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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0380.PDF
MAY 17, 1928 AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA By MAJOR F. A. de V. ROBERTSON, V.D. •« Think Imperially " IF the late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain were alive to-day, he would surely be an enthusiast on the subject of flying. No development of the early years of the 20th century has done more to drive home his famous piece of advice : " Think Imperially." The United States of America can afford to concentrate on an air mail within the limits of the country. Great Britain cannot do so. Her object must always be Empire airways. What is more, while Empire airways take much time and preparation to organise, for they depend upon the technical development of suitable types of aircraft (and attempts to lay them down before such types have been developed are apt to be frustrated by the policy of a foreign power, as has happened in the case of the Cairo-Karachi line), the first important steps must be looked for not in the British Isles but in the Dominions of the British Empire. One sometimes meets people who lament that France and Germany are positive spiders' webs of air lines, while our attempts at main a full-scale experiment. Moreover, the present position is probably only temporary. In due course, the Dominions will design and build for themselves—the movement has already commenced—while, when the future, indicated by the production of the Short " Calcutta " and the airship R.101 is realised, Great Britain will be the centre of great operational movements. No Power in the world stands to gain so much from the use of aircraft as does the British Empire. It has been built up because the British were a maritime nation. The parts are separated from each other by wide oceans. But the British Empire cannot be held together only by a mercantile marine. In the 19th century, speed became a prime factor of life. We have learnt and absorbed the sayings " Time is Money," and "Communications are Civilization." Ships are too slow to maintain intimate intercourse between lands so widely separated ; and in modern times, communities which are not in close touch tend to fly apart. In early Victorian days D.H.50A's CARRY DISTINGUISHED AUSTRALIAN PASSENGERS : On the left, His Excellency Lord Stone- haven_and Capt. Davidson, prior to leaving on their flight to Tatura in the " Wattle Bird." On the right, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Bruce emplaning in the " Lyre Bird," for a flight to Adelaide. services, London to Manchester and Ulster to Lancashire, have died in infancy. Why should such a reflection cause despondency ? What does it matter to the British race if there is no air line between London and Manchester, so long as there are most excellent airways in Australia, between Perth and Derby, Charleville and Camooweal, Adelaide and Melbourne ? That is the British answer to the aerial boasts of America, Germany, and France. But, unfortunately, some people never think of that answer, because they have not cultivated the habit of thinking Imperially. One must admit that our aircraft designers were slow to cultivate the habit. For too long after the Armistice they continued to produce aircraft suitable mainly for European conditions. But a new spirit is now apparent. At present there is a division of labour between the British Commonwealth of Nations. The function of Great Britain is design and experiment; that of the Dominions is operation. This remark is not intended as a slight to Imperial Airways, but it accepts the view attributed to the Director of Civil Aviation, that the present cross-Channel services are in the thought and action were based on leisurely communications, and then distance did not so much matter. But the modern spirit demands speed and cannot do without it. When British communities live a whole hemisphere asunder, no possible increase in the speed of ships can satisfy their needs. Only aircraft can supply what is now essential, and Empire airways we must have, if we are to remain an Empire. While we wait for the coming technical developments which will make Empire airways a reality, and bring Australia closer to Great Britain than India is today, the best that could be hoped for was that the Dominions themselves should establish efficient internal air lines. Australia, Canada, South Africa, to say nothing of other parts, are each facing on a smaller scale, the problems which confront the Empire as a whole. Each of those Dominions rejoices in wide spaces, great distances, and the need for speeding up communications. In Australia the problem was particularly acute, for there the railways gave least help. Even the modern squatter in the out-back and the " Never-never " has more needs than his grandfather would admit. For one 344
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