TRAVEL BY AIR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23011, 12 April 1938, Page 12

TRAVEL BY AIR

DOMINION'S PKOGKESS REVIEW BY THE MINISTER AERODROME CONSTRUCTION PROVIDING RADIO FACILITIES [BY TELEGBAPH —PIIESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Monday The rapid development of air travel in the Dominion was referred to by the Minister of Transport, Hon. R. Semple, in an interview this evening. "Air transport in New Zealand," he said, "has shown a phenomenal increase in the past two years and has assumed considerable importance as a means of communication, especially in isolated districts and across Cook Strait." It was not generally realised that in New Zealand the number of air travellers constituted a greater proportion of the population than in any other country from which records were available. Some 20 per cent of the Well-ington-Marlborough passenger traffic was by air. The Rongotai aerodrome was handling more than 20,000 passengers a year, or approximately 50 per cent of the total for the Dominion and more than ono-fifth as many as Croydon, the major airport of London.

Much Work Accomplished Reviewing the steps taken to provide aerodromes and landing grounds, Mr. Semple said work on aerodromes began same years ago and much was done in 1934-35-36 by unemployed labour. Toward the end of 1936 hand labour methods were to a large extent abandoned in favour of more economical mechanical methods, which resulted in a considerable acceleration of the work. There were at present approximately 70 aerodromes of various sizes and importance on which construction work had actually been started and on some 38 of these major construction work was completed. Government liability did not, however, end here immediately, as in most cases minor maintenance work was required for some years until the surface was finally consolidated.

Transmitting and Receiving In addition there were some 50 other sites under consideration and construction would be undertaken on many of these if full investigation proved them to bo satisfactory and that aerodromes in the vicinity were desirable. Fifty-six aerodromes were licensed for use by aircraft at present, including some on which construction was not quite complete and some which were suitable for light aircraft in their original state. In addition some emergency landing grounds were available for use, but not licensed. Of paramount importance also to the expansion of air services, particularly for regularity in bad weather, was the provision of efficient radio facilities, said Mr. Semple. To this end the Government's immediate proposals included 12 transmitting and receiving stations, of which 10 were already in operation, 11 direction-finding stations of which eight were in course of erec- 1 tion, and a number of radio approach beacons for low-visibility flying. Other important details to which attention was being given were surface maintenance, lighting, traffic control, building layout, meteorological data and the control of obstructions to flying in the vicinity of aerodromes.