CONFERENCE ON AVIATION

Taranaki Daily News, 7 October 1929, Page 7

CONFERENCE ON AVIATION

ACQUISITION OF A GROUND MATTER FOR WHOLE COMMUNITY. ACTION BY COMMITTEE URGED. AUCKLAND AVIATORS AT MEETING. “That it be a recommendation to- the joint committee on aviation recently constituted in North Taranaki to take into consideration the question of the immediate acquisition of a suitable aerodrome site for this district” was the • resolution passed at a conference between members of the Auckland Aero • Club, who are carrying out a tour of the North Island to stimulate efforts towards the selection of a chain of landing grounds, and business men of New Plymouth on Saturday night. Those present were Captain W. S. R. Bloomfield, Messrs. R. J. Copley, IL R. Hackett (Auckland Aero Club), H. V. ' S. Griffiths, J. S. Connett, J. McLeod, S. ’ G. Smith, M.P., F. J. Hill, VV. C. Weston, C. H. Weston, F. Amoore, R. J. Pentecost, N. Derby, Darby, F. T. Bellringer, G. M. Spence, C. Linwoqd, S. E. Nielson, J. L. Mander, R. Day and Major A. E. Conway. Apologies were received from • Major G. A. C. Cowper (Auckland Aero Club) aiyl Messrs. J. W. Winfield, E. A. George and J. Corkill. In explaining the’ objects of the conference the Mayor expressed his pleasure that representative citizens ofJSTew Ply-, mouth should be able thus to meet representatives of the Auckland Aero Club in a discussion of the problems confronting them. The visit would be of immense value to the progress of aviation in the province. The only means of breaking down the prejudice existing among the more conservative members of the community arid bringing aviation to the service of ‘ the whole community was such a visit as the Auckland airmen were then mak- ’ ing to New Plymouth, Aviation was be; coming more and more in evidence as a ' development thatj would be of value, to business, and it would soon take as important a place as the motor-car did to- ■ day. In Taranaki the Aero Club' was a sign of progress in a progressive dis- . trict. He trusted the tour would be - profitable in the matter of extending ■ aviation through the country, and that • as a result of it there would soon be . a chain of landing grounds from one end of the Dominion to the other, enabling " ' commercial aviation to be an established factor in the life of the community. ACCOMMODATION FOR PLANES. Added thanks were extended by Mr. ; Spence, president of the New Plymouth Aero Club, to the Auckland visitors, who, ■ he thought, could hot fully appreciate the extent of the value, that would re- • suit to the public• from their visit. New > Plymouth had not the same opportunity as Auckland had had through their Hob- . sonville base, of realising the value of aviation/ but with visits from an increasing number of planes this would undoubtedly come and the community be forced to realise the necessity for the provision of more and more adequate accommodation for aeroplanes. The action of the Auckland Aero Club was especially commendable. If a year ago anyone had said it would be possible in I'2 months for four planes not only to visit New Plymouth but to be accommodated he would . have been laughed to scorn. And it was only . through Lad fortune that there had not been seven machines there during the week-end. The question of the hour, continued ’ Mr. Spence, was the provision of suitable and adequate landing grounds, for . a town without an aerodrome would soon be like a town without a railway station. The’, matter was one to which was essential the consideration of the community as a whole and not merely of the aero chibs, whose business was only to provide the organisation to gov- , ern the means of flying.. An aero club was not a commercial proposition. Like •; railways'and harbours, he believed, aero- ‘ dromes, were essentially matters for the - community as a whole to provide. The people mf North Taranaki were ’ faced with the necessity for providing an air port. It was true they had gone ' some distance in the right direction, but it was a temporary expedient which re-, suited only through the generosity of the lessors of the land, and what the community had to look towards was the future. He was convinced that they were only at the beginning of the develop- - ment of what would be a most import- ' . ant means of travel and of transpoit generally in the near future. Matters . simply could not be allowed to drift, and the only course to adopt was to take steps immediately to bring about the object those interested desired to achieve. % LOCAL BODIES’ INVESTIGATION. The one way to achieve this object was for all local bodies concerned, who would receive service from such a facility, to investigate the matter together. There had been one such attempt to obtain the views of all concerned, but it was because the ultimate necessity for the provision of landing grounds had not been realised that nothing concrete had taken place. It would be only a matter of time before a realisation of the necessity was brought home to the members of responsible bodies in the district If there was anything that would have’ this effect it was such a visit as thev had had that day. In the United States of America according to a recent publication, there were 394 municipal aerodromes, and ■municipalities wore recognising that it was just as necessary to provide aerodromes as streets, so that landing grounds were being laid out rapidly al. '■ over the country. The advance made in America was.leyond the wildest dreams of anyone in this country. Five years a„o the United States was far ahead of New Zealand, and the advance that had been made in flmt period was er ln‘a r ham“bo O k published in New South IVales could be found timetables for ser- • to all parts of the country, sum ar timetables of.the Donun.nunieipal airports .be hnildintf if America found it net was bulletin.-, . , eang o f travel, if network of Geunany , to reason that td ’t l o 00 eo..ton,plate the when she would have to .nak-e the Mr. Spence thought to talk of the plane until the homing for

it was provided. If only the idea of the necessity for such provision could be inculcated and finally realised then it would be the time to consider the ways and means of bringing about such a state of things as existed in the other countries. It had been said that those who wanted to fly should provide their own facilities, but one might say the responsibility undoubtedly lay on the community as a whole. Captain Bloomfield, explaining that the object of the tour was. to stimulate aviation in New Zealand, said England.* Germany, the United States and Australia all had their regular air lines, and New Zealand was very much behind the times. The sole function of the aero club was to correct this state of affairs and bring the Dominion up to the level of other countries. There were several ways of doing this —by training of pilots, by giving passenger flights and thereby inculcating the air sense, and by making cross-coun-try flights which were broadcast throughout the newspapers of the country, The clubs were out to demonstrate the safety, the comfort and the speed of air travel and to encourage local authorities to provide landing grounds, since aviation depended primarily on ground organisation.’ Grounds came first and actual flying second. If suitable landing grounds were found the cost, Of course, would be low because the land would still be producing. PROGRESS AT AUCKLAND. Since the Auckland Aero Club had started on March 1, 13 pupils had qualified as pilots, 650 passenger flights had been made and the club's machines had flown a distance equal to one and threequarter times round the globe. Two planes had been provided by the Government, one had been given by the New Zealand Herald and one had been purchased. by the club. The enterprise was developing so fast that it could only keep pace by continually extending However, growth in aviation in one part of New Zealand was directly felt all over the country. A wish that he could have borrowed a map hanging in the lobby of the Parliamentary buildings and showing the airways actually in use in the world to-day was expressed by'Mr. Smith. The map would have been of interest as it was indicative of the wonderful strides aviation had taken in the older countries. An explanation of the absence of a plane from Wellington was given by Mr. Smith, who said it was not possible for a machine to be sent to New Plymouth on account of the number of trainees whb were paying for their training and could not be deprived of it. Nevertheless , the ' Minister of Defence (the Hon. T. M. Wilfoid) was intensely interested in the development of aviation, both from a commercial and a defence point of view, and. he knew he would do all he could.' , The Bill which had just passed the Lower House and-was to be. considered by the Legislative. Council was only a mere skeleton, and it was not pretended it would meet all that those interested in aviation would expect, but many additions could be made to it., There had been a good deal of opposition to the Bill and a clause providing that no local body should acquire grounds and lease them to commercial enterprise had had to be deleted by the Minister in order to get the Bill through. The measure, however, would give local bodies , a chance to take the fullest part in tion.Every member of the Chamber of Commerce and everyone in the town was interested in the subject, said Mr. J. MeLend, president of the Taranaki Chamher of Commerce. The only way a practical view of the development of aviation could be brought home was by such spectacles as had been, witnessed that day, and a demonstration of the safety of flying would do more than anything else. It might be more to the advantage of the town to spend £12,000 for such ends than to spend it in widening Currie Street. “SHOULD BE NATIONALISED.” He believed aviation should be nationalised. Even if it did not pay, there were many more services that did not pay and were supported by rates The provision of facilities should be the responsibility of the whole people, as at Wellington where the aerodrome was municipal and was paid tor by the ratepayers. Though perhaps not a great commercial factor New Plymouth considered it was not far behind Wellington. He appreciated the pioneering spirit of the Auckland clu'bj which was using the only way of bringing home to the public the need for the provision of facilities with which a great deal of the prosperity of New Plymouth would be bound up. He was sure a large body of public opinion was behind the movement, said Mr. C. H. Weston, and if the matter were considered one for the local bodies a great number were determined Taranaki should not be far behind the other centres. Mr. McLeod asked what arrangements would be made in a municipal aerodrome. Mr. Spence replied that a definite scale of charges for the Wellington aerodrome had been drawn up and suomitted to the city council. Charges could be on the same scale as at Croydon, the air-port of London, where the planes were classified according to size. Landing and taking-off charges varied between 2s and 5s 6d and garaging of a plane for a month cost as much as £36. The principle was the same as that on which the payment of harbour dues was based. In this way, Mr. Spence considered, the Wellington landing grounds would bo paid for and need not be a charge on tho ratepayers at all, provided a sufficient number of planes vi.dtcd. the port. Croydon was maintained by the fees collected from visiting machines. But at tho present stage of aviation in New Zealand he thought it was inadvisable to hamper its development by making charges, which ho would not like to see ■made until aviation was well on its feet. Tho present voluntary system was a fine one and was a factor that would assist in fostering interest. The work now being done was missionary and educational in its nature, with a view to popularising aviation. Restrictions were not in the best interests of aviation, but when it was developed it would have to be looked after from a business point of vieiv. At present clubs w r ere eager to receive visits from other planes, and so far from making charges they were eager to do whatever else they could to encourage visits. To a question concerning the expenditure of municipal funds the Mayor answered that if the borough was able to acquire landing grounds it would be able to use them for whatever purpose it desired. Mr. Spence agreed with the Mayor that the club had “made good” and eaid there was no reason why it should not continue to progress. No club that did

not comply with the aerodrome regulations and take out a license would be recognised by the Government, but the New Plymouth landing ground had been classified and’ a license could be taken out. The Minister would not promise a plane unless he were satisfied reasonable progress had been made and good provision for an aeroplane furnished. Although there was a great deal of talk about enthusiasm for th* cause, the practical test was the support , which ■was forthcoming from the public, Mr. Spence urged. He regretted to say the result of the canvass for members was disappointing, and if it were judged by these results the enthusiasm of the district was almost nil. Major Cowper had put’ his finger right on the spot in givimr advice that the best thing to do was to join the club, whose subscription of £1 Is was cheaper than in many other towns. The few enthusiasts had not received the support from the business community they expected and if the public wanted the club to carry on it’ was up to it to lend its support. If it. were possible to buy the property, said Mr. W. C. Weston, it should be possible to get a good tenant and the land ought to°be revenue-producing. depended on the conditions laid down and the lease granted to the occupier, was the opinion of Mr. Connett. If farming were to be affected it would naturally, set a limit to the rental to be received. If the property were primarily used for aerodrome purposes, then farming would be a secondary consideration and the rental to be received would be correspondingly lower. If the club laid down, unattractive terms it must be prepared to accept a low rental, but the club would be able to get a very good rental if it were able to give an assurance that a tenant would be able to obtain a good return from the land. To a question from Mr. Amoore regarding the effect on stock the Mayor gave it .as his opinion from observation that cattle took no notice whatever of aeroplanes. Mr. Hackett explained that the Auckland club had at first made arrangements to impound stock in one corner of the aerodrome, but they were later let out and now it was common for cows to wander right up to where the planes were warming-up. Offer when a machine was coming down a pilot would find stock in the runway but would have no trouble in landing between them. There was no apparent effect on the- animals, and on a neighbouring poultry farm investigations had been made but no decrease in the egglaying could be discovered. In °moving his recommendation Mr. McLeod explained there was a committee and the object was to spur it on to make an endeavour to , acquire „ the ground. It’ would probably be left to the borough in the end to make the final move. Mr. Spence expressed the gratitude of the club to the Auckland club and its members for staging the display, which would be of especial value to the children and showed great public spirit on the part of the Aucklanders. In reply Mr. Hackett praised the very tangible evidence of energy on the part of the New Plymouth club, which had a hangar and was ready for all comers and already had a splendid organisation, while most other chibs had the plane first and then struggled to build the hangar.