MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1328, 7 October 1915, Page 20

MOTORING & CYCLING

The Otago - Motor Club subscribed the sum of £326 to the ambulance funds of the Dominion.

Thrty-five new members were elected a., the annual meeting of the Otago Motor Club.

Mr. M. Fitzgerald, of Mangaiti, Thames Valley, has purchased from Messrs. Spinks and Miller a 1915 2550 h.p. Chevrolet motor car, painted dark green and upholstered in black leather. The. vehicle carries an electric light and self-starting equipment, an(d is fitted with a four-fold folding screen.

The amount of motor trade which has been held in abeyance for some time past is shown by the phenomenal orders which are coming in for the Dodge motor car, recently put on the Auckland market. Orders received during the past ten days by the local agen s average over a car a day. They are fourteen in number, and are being forwarded to Gisborne, Waikato and North Auckland, respectively.

The amount of money spent annually on motoring in the United States is almost incredible. To start with, the number of cars regstered there reached the 2,000,000 mark on June 1, 1915. Figuring on an average of four persons utilising each car —which is a conservative estmate —there are 8,000,000 people in the United States who enjoy motoring.

The war has proved the vital necessity of some means of re-starting an aeroplane engine without the necessity of the aviator having to leave the machine, even for a moment. A clever contrivance has just been invented in England, it taking the form of a light self-starter, weighing, with fittings, battery, gears, etc., only 841 b. Tests proved that this outfit was capable of turning a 90 h.p. Daimler aero engine for two minutes at fifty revolutions per minute, and the outfit proved in every way a success. Hitherto attempts to provide a good self-starter have failed, owing to the difficulties in regard to the question of weight.

At the third annual meeting of the Otago Motor Club notice of motion was given: “That rule 3 be altered by striking out the. words ‘no member of the trade or their employees to hold office,’ and adding, ‘that the trade be represented by one member only; such representative to be a member of committee, and to be appointed by the trade members of the club.’ ” The following office-bearers were elected: Patrons, Sir George McLean, Messrs. S. S. Myers and J. R. McKenzie; president, Mr. J. A. Roberts; vice-pregi-den's, Messrs. C. F. Alexander, A. C. McGeorge, F. J. Lough, and A. L. Fogo; treasurer, Mr. C. S. Smith; auditors, Messrs. W. A. Gibb and A. Ansell; hon. solicitor, Mr. G. Mondy; captain, Mr. A. E. McDougall; vice-captain, Mr. W. L. Colvin; committee, Messrs. G. H. Trott, J. W. Thompson, J. Mclndoe, G. Moody (car members), W. Wright, W. E. McAllister, W. King, R. L. Jones (cycle members).

As in many other things connected with the war, Germany’s exactness and preparation is first in the field to solve the problem of the used “warcar” which looms threatening in the distance. Great Britain and France realise the seriousness of the matter, but so far have not taken any action to control it. Germany, however, has already made preparations to handle the delicate situation effectively the moment the war stops. A company has been formed, in which the Government and the motor car manufacturers are interested, which company will take over all the cars used in the war which are capable of repair. They will be put in first-class running con-

dition, and then offered to the public at a reasonable price. Only one-third of the total will be placed on the market in the first year, one-third in the second year, and the remanider in the third year.

According to recent English papers there is till a big demand for motor transport drivers in Britain. Enlistment is for the duration of the war, the pay being 6s. a day, all found, in addition to the usual separation or dependents’ allowances. Our contemporary says:—Experienced drivers are urgently required for this important banch of the Service and the demand can only be met by the ready personal assistance and loyalty of car owners who may be at the present time unwittingly employing chauffeurs of military age and fitness. Application should be made, with original testimonials, to Captain H. Kay, recruiting officer, Coventry. Owner-drivers, of course, are also eligible, and those desirous of enlisting should forward references as to their ability to drive a gate-change touring car. Twelve

months’ experience is usually necessary to qualify a man for acceptance. A limited number of experienced car drivers are also required for the Motor Machine-Gun Service. The cars in this case are mostly touring chassis with transport bodies. The pay is the same as mentioned above and applications for the positions, mentioning briefly age and experience, should be sent to Mr. Geoffrey Smith, Inspecting Officer, South Midland Divisional Area, 19 Hertford Street, Coventry.

The aerial branch of the Commonwealth military forces is at present undergoing important developments. Recently orders were placed for six aeroplane engines, and it has now been decided to acquire a Maurice-Farman hydroplane. Additional aeroplanes of increased horse power are also to be constructed in the near future. The first of the six engines now on order will be delivered to the Government within the course of the next few days. It has been constructed locally, and the other five engines are also being built in Melbourne 1 . It is anticipated that they will all be completed within

the course of. a month. The framework of the aeroplanes, together with the planes and all parts, down to the most minute screw and nut, are being constructed and put together at the Commonwealth Flying School at Werribee. It is here that the officers and mechanics attached to the flying arm of the Commonwealth military service are taught the science of the air. At present nine young officers are undergoing a preliminary course of instruction at the school, while four officers have reached the advanced course. The nine beginners had their first flight through space recently. They were taken up singly as passengers in a B.E. machine, which can attain a speed of 74 miles an hour. Before being allowed in the air alone, these embryo military airmen will be put through severe tests in the handling and control of a machine that can do practically everyting but fly. The next step will be a short flight in a Bristol biplane, which is less speedy and easier to control in landing than the B.E. machine. Then, finally, the young officers will be permitted to try

their skill wi-h the fast machines. The engines now on order are all of the Renault type of 70 horse power.

An English correspondent who has recently taken up his residence in the Russian capital, writes: —“I think the two things that struck me most forcibly when I arrived in Petrograd were —(1) The entire absence of motor omnibuses, and (2) the terrible state of the roads. Even the Nevsky Prospect, which is, I believe, considered to be one of the best streets in the world, and certainly must be one of the longest, has generally its road surface in a very bad condition compared with our English standards. In the smaller streets the road surface is so bad that I never pass over it without musing on the strength of my car. These smaller streets are paved with large flints, which seem to be resting in loose sand, and when the stones are moved out of their original positions things happen very rapidly. In the street that I live in, soon after the snow cleared away, a rut appeared, which stretched from one side of the road to the other. For curiosity

I made a rough measurement and I think the average would be 12in. deep and 21in. acress. One day my little girl, looking from the nursery window, saw the axles of two horse carts break, one a droshky and the other a goods cart. There were two ruts like this in the street; they remained untouched for about ten days. The remainder of this street is very much in the same state. I really cannot understand how cars stand up in Russia at all, but they do. Another thing that strikes me is the complete absence of lorries in private service. I see a few lorries in use for military purposes, but nothing else. This war has had the effect of bringing all sorts of cars into service for carrying merchandise, and a few days ago I saw a Ford which had blossomed out into a lorry, with a body projecting fully 3ft. behind the back axle. There are practically no taxicabs here, ■ which seems very strange to a Londoner. The few taxicabs that are running are mostly the very dregs left after the military requirements have been satisfied. Generally speaking, the traffic

of all sorts is not nearly so great here as in London, and at the present time the proportion of horse traffic to mo lor is probably three times as high as in London.”

English advice from Belgium state that all the Zeppelin sheds between Antwerp and tbie Allied lines are empty, the airships having been withdrawn to the safety of German soil. This is stated to have occurred as a consequence of the destruction of LZ37 by the late Lieutenant Warnefoird, and the almost contemporaneous destruction of LZ3B in its shed at Evere by Lieutenants Wilson and Mills—the two latest productions of the Friedricshafen factory in the German service.

Military despatch riders are not now permitted to use their machines for week-end leave, but have to travel by rail. It is not without regret that we suggest a similar regulation, says the “English Field,’’ dealing with all other military users of motor-cycles. The week-end accident list among this class is growing portentous.