THE AFRICAN AIRWAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19550, 1 February 1927, Page 9

THE AFRICAN AIRWAY.

CONNECTION WITH EUROPE. PLAN.'? FOR REGULAR SERVICE. ^ * 1 [FHOM OTTK OWN CAPETOWN. D«& .19. Thorci is no reasonable doubt that tho coming ypfir will ace great devdlopmfiHts toward the opening up of a regular air route between Europe and Africa, which must naturally include the South African Union. The chief doubt at the moment is as to exactly what part will be played ■by tho aeroplane and what by the ligbter-than*air craft. Proposals are now afoot in England for 1 thci institution of a regular airship service to tho Cape. It appears that other problems of safe navigation and safe mooring can be surmounted by a rigid form of construction and by the provision of mutable mooring, masts, in which latter it is already arranged that South Africa shall'do its bat tho lightning difficulty, during some months of the summor in the Southern Hemisphere :is one to which sufficient attention has not been paid. Meteorological data sire being collected almost continuously in the Union. It is hoped that it will be possible to judge whether during tho thunderstorm periods asr|hips will bo reasonably safe; whether pownbiy they may bo able to travel above the thunder clouds, though this means a considerable altitude, or in what other ways tho problem of danger from lightning can be dealt with, Uganda is to be linked up next nmth by a new sir service between Ktsuntu and Khartoum, which wall bring the East African colony within 12 <!am of Europe. The hope is for an early aero* nlane service between Booth Africa, and Kisurnu, Johannesburg has established ■the first South African light. serophwa dub, while aeroplanes for the mineral survey of Northern Rhodesia are being" despatched from England this week. Thews, however, are the affairs o| the aeroplane, which, in .th«, Jjands of men like Cobbsra, mi Brand, have docs, and . are stilt doing, pioneer work on the world air routes. It i% too airship which, in the worth, of Jsir 8»aoBel Hoare, at the Imperial Conference, "will carry oat tho long-distance non-stop journeys of the future." As shown by a report of the irnrer.a! At? Communications gub-Coraiffiittee, Sooth Africa wiU have to wait until 1928 for tho .first,transafricao, flight, by one . .of the two b:g airships now.- < : .VSm*t construct ion for the »p*cbl pufpo*» <>! regular and t&y witfe' tho Dominions. Meanwhile Africa i« to do it# share by the jawisson of mooring masts and aeroplanes, and by ike. improvement ol Ha SM?ropla»« equipment.