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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0294.PDF
FLIGHT, AUGUST 10, 1933 from a stock station to get to a hospital, driving in a horse buggy. Then rain swelled the rivers ; they were marooned, and the patients died from want of medical attention. In such country the aeroplane came as a very great boon, and the company did pretty well in its first two years of operations. In 1922 the company was granted a Government contract to run a service once weekly in each direc tion between Charleville and Cloncurry. This route gave a wonderful opportunity for the aeroplane to prove its usefulness. A railway runs up the coast northwards from Brisbane, and from two seaports, Rockhampton and Townsville, branch lines run in land to the grazing districts. Between the inland railheads there was no direct connection. The Qantas air lines provided that connection by join ing five railways. The junctions of the airway with the railways were at Charleville, Blackall, Long- reach, Winton, and Cloncurry. It was only natural that such an airway should soon win popularity, and it was not long before the people of the Queensland interior looked on it as their great standby in times of trouble. Later on the service was extended at one end to Brisbane and at the other to Camooweal. Queensland is a good flying country, with possible landing grounds almost everywhere. Despite this the record of Qantas for safety and regularity on their flights is proof of excellent management and organisation. The machines were well maintained, and the pilots were good and careful men who knew their job and did it. So passed 11 years in hard, progressive, and fruitful work. Now the time has come for Australia to be joined by air to the rest of the Empire. The airway to India is to be extended on to Australia. Naturally it must touch first at some port on the northern coast, and Darwin seems to have been chosen as the most suitable one. Then it is necessary to ensure that the mails shall be distributed to the Federal and State capitals without delay, that is to say, by air. The Australian Government has decided to subsi dise an airway from Singapore to Darwin and then on to the capital cities. One trunk line is to run down the eastern side of Australia, through Queens land, so as to feed Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. A branch line is to run down the other side so as to feed Perth. The Australian Govern ment very reasonably decided that only an Austra lian company should be eligible to receive this sub sidy. An offer from the K.L.M. to bring in the English mails, which seemed very handsome, was patriotically declined. Various schemes were set on foot with the object of forming a strong Australian company which should tender for the contract when it should be published, but as they came to nothing we need not refer to them here. We may remark that as Imperial Air ways are to carry the service from Croydon to Singa pore, the best results could hardly be expected if a sudden change was to occur at that spot. Aus tralia herself has learnt by sad experience on her railways how inconvenient is a break of gauge at a State frontier. Homogeneity is one of the secrets of success in transport operations of this nature. SQ representatives of Imperial Airways and of Qantas met and decided to form an Australian company with both their interests represented. Such a com pany will have behind it all the weight and prestige of Imperial Airways and all the great experience of Qantas in running an airway across Queensland. The Second Record Gone Such a company will be able to use the same type of aircraft as is used by Imperial Airways to bring the mails to Singapore. This is a really great con ception, and should bring about excellent results. The two parties to the contract have both proved themselves, and both deserve the confidence of the public. The terms of the contract have not yet been pub lished, and it must be expected that other parties may tender. But it is clear that the trunk line must run through Queensland, and that being so, it would appear the height of wastefulness not to make use of the thirteen years of experience gained by Qantas in that State. To suggest that any other party could actually operate better than Qantas would tax the ordinary man's credulity. We await the result of the tenders with confidence. •:• •:• •:• •:• France has won from us the world's record for a long-distance flight in a straight line, and with no thoughts of jealousy we offer our hearty congratula tions to the pilots, MM. Codos and Rossi, on their magnificent flight from New York to Rayak. M. Codos is well known and very popular at Croydon aerodrome, where he was familiar as one of the best of the Air Union pilots. Adjutant Rossi has alread ' won fame, as he, in company with M. Bossoutrot, has twice established world's records for distance flown in a closed circle. These records were made in March, 1931, and March, 1932, in a circuit round Oran. On each occasion the pilots used the Bleriot Zappata 110 aeroplane named Joseph Le Brix in which Rossi and Codos have just set up a new long-distance record. In 1931 the engine used was a 600-h.p. direct-drive Hispano-Suiza with two-bladed propeller. Last year the engine was changed for a 500-h.p. geared Hispano with four- bladed propeller. At the moment we have no cer tain knowledge of what Hispano engine was used in the flight to Rayak. It has been emphasised in the press that the Joseph Le Brix had done some 400 hours' flying before it started on this last great effort. Its two closed-circuit records account for a good deal of this flying, for the second one involved over 75 hours in the air. The machine was, in fact, designed especially for long-distance flying, and is credited with a range in still air of 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles). It is a design more recent than our Fairey monoplane in which Gayford and Nicholetts flew from Croydon to Walvis Bay. It is, we consider, only fair to point this out, though it does not in any way detract from the credit due to the great French feat. Doubtless both M. Bleriot and Mr- Fairey could now design machines which would fly still further than any has flown hitherto. It is re' ported that M. Bleriot has actually got a new long- range machine ready. In view of Lord London derry's recent speech in the House of Lords about the high-speed record, we must suppose thai the British Government will not take any steps m the matter. We are now left with one world's record, the altitude, and that was captured with a machine not specially built for record-breaking. So soon a some foreigner builds a special altitude machine, we must suppose that we shall be outclassed there too. We must console ourselves with the thong; that our successes have been made without speciau ing, and so it is not our best which has been beaten. 794
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