ADVANCES IN AVIATION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 31 March 1936, Page 6

ADVANCES IN AVIATION

WONDERFUL PROGRESS MADE VIEWS OF MR HAROLD GATTY (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, This Day. Ah- llaiokl Gatty. who spent some time in New Zealand last, year in connection with the proposals for the trans-Pac.ific flying-boat service from California to Auckland, via Hawaii, Kingman Reef, and Paga Pago, arrived by the Alannganui yesterday from San Francisco on his way to Sydney and Melbourne, where he will supervise the assembly of the Douglas airliner which has been purchased by Holyroan Airlines, which operates between Alelbourne and Hobart. Air Gatty's mother arrived in Auckland by the Aorangi today to meet her son and they will travel to Australia together. Air Gatty did not- readily discuss the proposals of Pan-American Airways for the Pacific crossing when last he was in Wellington, nor would he enlarge upon his extremely interesting subject to. day. “There is still so much to he done that I would rather not discuss it just now,” he said. “The company has adopted as its first principle, wherever it has operated, that the survey work, the meteorological knowledge, all the 'asides’ of flying that are so great a part of flying itself, must be complete before the first machine sets out. During the. time I am in New Zealand some of that preliminary work will he carried further. You’ve had the story before, so I’ll not enlarge on it.” But on the subject of aviation advances Air Gatty did speak. “They have been wonderful,” he said, “bat, again, they, are a preliminary to bigger things ahead, and not so far distant, the day when they will stand on their own 'feet, when they will operate without being a burden upon the country, self-supporting and steadily expanding. More than that, so great has been the public response to air travel, coupled with improvement of design of aeroplane and engine, that those companies can see the day when they will compete in price, comfort, and in quantity, with rail and steamer. “Tlie air lines themselves have been surprised: it has been no bother to 'get people to travel by air or to bombuid the country with propaganda, Jor when the service is given the business is waiting.” , As indicating the future ot aviation in the United States All- Gatty cited the case of one of the greater manufacturers which had on its books orders totalling 18,000,000 dollars and whose factory is being increased fo doubled capacity.

FORTY PASSENGER LANDRLANES The machine which has been purchased by Holyman Airlines, and which is on board the Ilauraki, due in Wellington on Wednesday, Air Gatty continued, is the standard Douglas day airliner, bu! production lias now passed on to a later design, a two-engined 24-pas-senger sleeper, for which one order has been given for twenty machines. To follow that typo is a four engined aeroplane for forty passengers, and st.ll that is far from the final design. “Larger machines are built for several reasons, some technical, others dictated by just business,” said Mi Gatty. “There is more traffic olfeiing on some of tlie lines than can be handled by the present fleets; for instance you may have to wait three to four days after booking on the Los Angeles-New York run, 2400 miles in about 16 hours. There must be larger machines for the still larger business ahead.”

TIAIE-TABLF.S AND WEATHER Mr Gatty was asked as to “clockwork regularity" of air-line operation. “it is not ‘clockwork,” bo replied, “the aeroplanes do not always get through without delay; it is a vast distance over always-changing country, through all sorts of weather. When the weather is bad—with snow and ice conditions of a kind that yon can never get in this country or in Australia, -machines may he held down for a time, even running into the next day, so that the transcontinental trip may take ?A instead of 16 hours, or there may be a break bv train, but generally the sched. ule is maintained with a near approach to that clockwork ideal. “It. is not a matter of flying; it is one of landing in storm conditions, and that is being overcome. Blind landing equipment, to carry actually to the landing strip the guidance given by radio and radio beacons, is being installed along the airways routes.”