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Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16724, 27 April 1920, Page 2

In spite of the progress that has been made in aviation it is evident that the chances of flying from England to Australia or from Cairo to the Cape in v. single aeroplane are still very small. Sir Ross Smith is tho only airman who has reached Australia from England and Colonel van Ryneveld the only one who .succeeded in reaching the Cape from Cairo, and he had to bo provided with a second aeroplane to complete the journey. In Central Africa some of tho flying raon found that in the daytime in district high above sea level, the heat made the air so rarefied that they could not rise, tho spread of the wings having been calculated for regions where the air is denser. For this part of tho journey it will bo necessary to provide a special typo of aeroplane with a bigger wing area. Tho engines also, which are of necessity constructed as lightly as possible, will not stand constant use without attention. This may he corrected by providing housing for tho engines so that minor repairs may be carried out cn route. For mail carrying it is certain that no attempt will bo made to perform the journey with a single aeroplane. The route will be divided into stages of about 600 miles aud the mails transferred at each stopping place to a fresh machine; This system of relays will have tho advantage that tho airmen will acquire accurate knowledge of tho atmosphere and other conditions of tho section they are constantly flying over and thus the danger of forced landings will bo minimised. One does not need to bo very old to remember how untrustworthy the early motor cars were, but 20 years of experience has made a vast change in this respect:' Flying is as yet for all practical purposes hardly more than 10 years old and every year will see great improvements in the machines.