COMMERCIAL AVIATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 13 August 1929, Page 7

COMMERCIAL AVIATION.

DEVELOPMENT IN U.S.A. KJGHTEEN YEA US' PI’OGRESS. The IH-y.’ar chronicle of air tranaport operation s m the linued States— Hum uiia first air ma.il <knnoniSlra.tteii on j.tmg J'J.and in 1911 to the presonl, year h tj.ii air transput janes a,ie g,Uiliug the 'United ccatcs and i&euciiaig ex tv muons. to nearly e very eon nor o. Lius Am/jncan continent, is told in a. report- to the U.S. t 'OinniO'i to Oojsa.,/.ineiit. TJie record i weals the tremendous giton til ol air transport. ojjem.la.Miw irom the first experimental line It.vi.n a tew short mites to hue- pis«eut<>2.26s miles daily in regularly s-Jiiea--11 led sorv ices'.

Tlio first air transport rcntu.ro. in tho United .States w:ats the week’s 1 demionstration of tire possibidtie® of air-madi service in connection with the 1911 Avatjo-n Show at Nassau Boulevard Flying Field, on Long Island. The- demonstration was authorised. by Poistmais tor-General Frank H. Hitchcock. Mail from the flying field was flown in a Queen monoplane by Earle- Ovington to Mined!a where it was dinopiped near the post office, Ovington circling back to She Nassau Boulevard field 'before landing. The first commercial venture itx air transport was the seaplane pasyouger line inaugurated Jan. 1, 1914, between Tiara pa. and St. Pcfelrsbu.rg for tlhla beneAt of Florida winter resorters. The service, wa.s continued for two months that year a.nd for thc’snme period tho next year.

Then the war throttled l oommerdilaii

air transport for four years until the Government began its great air mail ex/periment with the inauguration of the New York-Washington lair-mialiil route, with army planes and armly piJotss on May Id, 1918.

A year to. a day later, the chronicle continues, the first leg of the. transcontinental air mail service was established hot ween Cleveland, and Chicago and before the end of 1919, tair marl, olanes were living regularly between Chicago a.n.cl New York and New York and Washington. Passenger .service's had also been established between Key West and Havana and Miami and Niaise siau. in the Bahamas. The next veair. 1920. saw the first rapid development in air transport. — the extension of the transcontinental air ntaili route to .San Francisco, the inauguration of the Seattle-Victoria ship-air mak'l service, and the beigininc® of the St. Louis-Cbioago land the. Chicago-Twin Cities services. The dawn of the present air trans-

port era began in. 1926. By the end of tha.t yea.r 13 air raia.il services in addition to the trail soon tinentnl route and two other passenger services—.between Detroit and Grand Rapidis iaavd Key Largo and Kev West—-were in oipe.rat : on. Four new air mailt routes

wore added in 1927, v.bi’r five new oassenerer routes were, put in opemartiion Tos Ancm’es <*,vd San Dieayi. Cfievelaml and Puff'd e-. Los A-iur.elrei and Avalon. Lousville -mk! Cleveland, and) T,os Angeles and Tucson. The nam'd ormyth rm- tramiport. non tinned in 1928. To date, the. report reveals, there are 81 mail, passenger and express serv-ees. operated bv 39 r.ir transport coninaiiies. They flv dlallv

<\w«»r a Cota. 1 o. 1 -’ R2„9fiS mi'es. of which ~ 14? iniT!e ,c; »*-’i**<e rvitsicTc Unox! e'rs cf ihc T.*ni ted States-.

TWO CHANT PLANES. BUILT IN EUROPE, _Ac.2'omvuUca.{ engineers are watching "'•i'Wj intense intercut tuo tleveloipuii--m. (. uvu huge* new aeroplaney iu Eiilope— a. giant aO-piussengeir four-engine •lunkers air linen- and a nk)-pa s-sengor six-engine, flying boat designed oy the -Swiss act onautiea) engineer. E. Ala-nos. The Junkers plane is to be driven ,l»y two bOD-hoisepower and two 400-ihorsie-poaver engines, all located* 'insidta the plane’s thick wing and immediately .accessible for repairs. The steering gear, for the first time in aeroplane construction, is to lb© controlled b.v an auxiliary motor. The motors are. set m the leading edges of

the wing, tiie.ij- housings stream lined into the wing sin tares so as to lavoul air drag. As the weight of the plane will be IS metric tons, changes in kindling gear design were necessary. TJi.? udercarria’ge comprises an adjustable frame around a horizontal axis, niiaking it possible to support equal loads on the two wheels on each side of the underian i ages even on very rough ground. T.:e cod-apse of a. .single tyre will can&o no excessive strain on the undamaged one. The design also obviates excessive bouncing uhilp landing or ita.xvmg.

The .pSja#io*s wing .ypa.n i-s 144 feet, its fusilage has a length of (14.5 feet', and: its height is 17.4 feet. Suippleniientairy nuid.dei'si are located on each end of the control .surfaces. The .interior or the cabin i.» arranged in two stones. the r.jvper for paisisangcre, the lioweir to," freighit. The pa-s----sscug.ir section will be co nipped with .40 scats for dav flving and 26 berths for ifjght firing. The plane's maiximum sp ’d u”M he 105 miles, tier hour.

Tli'-. nnv Miinos scirplane with ids six KIOO-h’O.rseptnver ongineis will', hr cta.pa.ble of speeds .from 118 to 100 niiCcs •per knur.

The fiix engines w ill operate six proi c/krs*. their operation being so co-ur-(iinatscl tlnat even if I'rein one to- three a- tb-v engines fail to function all .six propellers l continue to turn, on'iy at dkv i reused .speeds, thus insuring the sta-i-iVtv et (he craft. The engines, a.re ii’i-.’in I'si in an engine room, ulinie the engimws. may watch their ■nnriraliioii co nf in no' isf v and innikc rcnaiirs if necessary. Tic (—‘ill. r.al lwi.ll is designed to bo equipped with cvery 'mxn.ry. hods lor a-, lssenger.-. a re.sf.aura nt and ether c.-'inniC'ii looms. The wing rn-an of .the teat Mill be 197 fc-t. its length T2O feet and its height 32.8 feet The wing ar'.'i M'if l 1).-. 13.500 si-.uo.re feet.. The nhnie will he cquinped with, two scoa.rafei helms, each acting irnlcnend-entl-v. The dos'i.g.ner is re r,nr ted to r-Viiim t'v’f onmtv or loade..! the centre f,r trraiV'il.v ui7 rc‘imin on eh angl'd.