Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] MONDAY, 25th FEBRUARY, 1935. AVIATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 25 February 1935, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] MONDAY, 25th FEBRUARY, 1935. AVIATION.

Aviation presents itself to Lord SempilPs mind as destined soon to become “the life-blood and' mainspring of the British Empire.” That may sound a trifle strange to a race which has for centuries been accustomed to look upon sea communication in precisely that light. But changes have to be faced, and we cannot turn away from them, even if we would. This new thing is with us, and we have to adapt ourselves to it, seeing above all that we do not lag behind others in the universal race for efficiency in the air. If we realise fresh difficulties and dangers in it, w r e must the more make certain that we, with all our immense responsibilities, are not left at serious disadvantage. That applies equally to both defensive and commercial aviation. As contrasted with the latter, Lord Sempill foresees a great future for private flying, a future which may well outstrip the most daring visions of Jules Verne. Comic artists still depict, with a certain amount of suggested incredulity, the citizen of to-morrow parking his aeroplane where now he parks his motor car. Such cartoons appear, in the light of the knowledge which even now we possess, as more closely resembling probable history than caricature. Eager as New Zealand is to learn and to profit from learning, she scarcely realises even yet the degree of efficiency to which other parts of the world have already attained in the air. The matter is one which concerns her own destiny in more senses than one. She must continue her study of it. _