EMPIRE AIR ROUTES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19990, 5 November 1927, Page 7

EMPIRE AIR ROUTES

COMPREHENSIVE PLANS Proposed Services Discussed in Detail TWO NEW AIRSHIPS (By Telegraph—Per Preis Assn. —Copyright) (A. & N.Z.) LONDON, Nov. 3. Two large airships which aro under construction in England will be ready for service next summer, and the Director of Civil Aviation (Sir Sefton Branckcr) stated last night that their first use might be on an experimental service to Canada, via Bathurst on the West African Coast, and the Azores, so that tho assistance of the trade winds could be utilised.

Experience with lighter-than-air machines is, however, limited, and all plans for the use of these groat vessels arc merely tentative. There is ample experience on which to base plans for the development of Imperial air routes by hcavier-than-air craft, and Sir Sefton Branckcr looks forwara, as aircraft further improve in range, reliability and speed, to less and less dependency being placed on ground organisation, until a position is reached in which, for example, flying boats can proceed direct across the Atlantic from tho West Coast of Ireland to Newfoundland.

The throe main objectives arc: Through communication by aeroplane from London to Melbourne via India, a branch line from this route through Cairo and Central Africa to Capetown and the opening of an airship route. Referring to the developing of the Cairo-Basra route, which showed 100 per cent, regularity, Sir Sefton Brancker said that, unfortunately, Persia having agreed two years ago to the route regularly running along her coast line, had so far refused to ratify the agreement. Accordingly the route on the Arabian side of tho Persian Gulf was being surveyed, and this showed that there were no physical difficulties until they reached 220 miles of a sea jump across the Indian Ocean to British territory. By degrees they were acquiring so much confidence in three-engined aircraft that he did not think that this jump was going to worry them. Negotiations were proceeding regarding the Karachi-Calcutta section, which was tho business of the Indian Government, which also would control the route to Rangoon, thence to Singapore, which was the responsibility bf the British Government, but the route was still indeterminate.

It had been reconnoitred and British interests were negotiating for a service from Penang to Dutch East Indies. He described tho suggested air route to Capetown, which on present experience could be flown from London in ten days, and, with night-flying, could be reduced to 108 hours.