TASMAN AIR SERVICE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18283, 29 December 1933, Page 11

TASMAN AIR SERVICE

BOUND TO COME SOON RESEARCH & EXPERIMENT Confidence that as a result of the progress of technical developments in aircraft construction, there will be a reasonably regular air service between New Zealand and Australia within two or three years’ time, was expressed at Christchurch by Mr. C. T. P. Ulm, commander of the Faith in Australia. Mr. Ulm said he had no doubt whatever that such a service would come, and within a very few years. An Australia-to-New Zealand service was the logical extension of the Ehg-land-to-Australia commercial service, he said. Many people connected with flying admitted this was so, but contented themselves with saying it would come 'in five years, or some other number of years, simply because the number they employed was an easy term to adopt.

It had to be admitted that there was no machine to-day which could fly the distance and make the journey pay with ordinary freight. There were plenty of machines which could cover the route easily enough, but they had to be loaded up to such an extent with petrol that there was little or no room left for passengers or mail. Flights under those conditions could not be made to pay, and it was essential to have reasonable profits to make a service possible on a regular schedule. “I can say, however, as a result ol mv recent experience abroad, that a new principle in aircraft construction will be established by the year after next, and this will allow' the construction of a machine which will have a normal range sufficient to cover this distance, and still have a reserve carrying power for passengers and mails that will make a service possible commercially,” he said.

‘‘Sums running into many thousands have been spent in research and experiment, and the results are about to be proved. Naturally, it is not possible to indicate what that development is likely to be, for people do not spend vast sums and much time in technical study and test with the idea of telling the world what they have found or proved, but there is no doubt about the effect it will have on long-distance transport by air.” Mr. Ulm considered it certain that the principle he referred to would be established by 1935, and would be in operation by 1936. “The Tasman Sea is a very turbulent sea, and no one can get round that,” be said when discussing the relation of weather to regularity of service. “There will be delays. In all forms of transport, there are delays through weather. Ships cannot go, trains are held up and other vehicles are stopped by weather at times. So with aeroplanes, but not out of proportion to the valuo of the service.

“Weather and height have a close relation. If you had a machine, for the sake of argument, that would go several miles up, you would be pretty sure that at one level or another you would get weather that would suit. -If you had a machine that could maintain a handy normal speed and at the -same time have a good reserve of power, you would know that you could neutralise a head wind by putting on the speed. “What is wanted, therefore, is a highperformance aircraft, able to take a high ceiling, able to maintain a good speed, and able to climb quickly.” Mr. Ulm considered height and speed groat essentials to future commercial success, now that reliability of engines and soundness of machines had been established. “What you want is-.a machine that can get above dirty weather and get above it pronto,” lie said. “I am confident that sort of machine is very near.” Mr. Ulm said that, generally speaking, it could bo taken that a trip from New Zealand to Australia would take‘longer than one from Australia to New Zealand, because of the prevailing winds. Weather prediction w T as a most important factor in long-distance flying over water, in telling a pilot whether to go and how best to go l . New Zealand and Australia would both have to improve their meteorological services. There was nothing wrong with the officers who were carrying out the work, but the systems would have to be perfected. At present, the service did all that was asked of it, and was of invaluable assistance in long flights, but the system did not compare well with those of other countries, where much more money was spent. Thero would have to be stations equipped scientifically to give comprehensive weather information, and - the co-opera-tion of vessels at sea would have 1o lie enlisted to supplement tlio information gathered from land stations. Requirements such as these, however, were not a barrier to the establishment of a service, hut sensible precautions in the making of a sound system.