BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

Evening Star, Issue 22798, 5 November 1937, Page 2

BENEATH THE WINDSOCK

by Gypsy moth

AIR SERVICE FIGURES. Passengers totalling 1,786 were carried by the Lockheed monoplanes of Union Airways of New Zealand Limited, on the Auckland-Welliugton service in the three months between the inauguration of the service on June 27 and September 24. Statistics prepared by the company show that in the period ISO trips were scheduled,' and all wore flown and completed, the flying time amounting to 486 hours (states the ‘ Auckland Herald ’) Between them the Lockheeds have flowns 63,900 miles on the new service. The machines have carried freight and excess baggage weighing 1,2161 b, and 35,2981 b of passengers’ luggage. Mails carried totalled 8,3711 b. Statistics for the company’s Palmerston North-Dunedin service, on which fonr-engined De Havilland machines are used, show that in the same period 1,914 passengers were carried. Of 180 trips scheduled 175 were completed, equal to 97.2 per cent., and the total flying time was 753 hours. The machines flow 88,935 miles, and carried 2,4641 b of freight and excess baggage, 38,4501 b of passengers’ luggage, and 15,3241 b of mails. A review of the Palmerston NorthDunedin service since its inauguration on January 6, 1936, reveals that of 1,242 trips scheduled 1,224 were completed, equivalent to 98.55 per cent. In 5,091 hours the De Havillands flew 610,495 miles and carried 12,199 passengers. Freight and excess baggage amounted to 12,2931 b, passengers’ luggage to 191,2101 b, and mails to 74,4831 b. When the returns for the company’s two services, those between Auckland and Wellington and Palmerston North and Dunedin, are combined, the total number of passengers is shown at 13,985. There were 1,422 trips scheduled and 1,404 completed, equal to 98.76 per cent., and the machines were in the air for 5,577 hours, covering 674,395 miles. They carried 13,5091 b of freight and excess baggage. 226,5081 b of passengers’ luggage, and 82,4831 b of mail. SIKORSKY’S NEW DESIGN. Plans for giant flying boats of 40 to 50 tons, accommodating 50 passengers in staterooms as luxurious as any modern liner, were advanced by Igor I, Sikorsky, designer of Pacific clipper ships, and T. P. Wright, vice-president of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, speakers at aeronautical sessions of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Blueprints call for ships costing from 800,000 dollars to 1,000,000 dollars to build. They will be manned by a crew of eight to 10, working two shifts. Excellent sleeping accommodation will be provided, together with an elaborate dining room and comfortable lounge (states an exchange). Dr Sikorsky said power will be obtained from four to six engines of 1,400 to 1,600 horsepower each. In size, the new ships are planned to double the present China clippers and have a wing depth of four to five feet at the fuselage. The ships are designed to give twice the speed of present lighter-than-air craft which already have flown the Atlantic on scheduled flights in both directions.

Flight plans, according to Mr Wright, call for high planes, up to 35,000 or 40,000 feet at the start, and ■well into the stratosphere later on when proper cabins for such high flying can be built. Dr Sikorsky scouted any idea of midAtlantic flying bases with the remark that 10 years ago their construction would have been remarkable, but stated they are not needed to-day. The new ships are to have a cruising range of 4,500 miles, making 180 miles an hour cruising speed with 312 miles an hour the top speed. _ “ Department of Commerce statistics show the safety factor for flying increasing steadily each year,” declared Dr Sikorsky, “ and while the new ships will more or less follow the pattern of the present China clippers, the wing load will be much greater, a feature essential for efficiency of power as well as smooth flight in stormy weather. “ Power-driven controls will be necessary, too, for we have about reached the’ limit practical for manual control Of course, it will not be too mechanical, for pilots always will want to ‘ feel the stick and rudder.’ ” Questioned as to why it would not be better to build a fleet of smaller boats, Dr Sikorsky gave three reasons —efficiency, comfort. and beauty. Doubling the size of the China dinners, ho said, will give eight times the lifting power with an expenditure of only four times as much energy. The larger ships will be more stable in the air, and because a seaplane must be a recognised height above its pontoons, a fact responsible for the awkward appearance of small craft, the larger ship is more beautiful. PILGRIMS BY AIR. In February last Misr Airwork dispatched a 'De Havilland D.H.84 Dragon to Jeddah to operate a service between that city and Medina during the pilgrim season. It was soon found that the Dragon could not carry sufficient load for the purpose, so it was brought back to Cairo and replaced by a De Havilland D.H.89; the pilot was Mohamed Sidkv Effendi (states ‘ Shell Aviation News’). The service met with considerable success in spite of the high fare charged—£2o (gold) for four hours’ flying; of this £lO (gold) represented the Government tax. number of wealthy pilgrims used the service and spoke highly of it. It is presumed that a similar service will he a regular feature of future pilgrim seasons.