AIRSHIP SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19731, 2 September 1927, Page 13

AIRSHIP SERVICES.

EIGHT YEARS TO WAIT. | CAPTAIN FELLOWES' WARNING SAFETY AND RELIABILITY. COMMERCIAL MEN'S WELCOME. Commercial airship services between Britain and the antipodes are not likely to be an accomplished fact for eight or ten years, although the first experimental flight to Australia and New Zealand will probably be made by 1930. Group-Cap-tain P. F. M. Fellowes, leader of the Imperial Airship Mission, made this statement in replying to a welcome given to the mission yesterday by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. He treated the gathering to a most interesting description of airship development in Britain since the war, past and present scientifi* researches into structural problems, and the plans for Empire-wide commercial airship services. Nearly 100 members of the chamber and others attended. The two remaining members of the mission, Flight-Lieutenant Nixon and Mr, Giblett, were unable to be present. The former was indisposed and the latter has gone to Wellington, Mr. H. P. R. Caughey, vice-president of the chamber, in the absence of the president, Mr. A. G. Lunn, offered the mission a hearty welcome, both personally and on account of the Imperial and commercial importance of the task it had in hand. The chamber wished to give official recognition to an event which marked a new epoch in the Empire's development. Ke expressed a hope that meteorological conditions near Auckland would be found suitable for an airship base, and that the mission would have a pleasant time in New Zealand. The Hon. G. Fowlds endorsed the welcome, and said New Zealanders, living as they did in one of the most distant parts of the Empire, wished to be associated with the Mother Country in a scheme which, though yet in its infancy, had great possibilities. Tempered Optimism. Captain Fellowes, after thanking the chamber for its welcome, said he would not give a too-optimistic view with regard to the time when airship services would be established, but he could be quite optimistic about the ultimate result of the work now being done. He described various causes of the delay in airship development until about three years ago, when the Imperial Government determined that full-scale experiments should be ca-ried out in order to provide a really solid basis of knowledge with no Factor left out, as in the past. Results obtained with models were tested out in the air. In the shed a complete "bay" of an airship, 130 ft. in diameter and 70ft. long, was erected and submitted to tests much more severe than any it would have •to meet in flight, with two exceptions. These latter were the tornado at its worst and the "line-squall," produced by a thunderstorm. An airship could avoid both these.

Meteorological knowledge was the kevstone of the whole structure of airship communication. An airship in flight .required reports every six hours, not every 24. The ordinary meteorological service would have to be great! v extended, and many more stations would have to be provided, but this would not be relatively an expensive matter. The captain and officers of an airship would need to be trained meteorologists, capable of interpreting all the phenomena they encountered.

By charting depressions an airship captain should he able to choose a course that would give him the benefit of favourable winds. For this reason is was probable the course from Capetown to Perth would be carried rather far south, to take advantage of westerly winds. On the return journey the airships would travel further north, to make use of the south-east trades. Between England and Capetown both the north-east and south-east trades would be met, but it was Believed these winds were shallow, not extending above 5000 ft. Tests would be made later, and if expectations were correct the airships would fly high in order to make use of other winds blowing : n the opposite direction, and low on the return journey. Low Relative Cost. Everything could not be done* at once. At present there was only ooe trained airship crew and another was in course of training. There was also only one tower crew as yet. A nucleus of trained airship personnel was being built up, and would later be distributed. Dealing with the commercial side of the question, Captain Fellowes said the services would almost certainly be taken over by the large shipping companies, who would in all probability be forced by circumstances to do so. There was a demand for more rapid transport, but a number of companies had shown that to build a fleet of very fast steamers would cost £40,000,000, and the passage between Britain and the antipodes would be speeded up even then by only five days. On the other hand, an Empire airship service would cost considerably under £5,000,000 for ground organisation, and a fleet of airships for all routes £4,000,000 to £5,000,000. The plan was to provide weekly services to Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, a bi-weekly service to India, and a tri weekly one to -Egypt. "There is no doubt that airship services will have a tremendous effect," said Captain Fellowes. "Journeys will take only one-third of the time, and it will be possible for a New Zealander to write to England and get a reply within a month. The trip will take 12 or 14 days—probably the former If a route is established through Canada it will be shorter, but so far we have not considered that at all, but only a route from England to a point in Eastern Canada and back again." The speaker gave a detailed account of the procedure in mooring an airship to a tower. The process, he said, might take an hour, and was both safe and certain. Casting-off took only a few minutes. The effect of sudden gusts of wind was being measured arid studied, but be believed that the new ships would moor to and leave masts in any weather. Breakdowns Unlikely. Airships were not expected to need very much overhaul. Their structure would bo strong and the component parts could be replaced most easily. Leaks in gas-bags could be mended in flight and new gasbags put in while a ship was at her mooring. Engine repairs presented no difficulty. There was no reason to think that anything connected with Operation or. maintenance would prevent regular running. The outer cover of an airship, for example, had a probable life of two years. The price of gas would possibly come down as more - was produced. The subsidiary products might become saleable. Airships, he believed, would lead to the greater use of all otber forms of transportation. They would certainly speed up everybody's ideas of travel, although those who looked forward to a voyage as a period of several weeks' rest would still go to and fro by sea. Captain Fellowes was questioned regarding the probable date when airships would visit New Zealand. He replied that ho could say authoritatively the first demonstration flight to Australia and New Zealand could not be made before 1950, or a regular service established until eight or ten years hence. There were various reasons for this. Only two sheds for building airships existed in England, and one was to be erected in India. When large commercial concerns took up the project more would be provided, but that must come before the airships themselves were made.

On behalf of the chamber, Mr. W. J. Holdsworth heartily thanked Captain Fellowes for his address.