BASE FOR AIRCRAFT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20426, 30 November 1929, Page 10

BASE FOR AIRCRAFT.

WORK AT HOBSONVILLE.

BOTH LAND AND SEA PLANES.

AN UNUSUAL COMBINATION.

AMPHIBIANS TO FLY NEXT WEEK

Tho approach of the Government air bas6 at Hobsonville to service conditions is expected to be marked next week by one, if not iboth, of the Fairey lIIF amphibians taking the air for the first time in New Zealand. Hobsonville will be one of the few combined land and water air bases in' the British Empire. It is, of course, the first in New Zealand, and in Britain none of the Royal Air Force hascs serves the requirements of the two , types of aircraft. The Faireys were assembled in the hangar for land planes and are at present fitted with floats. Owing to the slipway and other facilities for handling seaplanes not beinjj for use, it has not been possible to fly the amphibians. The land carriages only arrived in Auckland last week and the fitting of them in place of the floats is to be carried out during the next few days. A corporal fitter arrived from Sockburn yesterday to supplement the staff engaged on this work. Facilities for Landcraft.

The Hotisonville base is being laid out and equipped in a way which will enable i* to fill with equal completeness the requirements of land and sea planes. The land work is more advanced than that connected ywith the sea craft, but it is expected that the latter will be able to operate from the base within about two months from now, though all the work will not be completed so soon. The portions which have been completed include tho erection of the land hangar and transport shed, seven cottages

for officers and airmen, and headquarters / offices. Three other cottages which were on the property have been renovated. Roading has been carried out, and such facilities as drainage, water supply, electricity and petrol installations have been provided. A feature of the hangar which is appreciated by the staff i§ the control of the doors by electrical power, operated by the pressing_of a button. The number of planes now housed could ,be increased several times without taxing the capacity of the .hangar. . The flying field has been laid and marked out. It is of irregular shape, owing to the contour of the land, but provides runways of ample length in any direction. The minimum run available is 600 yds.. and in several directions, including that of the prevailing wind, as much as 1000 yds. can be obtained. Pigeons,' Wireless and Meteorology.

Pigeons are part of the equipment of the base, and their house has been built in keeping with the neat and solid construction of all the other works. About .12 birds are now being trained as carriers, and as ;the work of the base develops more will be obtained by breeding. With the development of the wireless service^there will be less use for the pigeons and they may eventually be dispensed with. This applies particularly to the seaplanes, in the event of a forced landing having to be made or there being any other cause for requiring a message to reach the base. Even when-the wireless equipment ha;; been brought to maximum efficiency it can be conceivedHhat a breakdown might make the presence of a carrier pigeon 'an important factor of safety in an emergency. ' Well out on the promontory which shifters the seaplane base is a meteorologicai station, the scope of which is at present a matter of/ negotiation between the Defence Department and the Meteorological Office. Methods of weather forecasting are undergoing immense changes with the growing efficiency and importance of flying. The development of air services in New Zealand will enable the present isobar and barometric pressure methods of weather forecasting to be supplemented by air temperature gradients, obtainable by means of aircraft observations, including the use of captive balloons. Co-operation of the Air Force at Hobsonville with the Meteorological Office on these lines is probable.

Features of Fairey .Planes. A Gipsy Moth is the only craft in flying trim at Hobsonville, pending the fitting of the Faireys. In comparison with the Mof.h the latter are of imposing siz?, with 45ft. wing span, and they have some new and interesting features. They have, in common with their small sister, fold-

ing wings and the slotted wing device which minimises the danger of stalling and loss of control at low speeds. . The Fairey lII.F is a general purpose machine, in that it can be used for general reconnaissance, naval co-operation, army co-

operation, or bombing. It has seats for pilot, observer and wireless operator. The 530 h.p. Napier-Lion engine, although •smaller, is similar to that with which the Schneider Ciyp. was won in 1927. A new departure of design embodied in the Fairey is that the position of the waier radiator can be adjusted from the pilot's seaty If the engine is heated the radiator can be lowered into the wind

stream; and when the engine requires warming /it, can be kept away from the rush of air! A device to increase the lift-

ing power when leaving the water and also to facilitate descent at low speed is the provision of flaps on the wings between the usual ailerons and the hull.

The bombs, when carried, are suspended "beneath the wings. At other times the fittings can be utilised for the attachment

of emergency /petrol tanks, two of 50 gallons capacity each, which almost double the cruising range of the plane. The main tank holds 80 gallons and the auxiliary tank 45 gallons. With the emergency tanks fitted the machine's flying range is nine hours.

Slipway Nearly Completed. Although Adjacent to those for the land planes, and linked by a broad roadway, the facilities for seaplanes and flying' boats make a separate and self-contained unit of the base. The slipway, 280 ft. long and 40ft. wide, consisting of concrete piles floored with concrete slabs, is rearing completion. Already completed pre a boat jetty on the north side of the slipway, and another jetty, technically known as the mooring gantry, on the south Lines from the ends ,of these will enable seaplanes and flying-boats to be manoeuvred into position for using the slipway. About 20ft. of the decking of the slipway has yet to be laid. This part is under water at all states of the tide. The slipway leads on to the seaplane apron, a iarge open space which is to be given a concrete paving. In the centre will be placed the compass swinging base, an important part of the equipment, because the navigation of sea craft depends upon the accurate use of the compass to a far greater extent than iri the case of land-planes.

The block of buildings now being erected at the rear of the seaplane apron includes two; hangars, while there is spaco for another when required. Each hangar has a doorway 85ft. wide and 22ft. high, enabling it to receive a Southampton flying-boat, which is the largest sea craft being used by the Royal Air Force. Attached to the hangars will be various repair shops, which will be equipped for the execution of all classes of work in the maintenance and repair of seaplanes, oimuar facilities arc being provided for the surface craft which will be part of the equipment of the base. The work on the buildings has proceeded so far as the erection of the concrete walls. The blasting away of a reef which would interfered with the manoeuvring of seaplanes on the water near the alipway nas been carried out. 1