LARGE AIRSHIPS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 5 November 1927, Page 10

LARGE AIRSHIPS

TWO UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIsADY FOR NEXT SUMMER. EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE TO CANADA. (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, Nov. 3. Two large airships which are under construction in England will be ready for service next summer and the Director of Civil Aviation, Sir Sefton Brancker, stated last night that their first use might be on an experimental service to Canada, via Bathurst, on the West African coast, and the Azores, so that the assistance of the trade winds may be utilised. Experience with lighter-than-air machines is, however, limited and all plans for the use of these great vessels are merely tentative, VISIONS OF THE FUTURE. There is ample experience on which to base plans for the development of Imperial routes by heavier-than-air craft and Sir Sefton Brancker looks forward, as aircraft further improve in range, reliability, and speed, to less and less dependency being placed on ground organisation, until the position is reached in which, for example. Hying boats can proceed direct across the Atlantic from the west coast of Ireland to Newfoundland. The three main objectives are through communication by aeroplane from London to Melbourne via India, a branch line from this route through Cairo and Central Africa to Cape town, and the opening of an airship route. CAIRO-BASRA ROUTE. Referring to the development of the Cairo-Basra route, which showed 10(1 per cent, regularity, Sir Sefton said that unfortunately Persia, having agreed two years ago to the route regularly running along her coast line, had so fqr refused to ratify the agreement. Accordingly a route on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf was being surveyed and this showed that ’there were no physical difficulties until they reached the 220 miles sea jump across the Indian Ocean to British territory. By degrees they were acquiring S o much confidence in three-engined aircraft that he did not think that this jump was going to worry them. KARACHI-CALCUTTA SECTION. Negotiations were proceeding regarding the Karachi-Calcutta section which was the business of the Indian Government, which also would control the route to Rangoon. Thence to Singapore the route wa s the responsibility of the British Government but the route was still indeterminate. It has been reconnoitred and British interests were negotiating for a service from Penang to the Dutch East Indies.

He described the suggested air route to Capetown which, on present experience, could be flown from London in 10 days and with night flying could be reduced to 108 hours.