FLIGHT OVER THE POLE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 904, 28 December 1923, Page 5

FLIGHT OVER THE POLE.

AN AMERICAN PROJECT

GREAT SAVING IN TIME,

By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received December 28, 9.15 a.m., WASHINGTON, Dec. 27. The Secretary, for the Navy states that the forthcoming American airship expedition to the North Pole has two aims, the exploration Of the unknown polar regions and tile establishment of the practicability of an air route across the pole. He declares that the route from Britain to Japan could he shortened by half if airships could fry over the Arctic regions, and says that there is ample evidence that these air routes are preferable to others at certain periods of the year, apart from the saving in time. Two ships will act as bases for the air machine at Shenandoah, each With a suitable mooring'mast. A third ship will be stationed at Nome. The Shenandoah airship will leftVe for' the polar flight early next spring and proceed to Nome, the first base for the polar flight. It will carry a, powerful .radio equipment. —Sydney Suli cable. '

ARCTIC TERRORS IMAGINARY.

AIR ROUTE OF THE FUTURE,

The United States naval dirigible ZRI was launched at Lalcehurst, Now Jersey, last October, She was cohstrueted under the supervision of the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy and in a special sense under the direct Care of the head of the bureau, Rear-Admiral \V» A. Moffett. . At the time of the lauhchirig Admiral Moffett issued a statement announcing the project of an aeronautical expedition to the North Polo. “It is quite true,” he said, “that conditions in the Arctic, so far as aerial navigation is concerned, are not altogether known. This in itself would constitute ample justification for such a flight; but the fact is that conditions in that part of the world are generally known to- such an extent as to render the project entirely feasible. It is not considered that the proposed flight is extremely hazardous. If such were the case it would not be attempted. 1 ’

ENGLAND TO JAPAN VIA POLE,

Admiral Moffett went on to say a tfansArctic flight, in his opinion, was no more dangerous or difficult than flights over tropical Africa or South America. He enumerated the benefits to bo gained from the projected polar expedition us follows; 1. Pioneer exploration of aerial polar routes for future commercial development. It must bo realised that polar routes by air connecting England, Japan, Alaska and Siberia are possibilities in the near future, and that they will be of incalculable value in catting down time and distance between those points.

2. The training of airship crews on such a flight will be invaluable. 3. Under this head the Admiral gave an extended summary of the expected scientific resiilts—geographic, meteorological, eto. 4. Furthermore, it- is believed that such

a flight will bo an incalculable boon to aeronautics. For one thing, it should demonstrate to those not familiar with airships the tremendous possibilities of such craft. “As to supply bases, these,’’ said the Admiral, “could be established at (Nome (Alaska), Spitsbergen and Greenland. . . . Nome is about 1500 miles from the North Pole. This represents one ilay’s_ travel in an airship . . .or a round trip' in 48

hours, . . . Forty-eight hours does not represent more than a normal flight for a rigid airship such as the ZRI. In the event of serious damage to the ZRI (while on a flight across seas partly ice-covered, she would certainly be in no worse plight than if such misfortune should overtake her in a (southern) trans-oceonio voyage. In fact, it would be in her favour (to be forced to land in the Arctic rather than in the Atlantic, for instance). As to atmospheric conditions at the North Pole, the areas surrounding the Polo, contrary to general belief, are not subject to intense cold or to high winds, except during the winter season. ... In the long polar summer . . . temperatures encountered at altitudes navigable by airships are _ approximately those found in England during winter.” NEW MAP OF THE WORLD. Discussing recently the prospects of the American project, Mr Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the noted Arctic explorer, remarked (hat “Although the honour of the now view of the suitability of Arctic climate for air travel seems about to faff to the Americans, they are not the only nation that realises the advantages of the northern flying routes. In a speech at Sheffield before the Institute of Transport, in June last, Major-Gcnerfd Sir Sefton Branoker, Director of Civil Aviation in Britain, mentioned as a probability of the next 10 years the carrying of regular mails by dirigibles from Great Britain to Japan over a trans-Arctic route—going north from' London and then south to Tokia, The advantages of such a Hying route over any other possible between the two capitals had been explained by me in a book called ‘The Northward Course of Empire,’ about 10 months earlier, and the prediction made that such a route would come into regular use ‘in perhaps five, perhaps twenty years.’ There were, doubtless, earlier publications of the same views. A few years ago such statements would have been considered ridiculous by the majority of thoughtful people. The present change of attitude is duo to progress along two lines. In flying wo are conquering real difficulties day by day; in geography we are learning that the chief terrors of the Arctic are imaginary. “Even flhould polar conditions prove as favourable as we now believe, and the success of the ZRI as easy as Admiral Moffett predicts, we shall fail to appreciate the importance of the achievement unless we look at, a map of the northern hemisphere-one that has the equator for its circumference. Such a map compels the'realisation that the Arctic- is not ‘at the top of the world, but central with reference to tho lands upon wo live that radiate from it as from a hill). You will probably discover also that in comparison with the rest of the world the Arctic is much smaller than you thought, and therefore less formidable even were it dreadful.”