Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1937. EMPIRE AIR SERVICES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19334, 26 May 1937, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1937. EMPIRE AIR SERVICES

The transatlantic Survey flights which are lo lie made in the near future will mark another step towards the ultimate objective of regular mail and passenger services from Great Britain to Canada, thus providing another, and the longest link in the ever-growing chain of Empire air routes. In llie remarkable advance of civil aviation in recent years Great, Britain has played an important part ami to-day regular services are operated to most parts of the Empire, Canada and New Zealand being the only two Dominions not yet benefiting from this modern form of transport. In both these cases, however, much preliminary work has been done and tentative arrangements made fur the inauguration of services. The service to Canada, since it requires the longest, ocean crossing, involves unusual difficulties, but although il is only now that the first survey tlights are in contemplation an enormous amount of ground work has already been accomplished. Even more care than usual has been exercised in the investigations of the Atlantic route, because il is recognised that it is essential that once the service does start the risk of accident should be reduced lo an absolute minimum. The tests that have been proceeding for some months have covered every aspect of the service special machines have been subjected to exhaustive trials and the many details of ground organisation have been minutely examined. The wealth of dala that has been obtained is typical of British thoroughness, and any criticism that progress has been unnecessarily slow is largcly

answered by a knowledge of i !>.-> worl that already has been carried oui.

'l'lif Lwo four-engined flying bonis which arc intended for the Atlantic service in its early stages are already in commission and have been subject rd to various tests. They have made notable non-stop journeys at high speed, including flights between England and Egypt, and have given remarkably satisfactory performances. Whereas the distance between the terminuses on the west coast, of Ireland and in Newfoundland is less than 1.100 miles, the machines have a range in still air, of approximately 330" miles, or more than 2000 miles against an average headwind of (iO miles an hour. Their cruising speed is It'* l miles an hour, so that, under favourable conditions the ocean crossing could be made in about .12 hours. Simultaneously with the testing of the machines, tests have been carried out of the new radio equipment which will supply the planes with weather reports and radio bearings. Experiments that have been made indicate that the radio station in Ireland will be able to tall; with the nil- liners during the whole of their journeys across the Atlantic, so that information can lie exchanged continuously. For some time past a "ghost" plane has crossed the Atlantic, every day It is true that no one has ever seen it, and that no radio messages have been received from it. but officials at the Air Ministry have worked out every detail of each trip. The "ghost" plane is purely imaginary, hut its experiences are realistic. From the time it leaves the English base until it arrives at Newfoundland, complete details of the flight arc imagined, and with windspeeds, presence of fog and storm areas that have |o be surmounted or missed, the experts in London can calculate with precision the hazards, if any, of the trip, the time it has occupied, the distance that has been covered, and even the consumption of petrol.

In this way the British authorities: are preparing for the launching of their new venture. It will not be the experiment that, is-generally supposed, for insofar as it is humanly possible, the element of uncertainty has been removed. It is significant of the possibilities that .so far the "ghost" plane has never missed a trip; in other words conditions over the At-

lantic, have never been such as to imfke a successful air c.iossing impossible. I'lvea now, however, the investigations have not by any means been ended; rather are they being continued every day and in many different directions. The next step will be. the actual'survey flights, but in the meantime experiments have been carried out with a new type of aeroplane—the so-called composite aircraft. This invention is designed to enable a commercial aeroplane to start on its way with a far heavier load on board than it could lift from the surface unaided. Extra lift will be provided by the attachment of a second machine which will have fulfilled its purpose once the weightcarrying craft has been taken to an altitude from which it, can proceed under its own power. It is expected that a machine thus aided at the start will be able to cross the Atlantic with an ample reserve of fuel and. more than half a ton of mail tit a cruising sliced of 100 miles tin hour. The saving in cost can be appreciated from the fact that the fuel cost for the return journey is estimated at only £BO. This development, and the others which are constantly taking place, serve to indicate the great future possibilities of air travel and to emphasise the many benefits to which all parts of the Empire can look forward. Progress may, perhaps, seem slow, but at least it is certain and the time is not far distant when ah parts of the Empire will I'" linked with modern and, most important, .sale air services.