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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0567.PDF
AUGUST 25. 1921 .-:..,,-...- ;.,. ' •'"••'.•.'. development, and which offers the most hopeful means ofbringing this world-wide Empire of ours within a narrower compass, then most emphatically I am not satisfied." " But did not the conference agree to allow you to suspendthe order for scrapping the airship fleet until opportunity had been given you to put the matter before the AustralianParliament ? " " Yes, that is so, but I hope that nothing will be done bythe sale of spare parts or the machinery and plant which have been assembled for maintenance and repairs ; so as ineffect to make any attempt at a successful experiment by Australia impossible." Obviously, the Australian Premier is in full accord with the idea of linking up the Empire by means of air communications, and that, further, he looks to the airship as the means to that end. We may say that we are backing the cause of the lighter-than-air craft not because we hold any brief for one side of aviation more than another. But we hold, as Mr. Hughes also apparently does, that it is to this type we must pin our faith for long-distance services for some years to come at any rate. Experience has shown that for overseas communications the aeroplane still lacks many essential qualities. It has not the necessary endurance to begin with, and when we have said that we have said enough to indicate that the least to be predicated is that the possibilities of the airship must be explored to the utmost in the effort to speed up Imperial communi- cations. Air Progress Australia The Australian Government is going ahead fast in aerial matters. It is now calling for tenders for the con- veyance of mails by air over routes from Sydney to Brisbane, a distance of 540 miles along the coast, and between Sydney and Adelaide, via Hay, some 795 miles. The service is to be a weekly one, and the maximum to be paid for the first is £11,500, and for the second £17,500, the period involved being twelve months. The sum of £100,000 has been voted for grants in aid of civil aviation, and, in consultation with the Society of Aircraft Owners, it has been decided that the wisest manner of applying this money is by the establishment of aerodromes and emergency landing grounds, and not by way of subsidies to individual companies. A measure of direct assistance is also held desirable, and this is to be given by the alloca- tion of mail contracts to civilian companies oh a scale that will permit of the use of modern machines. The Postmaster-General has, accordingly, been asked to state his policy regarding such contracts, and should a satisfactory arrangement be arrived at, the Post Office and the Department of Civil Aviation will co-operate with a view to the inauguration of, such services during the financial year 1921-22. In many other directions there are signs that the Australian Government realises to the full the vast possibilities of aircraft in opening up and maintaining communications over the vast distances of the Commonwealth, and that it intends to exploit them wherever there is opportunity. This is very much as it should be, and we congratulate Australia on the wisdom and foresight which is being displayed in matters affecting civil aviation. SafetyTanks forAircraft As announced elsewhere in this issue, the Air Ministry proposes to hold a competition for safety fuel tanks, com- mencing December 1, next. Prizes to the amount of £2,000 are to be given, the first being a sum of £1,400, and the second and third £400 and £200, respectively. The idea is to obtain a tank which will not only be reasonably proof against the contingencies already noted, but' which will be secure against serious leakage in the air when damaged by machine-gun fire using incendiary, armour-piercing, or explosive ammunition, or by shell fire. , The requirements are exacting, but rightly so. It would be comparatively easy to design a tank which would meet them if weight were a minor consideration, but within the limits set by the Air Ministry, which call for a maximum weight of 1 -75 lbs. per capacity-gallon, it will require considerable ingenuity to devise a tank with the called-for qualities. Still, it ought to be possible, and the competition will doubtless result in the demon- stration of a good deal of progress in the right direction. THE LONDON-CONTINENTAL SERVICES FLIGHTS BETWEEN AUG. 14 AND AUG. 20, INCLUSIVE Route % <s o z S DO I No. of flights carrying 1 8oO oZ BO a o g00.5 fi4* Fastest time made by Type and No. (in brackets) of Machines Flying Croydon-Paris ... Paris-Croydon Croydon-BrusselsBrussels-Croydon Croydon-AmsterdamAmsterdam-Croydon 44 45 157 261 12 29 9 16 13 -M 26 43 h. m. 2 37 2 45 3 323 °7 3 473 18 D.H.i8 GEAWO (2h. 08m.) D.H.TS GEAWO (2h. 02m.) D.H.4 O-BARI (2h. 37m.) . D.H.4 O-BADO (2h. 10m.) Fokker H-NABK(2h. 47m.) Fokker H-NABJ (2h. 49m.) B. (8), Bt.(i),D.H.i8(2),G. (4), H.P. (4), Sa. (1), Sp. (5), B (7), Bt. (1), D.H.I8 (2), G. Sa. (1), Sp (7). D.H.4 (3), G. (1). D.H.4 (3). G. (1) D.H.9 (1), F. (3), D.H.9 (i), F. (3)- D.H.4 (5). H.P. (1).(4). Totals for week ...116 484 47 73 • Not including " private" flights. Av. = Avro. B. = Breguet. F. = Fokker. Fa. = Farman F.50.P. — Potez. Sa. = Salmson. t Including certain journeys when stops were made en route. X Including certain diverted journeys. Br. = Bristol. Bt. = B.A.T. D.H.4 - De Havilland 4, D.H.9 (etc.). G = Goliath Farman. H.P. =Handley Page. M. = Martinsyde. N. = Nieuport. Se. — S.E.5. Sp. = Spad. V. = Vickers Vimy. W. = Westland. 567
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