Aviation-

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 108, 8 May 1936, Page 9

Aviation-

Notes by “Airscreii?'’

POOR FLYING CONDITIONS Conditions have been poor for flying I during the past week and instruction by the Federation’s pilot instructor at the New Plymouth airport has been considerably hampered. Except for the week-end, there has - been little flying at the Wanganui Airport. Similar conditions have prevailed in both Islands. High winds and bad flying conditions in Cook Strait necessitated the cancellation of the daily Wellington-Nelson-Blenheim service of Cook Strait Airways on Wednesday. Union Airways were unaffected by the weather and their flights between Palmerston North and Dunedin were run to schedule. Work On Airport. “The landing field is now sufficiently improved to allow the larger types of aircraft to land, and the airport is now licensed for machines of ‘all types by day,’ ” stated the annual report of the city engineer, Mr. L. F. Row. “There is, however, very little safety margin for machines carrying a large number of passengers during stormy weather, and further improvements are now in 'progress. If the present work is ' continued, it is hoped by the end of 1 the year to have runways of ample proportions for all commercial machines in any weather.’’ Bally Cups to Wanganui The Burgess Cup for the Wanganui pilot securing the most points and the Williams Cup for the Federation pilot securing the highest aggregate at the recent inter-club rally were annexed by J. R. Franklin, the Wanganui veteran. Five pilots were in the running for the two trophies and the position was that the cups would go to the winner of the question competition. D. Lethbridge and J. Strachan were runnersup for both trophies with an aggregate of four points each. Franklin was first in the bombing and first in the question competition. J. Strachan was third in the landing, third in the bombing and third in the question competition. D. Lethbridge won the forced lauding competition and was second in the question competition.

Week-end Competitions. The usual monthly competitions were conducted on the airport last Sunday ■ afternoon, good flying weather pre- ' vailing. 1 The bombing competition was won 1 by J. Strachan, who dropped his best two bombs five yards and eight yards ’ from the target. The‘veteran bomber, 1 J. R. Franklin, was not on form and had to be content with second place. His first missile was four yards from ’ the mark but his next two efforts were astray. There was a good wind blowing during tffe afternoon and competitors found it hard to judge its strength. The bombing as a whole was of a high standard and few mis- ’ siles were wide of the mark. The landing competition was keenly contested and resulted in a win for D. Lethbridge. Lethbridge was the first competitor and came down in two perfect landings two yards to the left of the mark. Had it not been for the fact that he was penalised a point for both of these he would have scored a possible. l\r. King w r as second, losing 4| points, and J. Strachan, who lost five points, was third. N.Z. Air Mail There has been little improvement in the volume of air mail carried on the recently established inter-island service and unless there is a substantial increase within the next few weeks it is likely that the service will be withdrawn. The service was commenced by the Government at the instigation of business men in both the North and South Islands but the support has fallen far short of that which was anticipated. The use of the air mail results in the saving of a considerable amount of time but this factor apparently does not appear to weigh very heavily with the majority of people. The present service is probably the cheapest air mail in the world and no complaints can be made regarding its regularity and punctuality. It was bought into operation for a trial period of three months and it would be a great pity to see it withdrawn because of lack of public patronage. There is no doubt that should it be withdrawn, considerable agitation would be required to have the Government reinstate it at some future date.