FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0085.PDF
JANUARY 16, i<j.iq this not only adds to the dangers of actual flight, but also complicates the navigational problem. A large quantity of meteorological data exists for the mid-Atlantic, but it is all founded on mariners' reports of conditions from sea level. There is generally a belt of two or three hundred miles of fog around Newfoundland, and, unless a strong westerly wind is blowing, the weather is always changeable, so that it may generally be predicted that when the wind is assisting the flight westwards, the weather is stormy with thick cloud and with rain and mist on the coast of Ireland. The accomplishment of this flight demands an organisation capable of centralising at the starting point all information about the immediate weather conditions all along the route, in order that the rare opportunities when suitable conditions exist may be seized. This fact, coupled with the comple mentary fact that existing machines, even if navigated with extreme accuracy, have a very small margin of endurance beyond the distance to be accomplished, has led to the conclusion that this flight should not be undertaken lightly and should be viewed at present as a demonstration rather than a commercial proposition. Aerial Routes—Organisation and Equipment of.—Dealing next with overland projects ; amongst the many branches of the subject, one of the greatest importance will be the selection and equipment of aerial routes. This will be governed partly by geographical and, increasingly, by commercial conditions. Preparations on a large scale and much sub: sidiary organisation are needed to ensure the success of any chosen route. Landing grounds must be provided and conspicuous marks and indications given. Repair facilities must be established where skilled personnel is available. The stopping places must be linked up with centres of dis tribution, of postal and other merchandise, and arrangements made for the control of traffic both by day and night. State Aid.—Here it is that private enterprise will derive the greatest benefits from the work that has been done by the Governments of the countries of Europe during the War. The greater pa^t, however, still remains to be done. Long-distance Routes.—To take an example ; you have probably all read of the recent overland flights between Egypt and India. Here I want specially to emphasise the fact that all the Royal Air Force has had in mind when these long range and special flights have been undertaken, has been in order to blaze the trail and gain experience. The possibilities of this flight, with its bearing on the delivery of mails between England and India, have now been broadly demonstrated. The organisation, however, of the route into one. of continuous commercial utility will involve a large amount of work. Change to Flying Boat.—In good weather a machine starting from London will, doubtless, fly direct to Marseilles without stopping ; thence, with a short stop at Piza or Rome, to Taranto. Inspection and minor repairs will here be needed before the machine commences its long journey overseas. The next point of stoppage will be Suda Bay in Crete, where an English aerodrome at present exists. Here again repair facilities are needed. Leaving Suda Bay, the machine proceeds to the coast of Africa at Solium, a "subsidiary aerodrome, where petrol is taken on or minor repairs effected. Then, with a possible stop at Mersa Matruh, the machine proceeds to Cairo, It will probably be advisable for mails here to be transferred to another machine in order that the one which has flown from London may be given a complete overhaul before return to England. Cairo must be considered and equipped as a first-class store and repair base, as it is the half-way house to India. Continuing our journey, the route lies by way of Damascus and Bagdad, both possessing subsidiary aerodromes and repair facilities. The next point will be Basra, on the Tigris, which will require to be developed if this route is permanently adopted, into a first-class repair and stores base. Next to Bushire and along the coast to Bunder Abbas, India being reached in the next stage at Charbah-Karachi, Hyderabad and Jodhpur are the remaining steps to Delhi. Base and Repair Facilities.—It will be seen from the fore going that some 25 aerodromes and landing grounds are necessary on this route. Taranto, Cairo and Basra will require to be equipped with first-class facilities, minor repairs being provided for at Rome, Marseilles, Suda Bay and Karachi. The remaining places need only be capable of providing emergency landing and refuelling facilities. The stages I have described, average some 350 miles each, the total distance, London-Delhi, being approximately 6,000 miles. As to the time that will be required, I think we are justified in looking forward to the approach of a weekly mail service by air between London and India, the time of passage not exceeding seven or eight days, which would appear to be advantageous from the commercial point of view. Close calculations and much experience will be necessary to arrive at the cost of operating and maintaining such a service. All we know for certain is that postal rates by aeroplane will be high at first by comparison with present charges. You have to pay for "speed. The cheapest and lowest form of transport is, I suppose, by means of a donkey ; the quickest by means of the aeroplane. Business men-— and there may be some in this room to-day—I venture to predict, will not hesitate to pay high postage rates, perhaps a few shillings an ounce, for urgent letters, with the consequent saving of delay on the one hand or heavy telegraph charge's on the other. Cairo to Cape Route.—Another route of great interest which the Royal Air Force hope to open up, if there is time in the interim period to which I have already referred, is the " All Red " route from Cairo to the Cape. Survey parties have already been sent out from Cairo to report on such facilities as exist, and to secure information to enable an accurate estimate of future requirements to be made. This flight will be undertaken both by flying boat and by aeroplane. In each case the route follows the Nile to Lake Tanganyika. It is hoped to provide landing grounds every 200 miles passing through Assouan, Wadi Haifa, Abu Hamed, Khar toum, Kodok, Lake No. Bor, Lake Albert, Jinja (Lake Victoria Nyanza), Ujiji (Lake Tanganyika). The route for the flying boat will then be ; Karonga (Lake Nyassa), Blantyre, Beira, Lorenzo Marques, Durban. Port Elisabeth, Cape Town, 5,700 miles in all, and for the aeroplane : Elisabethville, Livingstone, Bulowayo, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town—5,300 miles. The routes throughout are over British soil, excepting between Lake Tanganyika and Lorenzo Marques, which is Portuguese East Africa ; and between Lake Victoria Nyanza and Lake Tanganyika, which was lately German East Africa. Possibilities of Shorter Routes.—Although it is in connection with long distance work that aviation has most to offer ; at the same time it is well not to overlook the possibilities of such routes as London to Dublin and London to Glasgow. In the former case the distance is 288 miles, and in the latter 360. Study is now being given by the Air Ministry to these in connection with their possibilities for urgent mails and newspaper work. Newspaper proprietors may easily find it advantageous to use high-speed aeroplanes for conveyance of copy, stereotypes, photographs and so on between such centres as London, Paris, Glasgow, Dublin, for" use in th< simultaneous publication of identical issues of their news papers. Short-distance Passenger Services.—I should like next to say a few words on the prospects of individual passenger services between large centres separated only by a few hundred miles of distance. We have all been told in the papers how, before very long, business men and others will be telephoning to near-by aerodromes and ordering out their machines to convey them to Paris or Brussels or some other point. Well, there is really no reason why this should not come about. It will interest you, I am sure, to hear what has been the experience of the Royal Air Force in this con- nectiozi. Quite apart from the numbers of officers who have been transported to France by aeroplane in machines going out as reinforcements, we established in the summer of this year a small organisation called the Communication Squadron It was organised on comprehensive lines, and consisted of two flights of D.H.4S. with Rolls-Royce engines and a few othei machines, with a personnel of 61 officers and men. Between August and November there were made no fewer than 270 passenger cross-country flights, such as to Paris, Nancy Dunkirk, Manchester, York and Birmingham, and, I am glad to say, that there has not been a single case of a crash occurring to any machine with passengers on board. Many very dis tinguished people were transported, including several member^ of the British, French, American and Dominion Governments ; 131 visiting machines were also received and attended to. On one occasion, two D.H.4 machines were required to transport Mr. Paul Cravath and Mr. Crosby of the American Mission, and a record trip was made to Paris and back on the same day in 4 hours and 20 minutes. On another occasion a trip-was made from Manchester, a distance of 170 miles, in 1 hour and 25 minutes, steering on a compass course above the clouds for a large portion of the distance. One of the pilots of this squadron, who is over 40 years old. has now flown across the Channel as pilot no less than 28;- times, frequently in bad weather. Another organisation which the Royal Air Force has found 85 • -.•-.. •
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
