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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0286.PDF
MAT *8, 192s QUEENSLAND AVIATION GOING AHEAD Charleville-CIoncurry Air Service Subsidised ALTHOUGH, generally speaking, the progress made with aviation in Australia has not been so great as might have been expected, there are now signs that things are beginning to improve, and one company at least, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, has succeeded in obtaining a Govern ment subsidy for an air mail and passenger service between the railhead towns of Charleville and Cloncurry. The con tract with the Federal Government covers one year, and calls for one journey per week each way. The subsidy agreed to is 4s. per mile, and it is proposed to make the following charges for passengers : gd. per mile for the whole journey of 580 miles, 10^. per mile over 250 miles, and nd. per mile under 250 miles. As regards the carriage of mails, the only stipulation .made by the Federal Government is that each machine shall carry up to 100 lbs. of mails, and that a proper time-table shall be adhered to. It is proposed to make four landings on each journey, partly in order to reduce the amount of petrol that must be carried, and partly to increase the general usefulness of the service. Even with the four intermediate landings it is expected to cover the whole journey bf 580 miles in one day. There should, therefore, be ample support forthcoming for the service, both in the matter of mails and passengers, and the company are hoping to keep their running costs down so as to be within the 4s. per mile subsidy. The revenue of passengers and goods will thus be almost clear profit. If these expectations are reahsed, the company intend to extend the services to other parts, but in the meantime the Charle- ville-Cloncurry route will form an excellent beginning. The company was formed by Lieut. Hudson Fysh, D.F.C, Lieut. P. J. McGinnis, D.F.C., D.C.M., Mr. Fergus McMaster and Mr. A. N. Templeton, who backed their faith in aviation to the extent of £4,000. Since then the company has been successfully floated, and has purchased one Avro five-seater triplane, one three-seater Avro biplane and one two-seater B.E.2E. The latter two machines have flown 26,500 miles, and have carried 1,140 passengers without a single injury to passengers or pilots. It is expected to begin the new service in September, and two Vickers " Vulcans," Rolls-Royce " Eagle " engines, are to be put on the service, with a D.H.4 as an auxiliary machine. The two pilots will be Lieuts. Fysh and McGinnis, while a third pilot is being secured in England. The latter will be familiar with the Vickers machines, and will be able to initiate the two older pilots into the handling of them. We should imagine that the Vickers " Vulcans " will prove well-nigh ideal machines for this work. As they will not have to compete against very fast railway expresses their speed should be ample, while their landing speed is so low that it should be possible to " put them down " almost anywhere. Furthermore, they should be very economical to run, as they carry a considerable useful load per horse power expended. Altogether it appears to us that the new air line " down under " gives every promise of being a success, and as the nature of the country over which the line will run is, we understand, in the nature of open downs, there should be no mishaps of any sort to mar the safety and regularity of the service. We hope later on to be able to give more detailed information of this service when it gets going in September. GERMANY'S POSITION IN THE AIR Regulations in Force As from May 5, 1922, the Inter-Allied Aircraft Commission in Germany ceased to exist, and in its stead a " Committee of Guarantees " has been appointed to ensure that the regula tions framed to define Germany's position in the air are fol lowed. This " Committee of Guarantees " is composed of representatives of Great Britain,. France, Italy, Japan and Belgium. England is represented by one Air Commodore and three other officers, France by three officers, and the other countries mentioned by two officers each. The Com mittee is to have the right to visit any aircraft works, or plant devoted to the manufacture or repair of aircraft and aircraft engines and other material, at any time, and is to be provided by the German Government with full particulars of all machines and engines built and of all commercial air services being operated by German firms. A list of regulations has been drawn up, of which we must confine ourselves to publishing details of those which relate to the manner of distinguishing between military and com mercial aircraft. The regulations are to be revised every two years in order to allow of such adjustments as are rendered necessary by the general progress in the science of flying. Regulations Relating to Heavier-than-Air Craft 1. A single-seater with greater engine power than 60 h.p. is to be considered a military machine. 2. Every aircraft Since May 5, 1922 which is capable of flying without a pilot is considered a military machine. 3. Every aircraft which is armoured, or which has any provision for -mounting guns, bombs, etc., is considered a military machine. 4. The " ceiling " with full load of any German commercial aircraft is not to exceed 4,000 metres (13,100 ft.), and the fitting of an aircraft with a high-compression engine will place that aircraft in the cate gory of military machines. 5. The maximum speed, with full load and at a height of 2,000 metres (6,500 ft.) is not to exceed 170 km. (105 miles) per hour at the maximum power of the engine. 6. The amount of oil and fuel (best quality of aviation petrol) carried on board must not exceed ^—— grammes for each horse power (where V is the speed at full power and 2,000 metres). 7. Every aircraft whose useful load, including pilot, engineer and instruments, exceeds 600 kg. (1,320 lbs.) is considered a military machine if the maximum conditions of 4, 5 and 6 are attained. Lighter-than-Air Craft Airships whose volume exceeds the following figures are considered as war material, and are " verboten " :—Rigid airships, 30,000 cu. m. (1,060,000 cu. ft.) ; semi-rigid airships, 25,000 cu. m. (884,000 cu. ft.) ; non-rigid airships, 20,000 cu. m. (760,000 cu. ft.). AIR SERVICE IN COLOMBIA Developments in 1921 COLOMBIA is considered to be ahead of other South American - countries in Civil aviation, and the latest developments confirm this view. Since the beginning of September, the 'German-Colombian Aviation Company established a regular service for mail and passengers along the following routes: Barranquilla-Girardot-Neiva and Barranquilla-Cartagena. Other routes are under consideration. Five machines are employed in the River Magtlalena, covering in 7 hours the distance which usually takes 9 days by steamer and rail. During September last, two hydroplanes covered 4,956 miles in 41 flights, transporting 27 passengers and four tons of mails and parcels. In October, three machines covered 9,114 miles in 67 journeys with 57 passengers and 5$ tons of goods. In November, four machines accomplished 105 flights, travelling over • 10,224 miles and carrying 126 passengers and just over 10 tons of goods. The figures for December were : 94 flights, distance covered 10,256 miles, 93 passengers and 9J tons of goods. —Facts and Figures Total flights (last four months of 1921) .. 307 Miles covered . - .. .. .. 34.55° Mail and parcels, tons .. .. .. 29J Passengers ., ,. .. .. .. 303 The above figures clearly show the high decree of pros perity of our Civil Aviation Service. In the routes mentioned not a single accident has been registered. In Manizales, Medellin, Cali and Pasto, Italian, French and Colombian aviators give frequently spectacular flights, and all the principal towns are considering schemes for regular aerial transport. Before the end of the year we expect to have a complete net of aerial routes. The great gold and platinum mines of the country will be able to save two or three weeks in the conveyance of their valuable metals to the coast. The Government has a Military Aviation School under French tutors, and considerable progress has been already attained by the Colombian pilots.—The Colombian Trade Review [London), February, 1922. 286
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