasman service may be operated, for it is not at all certain that flyinghoats will bo used. Technical opinion has been divided between land planes and flying-boats for water crossings practically since long-range flying began, and with the steadily increasing reliability of motors the balance is going down on the side of the land plane for distances which are not extreme and on routes where particular conditions do not preclude the land plane. Particular conditions do, for instance, apply to the Empire flyingboat plan, for should European disturbances close the overland routes the flying-boats would still maintain the Empire services by coastal routes. Particular conditions apply again in the Pacific services of Pan-American Airways, for here the over-water distances are extreme and land plane runways are impossible on certain of the islands used as ocean bases. The tact is that the flying-boat, no matter how finely designed, is always less efficient and less economical than the land plane, for the flying-boat is a compromise, whereas the land plane, with landing gear drawn up, is purely a flying machine. KINGSFORD SMITH’S VIEW. Kingsford Smith, it will bo remembered, consistently criticised those who made over-water flights in single-en-gined machines—though he made such flights himself, and in the end came to the death he had feared for others —but he was not a believer in flyingboats for the Tasman. He proposed a laud plane service, having Douglas transports in mind, and, only because of the then weight of opinion, made his alternative proposals for a flyingboat service, using either the earlier model of the Sikorsky Clipper or the larger Martin flying-boat. He realised that at that time public opinion was uneasy about land plane operation over water, but his own opinion of the greater economy and the quite comparable reliability and safety of the multi-engined land plane for the 1,200-milo Tasman crossing did not change. Tho difference in operating cost is very great, as figures prepared by Kingsford Smith and his associates showed, and a subsequent calculation for present-day machines have confirmed. One recent set of calculations gives the land plane an economy of about 33 1-3 per cent, on flying-boat operating and maintenance costs, and such economy is a very weighty consideration. BRITISH ENGINEERS IN TWO CAMPS. British aviation engineers are divided on the question of land planes or fly-ing-boats for the crossing of tho North Atlantic, and though the Imperial Airways flying-boat service via Bermuda is the first of the British services in the Atlantic, alternative plans are in hand. Great Britain has in an advanced stage of construction one new type of land plane which was designed specially for transatlantic experiments, and the Air Ministry has ordered two of them for that purpose. This is the de Havilland Albatross, a four-en-gined low-wing monoplane, designed to cruise at more than 200 miles an hour. Air Ministry officials expect the first Albatross flight across the North Atlantic in September, when Hattie’s Uamp aerodrome, Newfoundland’s new land plane airport, .will be ready for use. Kilconry, the new Irish land plane airport on the west coast, will not be ready for flying by September, and the Albatross may use for its first transatlantic flight the new aerodrome at Dublin. A recent bulletin of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors states that an indication that the British view in favour of land aeroplanes is shared by Pan-American Airways, partners with Imperial Airways in one of the transatlantic services, was provided when Mr Juan Trippe, president of Pan-American Airways, and Colonel Lindbergh visited Ireland recently. They spent 15 minutes at the seaplane base, but more than two hours inspecting Kilconry. RIVAL CLAIMANTS. New Plymouth has from the first contended that her airport and her Mount Egmont, as the finest land fall, must be the New Zealand terminal for any transtasman land plane service, but Palmerston North is putting in a strong claim now, and Palmerston North has very high hopes, based upon a conviction that Milson aerodrome is, because of its position, the logical clearing station for all New Zealand air services, and that radio landfalls are every bit as good as mountain landfalls. And Palmerston North’s hopes have been sent higher again by a brief reference made by the. mayor, Mr A. E. Mansford, a few days ago. “I have it on good authority,” said Mr Mansford, “ that, if land machines are decided upon to operate the transtasman air service, Palmerston North will be a probable point of arrival and departure for the aeroplanes.” Wellington just does not appear torare one way or the other, and if Wellington continues longer in that mood then this city will be left still further behind in aviation. Rongotai probably never can be developed to serve as a transtasman terminal, but something more adequate than the present airport must be provided unless Wellington is to remain content with a socofid-rate place in internal air service plans.