AIR MAILS FROM BRITAIN.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 April 1931, Page 6

AIR MAILS FROM BRITAIN.

The success of Air Commodore Kingsford Smith in rescuing the air mails from Britain to Australia will be appreciated on both eides of the globe. It proves first of all that such a mail service is within the power of human organisation. It shows also that experience telle, particularly over that part of the jourriey that lies between Siam and Australia. It does not need an aeronautical expert to see why that is the most trying part of an air journey from London to Australia. Much of the land is still almost unexplored, and, outside certain shipping, trade routes, the same may be said of the oceans over which an airship must travel. The consequence is that meteorological data is meagre, while landing places are few and far between. The tragedy of Matthews and Hook showed what it meant to be forced Wn in the jungle country, and all aviators agree that whether travelling north or south the section over Malaya is the most exacting on the whole jorirney. Commodor- Kingsford Smith has travelled both ways. His thoroughness as an organiser for long journeys has been tested on many occasions, and with one exception his judgment has never proved at fault. It looks as though the margin of safety must ‘be wider between India and Australia than on any part of the journey, and even with this that the men count as well as their equipment. The difficulties so far encountered are but showing the way for others, nd there is little doubt but that air malls from Great Britain to Australia and New Zealand will be developed before very long.