RANGING FAR BY AIR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20255, 15 May 1929, Page 12

RANGING FAR BY AIR.

Development of British civil .aviation, emphasised by the establishment of a weekly service from London to India, is to be pushed far and fast. Tho summer time-table of Continental services will inaugurate a great advance on even the wonderful achievements of Imperial Airways, Limited, the British national company for the operation of aeroplano services. A great feature is made of the success won in the Indian service, especially of the punctual arrival in spite of occasional experience of adverse weather. It deserves all the emphasis it is given, but it simply repeats on a more extensive scale what has been achieved on other routes. When the record is examined, it is amazing for the standard of regularity and safety air travel is shown to have reached. Up to the end of 1928 Imperial Airways, operating for 3\ years had carried more than TO,OOO passengers between London and the Continent without an accident that caused injury to passengers or crews of the express aeroplanes. Tho use of immensely high-powered tripleengined machines has not only reduced the risks of accidents or forced landings to a minimum, it has enabled arrivals and departures to be made to schedule with the regularity of express trains. Before the days of Imperial Airways, nine years ago, in fact, a pioneer passenger seiwice between London and Paris was started. In the first week of its existence about 20 passengers were carried. Now, a busy week has seen as many as 2000 passengers pass in and out of the Croydon air station, the terminal port for Continental trips. There has been an equivalent increase in the carriage of goods for urgent delivery. Mention is made in a cable message of the forthcoming development of night-flying to make the average speed of air travel greater. It is no new conception, for much of the preliminary work has been in hand for some time. The ever-expanding European services are used as a training system for the perfection of these new features before they are applied to the longer flights, where their value is greatest. With all that has been done and all that is to be attempted, it is evident British commercial aircraft will continue to range further and faster.