COMMERCIAL AVIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20499, 29 August 1928, Page 8

COMMERCIAL AVIATION.

PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA

(; EX EROIJ H GOVE RN AIENT

SUPPORT

(Spelt m. to Daily Times.)

AUCKLAND, August 28. “ Commercial aviation iu Australia has received a tremendous lot of Government support during the last year or two, and subsidised services have been inaugurated in nearly all the Commonwealth States, ’ said Mr' Phillip H. Vyner, hon. treasurer of the Australasian Royal Aeronautical Society, an ex-New Zealander, who arrived on a holiday visit by the Maheno to-dav. Mr Vyner is an Invercargill boy, and his sister, Miss Madeline Vyner, of Wellington, is judging the dancing sections at the Auckland Competitions. According to Mr Vyner, aero clubs have been formed in all the Australian States, the New South Wales section having 600 members and being the largest of any of the clubs.* Each club functions independently, and there is a Federal Council. Mr Vyner says, that the public has been taking a very keen interest in aviation during, the last three years,'this being largely duo to the activities of the aero clubs, which take on the responsibility of training airmen under a subsidy from the Government, His society looked after the technical instruction of the pupils, and monthly meetings were held at which papers wore read on technical subjects. Moths were the planes in general use, but New South Wales also bad two Aviaus which had been presented to the club.

Speaking of commercial aviation, Mr Vyner mentioned the Western Australian Airways Company, which, with all the other airway companies, was subsidised by the , Government. This company, he said, controlled the service from Perth to Derby, giving a weekly service compared with a six-weekly service formerly provided by steamer. He also spoke of the value of the services to the Northern Territory and to the “ Never, never ” country of Queensland. Mr Vyner is also interested in the National Roads and Motor Association of New South Wales, the membership of which has grown in the last three years from 25,000 to 50,000. Tills association undertook its own insurance, and since the institution of the scheme the membership had grown by leaps and bounds.