FAMILY WEEK-ENDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17882, 30 August 1918, Page 6

FAMILY WEEK-ENDS.

MY AEROPLANE TO NEW

ZEALAND.

2FKOM OtJB CoanKSFONOENT.]

LONDON, June 27

New Zealanders here longing to lee the shores of home again, and charing—not too loudly, they have more patriotism than that—at not. being able to move freely about on the faco of the waters, are watching; aviation develop-: otents. For all the preoccupation that war claims make son the aeronautical profession, the more peaceful side of work is being quietly cariied on. For that reason a leciuro delivered in Westminster this week by Dr Durand, fee president of American _ Advisory Commerce for Aeronautics, is of interest as defining the lines which aeronautics may take in the near future. This authority opened up a piquant after-war prospect in the shape of a family aeroplane for week-end trips. I' is perfectly easy now, he -said, to build a safe moderate-speed carriage sort of jnachine which will be stable and secure" under almost any conditions likely to develop. Fighting pilois might scorn such maehinos, but when civil aeronautics came to its own aft-er the war they would be in demand for civil purposes, such as family outings to the country or seaside. Of course, with a very high degree of stability would bo combined riding qualities which would be bv comparison poor, while with low stability the plane's riding qualities would be much smoother.

In his lecture Dr .Durand said there seemed to be no reason why at the present, time we need anticipate any especial limit, as to the size or carrying capacity of aeroplanes. The difficulties in regard to size were no greater than those overcome in the case of ocean shipping, and wo might feel confident that we should not have to wait a half or three-quarters of a century for a parallel development. It might be added that Mr Grey, the editor of one of the Flying Service magazines, amplifies what we dealt with some months ago, a service for New Zealand and Australia, and Dr Durand's lecture shows that the ido».', skeched in outline then is having its outlines'filled in. But the very presence of Dr Durand in London has been brought by the war, and his lecture was entitled, '"Outstanding Problems of the War." The problem he covered in this, the sixth Wilbur Wright lecture, concerned constructive materials, limits of size, the question of fuel, maintenance of power at a great height, the potentialities of the propeller. Dr Durand sees possibilities of metal construction with the new metal alloys or alloy steels. He warns us that in the matter of petroleum oils as fuel for the aeroplane, we are drawing on our capital and not living on the interest. And he reminds us that an aeroplane normally loses horizontal speed as it ascends to higher altitudes, and at a height of lS.CflOft only develops 60 per cent of its power owing to the reduced density of the air. The chairman, Sir William Weir, the newly-appointed head of the Air Construction Department, spoke with em--phasis of America's contribution to the new arm of our fighting forces. The tests he said, which had recently been. applied in France and in this country to the latest American engine, justified them in predicting that it would prove a most valuable contribution to 'the Allied resources, and the United States could £0 ahead and push its production with every confidence. The results of experiments so rar obtained placed the engine in the very first line of aero motors. It was well understood that some criticism would be d.rected against the slowness of production of these motors during the last three or four months, but he would like to point out hat a considerable interval would and always must elapse between the experimental and commercial production of any new aero motor. Every engine, "even the best-designed, and in the country with the greatest resources and facilities, could not escape a period of what might be called teething troubles, before the motors were anything like produced on a large scale. The Liberty engine wis an example of what the Allies might expect in 'the matter of aircraft production from the scientists and designers of America, whom Dr Durand represented. The various methods of utilisation of aircraft 'in warfare were growing very rapidly. They were growing so rapidly Ihat it was now perfectly clear that, even with all the help that America could give, the fullest demands could be made to fulfil all the different functions of aircraft would never be met during this war. We would always require more aircraft with personnel than could possibly be supplied to-day. So far as personnel was concerned, we entertained the fullest confidence In the future success of the American Air Force. With regard to material, he thought we might now begin to jpeak with equal confidence.