AVIATION Notes by “Airscrew”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 153, 30 June 1934, Page 7

AVIATION Notes by “Airscrew”

THE LAST STAGE TO AUSTRALIA

The tender submitted by Quanta® Empire Airways. Ltd., affiliated to Imperial Airways, Ltd., for the SingaporeDarwin, Darwin-Brisbane, and Clon-curry-Normanton sections of tihe route from England to Australia has been accepted by the Australian Federal Government. Five 1D.H.86 Express Air Liners (four D.H. Gipsy-six), each capable of carrying ten passengers, will operate the new route once weekly in each direction, starting next December or January. No passengers wiill be carried between Singapore and Darwin during the first three months, but at the end of that period it will be possibl to fly passengers from England to Australia in 14 days. With the co-operation of the Government Quautas Empire Airways, Ltd., arc planning new landing grounds and hotels. Quarrantine stations will also be provided to guard against the importation of Asiatic diseases, such as smallpox, cholera and yellow fever. Vaccination will be compulsory for all overseas passengers. Further tenders accepted are those submitted by the Macßobcrtson Miller .aviation Company for the KatnennePerth section, using D.H. Dragons, and by Mr. C. A. Butler for the Charle-ville-Cootamundra section, connecting the southern Australian States with the main route at Charlevrille, in Queensland. Tasmanian Aerial Services will operate the Melbourne-Hobart section. (From Shell Aviation News, No. 35). IMPERIAL AIRWAYS The first ton years of a British national endeavour to establish air transport on definitely commercial lines have just been completed. In 1923 the Government appointed a special committee to consider the best way of assisting air transport in the future. The committee suggested the creation of a single national organisation to be aided by subsidies on an annually decreasing scale. It was to give effect to this recommendation that Imperial Airways came into existence in April, 1924, its mandate being to establish British air transport as soon as possible as a selfsupporting industry. The first phase of the company’s operations was a coordination of the data gained by the organisations which had been absorbed, and also a general survey of the economics of air transport. Ono of the decisions reached was that any large traffic expansion in Europe was of secondary importance in view of the competition of heavily subsidised companies, and of the highly-developed system of rail communication. While, therefore, improvements -were made in the organisation and equipment of such continental services as it was found advantageous to operate, it was decided to concentrate on plans for those long-distance Empire routes which have since been, and still are, the company’s main concern. Services. The first link in the chain of Imperial air communication, that between Cairo and Basra, was established in January, 1927, and two years later this service was extended cast and west to form a regular air mail route between 'London and India. In 1930 an agreement was made for a weekly CairoCapetown service, the first sections being opened in February, 1931. A year later it was found possible to continue the route southward, enabling passengers, mail and freight to be carried from London to Capetown. In July, 1933, the Indian air mail was extended to Calcutta and in September to Rangoon. In December of the same year a further link was established to Singapore, and towards the end of the present year it is hoped to complete the through route of 11,000 miles between England and Australia. Furthermore, as announced in Shell Aviation News, it is hoped to eliminate the train link between France and Italy, replacing this by aircraft stages; while investigations continue in respect of the of an Atlantic which to judge the new stamps. These, however, fall very short of conveying an adequate idea as to what the new pictorial stamps will look like. Those who have seen the finished proofs have no doubt that the new set will come as an agreeable surprise to most people, that it is infinitely superior to the original pictorial set of 1898 (which was such a good advertisement for New Zealand), and that it will compare more than favourably with pictorial seis isued by other countries. Of its beauties and of its distinctive New Zealand character the public will be able Io judge for themselves by the end of the year, and their verdict is not, likely to be an adverse one. r

air mail service between Great Britain, Canada and the United States. As far as air transport in England is concerned, new organisation, known as Railway Air Services, has been recently established by the chief railway companies and Imperial Airways to operate internal air routes within the British Isles. Aircraft. Tn any review of the development of Imperial Airways a striking aspect of progress has been in the design and construction of the aircraft used. Ten years ago the machines taken over from the previous companies comprised a miscellaneous fleet of eight different single-engined and twin-en-gined types, some of Which were of military design modified for civil use. In the first fleet of air liners ordered by Imperial Airways, the first of which was delivered in 1926, an endeavour was made to incorporate, in an essentially transport type, the experience already gained and which favoured large multi-engined machines carrying appreciable loads and providing comfort for their passengers, at the same time having that reserve of power whicih is a guarantee of reliability in operation. The result was tihe Armstrong Whitt orth Argosy a machine built largely of steel, driven by three engines developing a total of 1155 horse-power, carrying a crew of three, and having accommodation for 19 passengers. The next development was in 1929 when Imperial Airways put into service a fleet of three-engined Calcutta flying-boats, developing 1500 horsepower and carrying 15 passengers. But it was from the Argosy that, as loads increased and further experience was obtained, Imperial Airways proceeded to large land machines and flying-boats driven by four engines. Space does not permit a description of each succeeding type, and for tihe same reason the characteristics of the chief units of the company’s existing fleet can only be given fin a summarised form. Machines of the four-engined Heracles type, with seating accommodation for 38 passengers and a crew of four, are flying between London and Paris. Aircraft of approximately the same type — the Hannibal type—but with different accommodation and equipment, are in operation between Cairo and Karachi, and on the African route. A more recent addition to Imperial Airways’ fleet of four-engined machines were eight Atalanta monoplanes, built for high speed at high altitudes in Africa and the East with accommodation for nine pssengers, a crew of two, and nearly a ton of mail and baggage. This machine cruises at 120 m.p.h., with a maximum of 150 m.p.h. The Mediterranean sections are operated by four-engined Short Scdpio flying-boats, carrying 16 passengers, a crow of four and three-quarters of a ton of mail and freight. One of the latest machines in the fleet is the four-engined Short Scylla —the largest air liner to be built so far for service on any regular route. There is accommodation, for 39 passengers, and a saloon has been equipped as a smoking compartment. Another new machine —the fastest four-engined commercial aircraft in the world—has been built for Imperial Airway and Quantas Empire Airways in connection with a tender for the air mail extension to Australia. This machine, known as the D.H.86 Express Air Liner, is now known as the Diana type. It is also to be used on certain continental routes, and by Railway Air {Services on British internal air lines. Since their inception in 1924, Imperial Airways have always had in use one or more of Shell’s range of mineral lubricating oils. The proportion of engines operated on any lubricant other than a pure vegetable or vegetable-base oil -was small in those days, and at first only the Rolls Royce engines were run on Triple Shell oil. With the advent of Aero Shell oil in 1930 the belief in the possibilities oi the efficient performance of mineral oils in aero engines grew rapidly, ami it w r as realised that this unique oil. without betraying any of the disadvantages attendant on the use ui 'he latter uil, such as the formation of excessive and hard carbou deposits and general uncleanliness in operation. Imperial Airways use Auro Shell oil in every one of their Bristol engines, and have done so now for over three years wit’ nothing but satisfactory results. In fact, the Shell Company has never had occasion to investigate a single complaint from Imperial Airways in respect of the lubrication of their Bristol engines. Aero Shell oil is also used by Imperial Airways for their Armstrong Siddeley Lynx and Genet Major engines, while Triple Shell oil is used for lubricating. The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar Via and Serval engines fitted to the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy and Atalanta types respectively, which operate io tropical climate*