British Air Authority Believes Airships Will Supplant Ocean Liners.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18644, 22 December 1928, Page 19 (Supplement)

British Air Authority Believes Airships Will Supplant Ocean Liners.

Former Air Vice-Marshal, Sir Vyell Vyvyan, Declares Dirigible is Aircraft of the Future.

The crossing of the Atlantic by the Graf Zeppelin has revived interest in the question of the aeroplane as against the airship in the public mind. In the following interview, written exclusively for the “ Star ” and the North American Newspaper Alliance, a British authority gives his opinion on the respective merits of the two types of aircraft and their future.

By

DANIEL ROBERT MAUE.

Special to the “ Star ” and the NA.N.A.

LONDON, October 30. C i A IRSHIPS have a melancholy past, largely because they were war made, yet I believe the next ten or fifteen years will see the fast ocean liner for mails and passengers replaced by this same lighter-tlian-air craft.” This was Sir Vyell Vyvyan’s reply when I went tb him with the question of the future of the airship. Sir Vyell is one of England’s experts of aviation, lie was a British Air Vice-Marshal during the Great War and commanded the air fleets in the Mediterranean. lie is now a director of Imperial Airways, lie is a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, a holder of the Distinguished Service Order, of the Cross of the French Legion of Honour and of the Distinguished Service Medal of the United States. “Americans within two decades will have adopted the practice of group chartering of airships for crossings to Europe,” Sir Vyell said. “ There is every reason to believe that the transAtlantic voyage will require no more than about twenty-five hours.” “ The success of trans-oceanic, crosscontinent and round-the-world flights made by aeroplanes seemed to indicate that the heavier-than-air craft would be developed first. Many engineers, however, are now looking to the dirigible of the rigid type for the best solution of long distance air travel. “ When I say that the airship will replace the ocean liner I must add that the length of replacement time depends largely upon the setbacks encountered during early exploitation. “A single setback in the passenger trade will probably delay the more general usage by about five, perhaps ten, years. Following repeated flights made by the few great airships in existence —particularly the Zeppelin-built craft —public confidence is growing. “ War usage, remember, demanded that the airship rise rapidly in order to escape pursuit 'planes, the anti-air-craft batteries, and all that. The ship, of a necessity, had to carry tons of water or other ballast that could be dropped quickly. In carrying this weight, then, the fuel capacity was cut to onlv enough for about three days. When an adverse wind beset the wartime ship of the air. immediately there was danger from lack of fuel. In addition such a ship required the service of from four to six hundred men in the business of landing or entering hangars. “Now,” continued the former Air Vice-Marshal, “conditions have been altered. Commercial usage does not re-

quire the rapid ascent. Since such great quantities of ballast need no longer be carried, the ships mav carry fuel enough for a fortnight. Furthermore, equipment now includes that used for the manufacture of water ballast. “It is no longer necessary to enter the ships in unwieldy hangars. They can be easily moored to the masts that are springing up all over the world—to say nothing of the portable masts. “ The lighter-than-air craft affords the most comfortable means of travel. ’Planes to-day are used all over the face of the globe, it is true, but these are operating commercially only for snort trips; and it has been calculated that the average passenger tires of ’plane travel after a period of four hours. “ The airships, because of greater space, can offer the more commodious comforts, such as smoking rooms, social rooms, or even baths and long promenades through the hull itself. “ They can travel in greater safety both night and day, whereas the ’planes cannot do this except at certain risks—even on the most brilliantly lighted routes. “Airship navigation has grown easier and surer with direction by radio. The great airships utilise the winds somewhat a« did the sailing sea vessels of old. Travelling the India route, for instance, a ship will avail itself of the south-westerly monsoons, and escape these on the return voyage by travelling inland over Persia. “ Thus the selected route between Europe and America will undoubtedly be the same as the course of -the Graf Zeppelin—south over the Azores, where it is not necessary forever to punch against the westerly winds. This is a longer route, but one more pleasant and more economically advantageous. The America to England journey will be made over the northern steamshio route of to-da*- using the push of the westerly winds. “ The speed of travel in the airship will not interfere with the traveller’s comfort. There will not be the noise at present associated with the 'planes. Noise comes from the engines and propellers, and these in the dirigible will be at considerable distance from the passenger shells.” The element of danger. Sir Vyell believes, is less in an airship than in an aeroplane. He does not believe ths airship to be without its disadvantages. Fire, he believes, is the greatest source of danger to a dirigible.

“ The use of helium gas will entirely eliminate this,” he said; “ but, for the present, we shan't be using helium—it’s too expensive.”

“ The newer motors,” he continued, “ are being designed to go upon heavy oil rather than upon gasoline; therefore, the fire risk becomes proportionallv small. “ There is the danger of hitting high countr- ” he said. “ But owing tq the extraordinary co-ordination possible with airship equipment this danger is rapidly disappearing.” “ What of the engine problem?” I asked. “ The failure of ship power plants has unquestionably been done away *with,” he replied. “ Ships of the future —the near future —will be powered with six or eight engines, all of which will be readi'-- accessible to mechanics while the ships are afloat. “ Closely watched engines do not often fail. As man'* as four or even six could stop at one time without more than a reduction of speed.” “ What of the storm risk?” I asked. “ How will the future air liner avoid the fate of the Shenandoah?” “ Careful navigation, more experience and the careful use of radio and frequent weather reports, will reduce that risk to a minimum,” said Sir Vyell. “ The real outstanding danger,” he pointed out, “ is from thunder storms. We know little about their effects

upon the air vessels. Lightning recently struck a ’plane while it was in operation across the English Channel. The bolt fused a few wires and burned an area of wing fabric. Yet the machine successfully landed without' harm to passengers. Lightning is an unknown factor, but we are beginning to understand it. “ I am told that an instrument has been devised accurately to register the amount of electricitv charging the metal work of a ship. If this be true, and shofild the gauge show a dangerous degree of charge, the machine has only to descend to a comparatively low level and let fall an aerial ground through which the supercharge can drain off into the earth or water—acting like the conductors of a lightning rod system. “ While I believe in the airship for long distance travel,” continued Sir Vyell, “ I know that the ’plane must remain as feeder to the main trunk airship lines. Feeder ’planes will serve Rhodesia, South Rhodesia or the , Kenya Colony in Africa along the Egypt to the Cape route. North England and provincial North America, likewise, will feed the trans-Atlantic ship routes by means of ’planes.

“ The economy effected will be remarkably large. “A steamship requires, say, about £SOOO worth of fuel for the ten-day journey from England to America. An airship carrying a large number of passengers mav- do it on as little as £IOO worth of fuel. I should not be surprised if the future traveller bound from London to Egypt or America paid no more than twenty-five to fifty dollars for passage. “ The lighter-than-air craft of the future will carry about two hundred passengers, perhaps more. The two English ships now being constructed at Cardigan and in Yorkshire will carry a hundred passengers and about twenty tons of baggage and mails. They will be ready, it is hoped, for trials this year on the run to India. It is obvious, of course that England should seek first to operate an airship serviefe between herself and her colonies. Service between London and the cities of other countries will follow. Already plans are being laid for an England to Australia service.” (Copyright by “Star” and the N.A.N.A. All rights reserved.)