AVIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22519, 13 March 1935, Page 7

AVIATION

TRANS-PACIFIC SERVICE CONSTRUCTION OF BASES NEW YORK, March 11. Pan-American Airways announce that a steamship will sail from San Francisco during the first week in April carrying a construction crew, 0000 tons of material, and special equipment to establish bases on the proposed transPacific air line. They will be completed by the middle of July, when initial flight operations will commence. The service will extend from California to Hawaii, thence to Midway Island, to Wake Island, Guam, and Manila. It will then go to Canton (China), where connections will be made with the Chinese national railways. MAIL FOR ENGLAND LONDON, March 10. The air mail from Australia, which was due in London to-day, was delayed for two days owing to the longer Mediterranean route necessitated by the Greek revolution and the inadequacy of meteorological facilities at the temporary stopping places. TRANS-TASMAN MAIL SERVICE SYDNEY, March 12. (Received March 12, at 11.55 p.m.) The Sun reports that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, prior to leaving for New Zealand, planned a trans-Tasman freight mail service for an experimental period beginning in about a month's time, using the Southern Cross monoplane in two-way flights weekly, landing at New Plymouth. The details of the service have already been finalised with his representative here. SUITABLE TYPE OF PLANE FREMANTLE, March 12. (Received March 13, at 1.30 a.m.) Captain P. G. Taylor, who arrived by the Mooltan to-day, said he was specially interested in the proposed transTasman air service. He 'explained there was a special type of seaplane being manufactured in America, most suitable for the Australia-New Zealand service, but it was too costly. On the other hand Fokker 36 land planes should meet the needs of the service.