AVIATION OF THE FUTURE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16261, 30 October 1920, Page 5

AVIATION OF THE FUTURE.

1 „ DREAMS AND REALITIES. A fascinating picture of the commercial airship _of the future was drawn at the Air Conference in London by Commander Sir Trevor Dawson. He foreshadowed a, weekly nr bi-weekly passenger service from Europe to South .Africa, and India, to Australia, bv airships flying 60 miles an hour, reducing the time of the journey from London to Capetown, or London to India to five days. The airships would bo rigid, ROD feet long, with a. gas capacity of, at least 4.000.000 cubic feet, carrying a hundred passengers. It improbable that the cost of a regular airship service between I England, and India, carrying four tons of cargo, and 100 passengers each way would be about 2s 9d a ton a mile, giving passenger rates at about 50 per cent, higher than the present first class steamer fares, and mail rates of Gd an ounce. At the Air Conference, under the chairmanship of Admiral Beatty, a motion was adopted Pressing on the Government the vital importance of Egypt to future military aviation. The mover. Sir Joynsm Hicks, emphasised the fact that Egypt was the very centre of the service of the aviation of the future. Ho maintained that the Government should take its importance into consideration before finally giving up the protectorate of the country. One of the that as South Africa, rallied to the defence of the Empire, so Egypt would stand by Britain ns the result of the granting of self-government. A silent aeroplane is an impossibility, declared Anthony i.i. G. Fokkcr in an interview at' Amsterdam recently. “1 am working now on an appliance to muliie the sound of the motor of an aeroplane, but the whirring noise of the propeller will always reveal the presence of a machine, even at a great altitude. The invention of a noiseless aeroplane would facilitate night bombing, but i believe that searchlights and sound detectors can be improved and tendered more efficient and powerful in the same proportion ns the aeroplane is made more silent. It would bo interesting to know if searchlights and microphones and anti-aircraft guns are being experimented with and developed to-day to the extent that aeroplanes are being improved. The future aeroplane can certainly be noiseless within a limited radius. It can reach a considerable altitude—say 18,000 to 22,000 feet—before arriving over a community , and then shut off the motor and glide over the city releasing bomhs, lhat was done by Frie.drichsliafen planes once over London, I am told. In my new machines I am placing tiro fuel .tanks dmvh in the landing gear in order to avoid fire. I have experimented with them and lei a full tank of petrol burn out in the air, without damaging tiro machine. Of course, I used a metal fuselage and framework, which is the only construction material. I (To not believe metal wings are necessary and am using a three-ply wood covering for wings instead of a ‘ doped ’ linen. In trry new monoplane I can place the petrol tank in the wing if I wish, as the wing on that model is sixteen inches thick in the Centre. The great drawback to monoplanes has always been the danger that the wing would tear or snap off, and no one could invent a device to hold it on solidly enough. For commercial or pleasure flying the petrol tanks can bo anywhere. It is in warfare, when enemy machine gunners try to fire incendiary bullets into one’s fuel reservoirs, the tanks should he placed in a position to do tiro least harm if they are ignited. My plan of placing the tanks in the landing gear or in the upper wing removes them from the proximity of the passengers.” 'lire now Handlpy-Pago wing, is said to work a revolution in aviation, relatively as imnnrtant as the invention of the pneumatic tyre for road vehicles, savs the London Observer. The new wing has been tested at the National Laboratory, and has Testified the claims made on its behalf. Those claims, brnadlv stated, are that for a given rbsnlt nlanes of half the present size will suffice. The new centrivauee is really a •delightfully simple modification of wings at present employedIt enn, indeed, be applied to anv existing wing. NoUiWe -dor* have been taken in the direction of what is known ns tire “high-lift wing -but the Hnndlev-Pago innovation amounts almost to a revolution. In the revelt it means greatly increased capacity which it wouhl be to dived/to a. variety of ends. It will enable nerordai’es to net away with a smaller run and to alight in a smaller snnne; it will give desmner? a lugger margin, which they ran utilise for increasing strmmth of the machine and for modifications, hereunto regarded as evtrnvn<rant. rnnkino- forrinrreased safety and comfort. Or. where desired, for snceille purnnce.s. it v ,.ji|mean greater sneed. A very small increase in the “ n*ef"l load ” 0 f an aeroplane—-sav. a. 10 per cent improvement—would have made, .a tremendous difference to the whole aimft nrenosiTlnn : hvt f!i e improvement that is the snippet of th?o mdc, j s twenn 20 nor cent and do per cent rm (ending two OS. Tho P.b a Q(, \ n Vhipb' amd,on_Pow finch- itHf ig one of ordmal interest. All the attempt, at commercial services are almost child I.blv nmntm,,.,.!,. Macblpes witW sunlit mn'ini-dms, are bcimr employed. fh-<m T m-.at,ion is eniml| v Jeticient. _ Aeroplanes designed since the war. witbo„t are based en war models, Jlndma.l eha-ncos'mnpt he made -niinto amrfc from fb P innovation referred to above; and |T-s criticism emmerns ret. e.d v |b A but. also the hedir ,nml (be niieine. Tin volo*vn.p n t fl ~r o 1.-oenlv w.,f,.K f , r i p v lendmn authorities in Britain France \ cud f-o r mo,nv. Put. in the lichl of tbe j TTandlpi,_r> nr , (% ,l n , v „l nn^nnfi< j annear that Groat Britain R. bnldim- : her own. AVbat. is Bnprceelv , saim is that aftoet{„„ p Tm„ld he Per, ! centre ted nmn design for commerce! 1 shonlil i nn * {M " <Hart.ure | should be made war trees. I