FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0868.PDF
course would have been taken. But they were not prepared to give more than is. a yard for 43,000,000 yards. They came forward subsequently with a proposal to join the Disposal Board in selling the linen on a profit-sharing basis. Under this plan the trade would have borne 25 per cent, of any loss below is. id. per yard and would have received 25 per cent, of any profit over that figure. This offer was declined by the Disposal Board. That they acted in the public interest was shown by the contract into which they had since entered. They had got is. 8d. a yard. If they had accepted the offer of the linen manufacturers they would have had to hand to them over £300,000, which now went into the pockets of the'taxpayers. E E AIR MAILS PRESIDING at a meeting of the London Society on June 27, Lord Montagu said that we should live to see a park like St. James's Park or the Green Park covered with a great glass roof, which would be the central landing stage of London. There would be the aeroplanes landing on the roof, light and sunshine pouring through the glass, the sides open and the wind blowing through, and underneath, so to speak, an open winter garden. He also said that London must be the centre for the meteorological research of Western Europe. Meteorology and navigation were the two most important things to study in aviation to-day. Geographically speaking, the position of London in regard to Western Europe was the most important. We were the nearest of all the big capitals to the Atlantic, and our meteorologists were, owing to the difficulties of forseeing the variations in our changeable climate, possibly as good as, if not better than, any in the world. Mr. G. Holt Thomas then gave a lecture on London and its future aerial transport. He confessed that he could not imagine, enthusiast as he was, that internal flying in London was going to render any great service ; he could not see aero planes conveying mails from the General Post Office in the City to the Post Offices of the West End, although it was impossible to prophesy safely as regarded flying in view of the enormous progress recently made. As the London Society were out to secure open spaces, and consequently better health for the population of London, they would, he thought, some day be working hand in hand with those interested in aircraft, with the object of securing large open spaces in the centre of populous districts. A central aero drome would be almost the first item planned in new towns. Remembering London's experience of air raids, he urged the need of a sufficiently large air force being kept in existence to repel possible future attacks by air. He had no doubt that all who had read the newspapers thought that a League of Nations, though very desirable, was rather doubtful, and that if we were left without an Air Force we should be in a very precarious position. After referring to recent long-distance flights, Mr. Holt Thomas said one could get to Paris to-day quite easily and comparatively comfortably by train and boat, but nothing but the aeroplane would carry either passengers or letters in 2i hours, and he saw aircraft competing much more with cables, for instance, than the train. He would go so far as to say that if he started an aeroplane, say, every two hours from London to Paris, and vice versa, no more telegrams would be sent, as they could convey words far more cheaply than any cable or telegraphic system and much faster. He did not think anyone would send a telegram to Paris • E _ "R.34 STARTS AT 2.48 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, July 2, " R. 34 " started from her aerodrome at East Fortune and commenced her journey to America. As she rose the airship was lit up by arc lamps on the roof of the huge hangar, and with lights shining out of the portholes in her cabin and engine cars, she formed a fine sight. There was a slight Scotch mist at the time of the start, and the airship was soon lost to sight, disappearing towards the Firth of Forth, although the sound of her Sunbeam engines could be heard for a considerable time after she had disappeared from view. As related elsewhere in this issue the " R 34 " carries an excellent wireless set, which will enable her to be in wireless communication with wireless stations ashore or on board Before this very clear explanation of the Govern ment point of view was made, we said that so far as it was possible to discern from the facts, the Govern ment appeared to have done the best possible thing in the circumstances. Neither the Belfast trade nor the retailers would have anything to do with the linen, except on terms which were not, to say the least, precisely favourable to the taxpayer. Mr. Martin seems to have come along with a firm offer of a fair price for the whole quantity and the Ministry closed with it. That seems to be all there is to be said about it, until we know what is to become of the linen and whether or not the deal will result in the creation of a corner in linen. E B V. CABLES again, if a letter could be delivered in 2J hours, as no telegram was as efficient as a letter, as one could not convey, except at enormous expense, the sense of the message. It was im possible to convey photographs, blue prints, deeds, certificates, and valuable documents of all kinds.* It was therefore evidentthat if the aerial mail could convey, with sufficient regularity, something which the telegraph could not convey, and at a much lower rate, it had a very serious future. London and commerce, on wiiich we all live, was entirely dependent on rapidity of communication. It was especially important to have quick means of com munication between London and every city of the Empire. It cost 2d. per word to send a telegram from London to Paris. Assuming that it cost ^120 to fly from London to Paris, and taking one of his own machines, which was to-day used on the military service between London and Paris, they could carry (he was quoting Gen. Sykes) 672 lb. of matter. Assuming such a low weight as 2,000 words per ounce—he thought it could safely be put at 5,000—the number of words carried would be 21,500,000, which worked out at so low a figure that one could hardly talk about the price per word. As the calculation would show, they could carry words at 700 a penny. The same calculation showed one—and this was a subject which they had been specially studying—how the telegraphic and telephonic communication of this country could be linked up with the telegraphic and telephonic services of another country. There was another reason for talking chiefly of mail and matter, as compared with passengers—viz., the expense. Suppose it cost 10s a mile, or ^120, to fly to Paris, carrying two passengers. The price of ^60 was almost pro hibitive. But consider the weight, say, of two 11-stone passengers as made up of half-ounce letters, and the situation was completely changed. The two 1 i-stone passengers equalled 9,856 letters, and at the same price per trip, the transport of the letters cost about 3<f. each. The charge would, of course, have to be much higher because one would not get 10,000 letters to deliver. Also a special form of collection and delivery would have to be arranged for, as it was no use flying from London to Paris in two hours and taking four more to deliver letters to their destination. Every one must recognise that speed must be paid for. Alluding to the possibilities of stereoscopic photography in charting unsurveyed country, Mr. Holt Thomas said that a single aeroplane had in one flight completely covered with photographs an area of 40 square miles. The cameras used for this work were quite automatic and once started would go on taking photographs of whatever was under them, without any attention until the film was used up B B FOR AMERICA ships during the whole of her voyage. Up to the time of going to press three messages had been received by the Air Ministry from the Commander of " R. 34," Major G. H. Scott. The first, at 6.50 a.m., read : " Off Rathlin Island, North-East Ireland. Steering West. Going well Fine." The second message at 9 a.m. read : " Position 55 deg. 20 min. North, 10 deg. 40 min. West. Speed 40 knots. Up- to-date average speed 45 knots." At 11.5 a.m. Major Scott reported "Going through thick fog. Everything going well." Providing weather conditions are not too unfavour able the " R. 34 " should be able to reach New York during Saturday next (July 5), while if any following winds are encountered she may even arrive on Independence Day. 868
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
