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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0354.PDF
FLIGHT, APRIL 12, 1934 to-day that aerodrome was unsuitable. He reminded those present that the visit of Lord Londonderry was doubly important to them, because not only was he a Freeman of the City of Belfast and by virtue of his office closely connected with aviation development, but also he was making his own aerodrome close to the City. They owed a great deal, he thought, to Mr. Sword, and he felt that the time had come when the whole question of Govern- ment and municipal assistance should be considered seriously. He also asked for the establishment of a far greater number of aerodromes. MR. JOHN SWORD thanked the Prime Minister and Lord Londonderry for their kind words of encouragement. The operation of air lines presented many difficulties in the face of State-aided competitors with unlimited resources, but he realised what he was up against and was doing all he could to make it a success. He said that people could now book through to Paris by Hillman's Airways. After the luncheon was over the whole party went out to the aerodrome at Speke, where Capt. H. J. Andrews is manager for the Liverpool Corporation. There the Prime Minister duly named the Avro 642 the Marchioness of Londonderry, a ceremony which tradition, for some reason, demands shall be accompanied by the breaking of a bottle of champagne. The bottle was broken. We were fortunate enough to be offered a return flight to London in this machine, and so embarked with Mr. MacDonald, Lord Londonderry, Lt. Col. Shelmerdine, Lord Inverclyde, Lt. Col. Outram, Capt. A. G. Lamplugh, Mr. Alan Muntz, Mr. E. Hillman and others, all of whom appeared to enjoy the comfort provided. A brief halt was made at Wittering to disembark Lord Londonderry, and the final landing was made at Heston. The weather was not good, and" there was a considerable amount of low cloud. But the two Siddeley " Jaguar " engines relieved our minds of the worry of forced landings, while the internal upholstery of the cabin and the well-planned ventilating and heating system gave us a pleasanter journey than we could possibly have had by rail. Cruising at 135 m.p.h. and backed by a reliable radio service, this machine should really make internal air traffic operation look like a commercial proposition. HULL PREPARING FOR K.L.M. NORTH SEA SERVICE ULL Municipal Airport at Hedon is rapidly beingprepared for the K.L.M. Amsterdam-Hull service, which is due to start on June 1. As the servicewill be experimental, for a period of about four months, only the essential improvements are being made,chief of them being the enlargement of the present landing area to embrace the whole of the site that has always beenreserved for the municipal airport. Fences are being pulled down and overhead wires and cables removed, and theK.L.M. pilots will have an area of nearly 200 acres on which to handle the 3-engined Fokker monoplanes. Apart perhaps from minor alterations, the existing build-ings will suffice for the period of the experiment, but the Hull Aerodrome Committee of the City Council are fullyalert to the future needs of the airport if the North Sea line becomes permanent, which they hope will be the caseIt is naturally felt that the immediate future of Hedon is dependent upon the success of the K.L.M. venture,although, of course, it is not the only egg in the basket. But it is certainly the biggest egg. The Council now has full control of the airport, and it isprepared to develop it as occasion demands to satisfy all reasonable expectations from air operators. In an inter-view with the Town Clerk's officials this week we were informed that amongst the facilities they hope to provide atthe opportune moment is a wireless station employing a directional-finding system for guiding the Dutch pilotsacross the North Sea, particularly in foggy weather, and other pilots concentrating upon Hull. A Customs service will be arranged for June 1. HULL-GRIMSBY SERVICE AGAIN ? WHILST in. the Hull district last week we inquired of the North Sea Aerial & General Transport Co., Ltd., at Brough, about the resumption of their Hull-Grimsby air service, which they operated with success last summer in conjunction with the East Yorkshire Motor Coach Co. We were informed that no decision has yet been made, and we gather that there is some doubt as to whether the service will be restarted. But the company have issued details of an air taxi service from Brough and Hedon to all parts of the country, which include connections with the Empire air liners at Croydon. AUSTRALIAN SERVICES TENDERS IT is stated by Aircraft of Melbourne that West Australian Airways and a number of other interests repre- sented by Mr. Ulm have combined to tender for all the services for which the Australian Government is offering subsidies. In all the combined interests have submitted 21 alternative tenders for the Eastern and Oversea (Darwin- Singapore) sections, as well as for the West Australian section from Katherine to Perth. The principal tender is based on the use of the Vickers " Vellox," but other types are quoted for some sections. The combine state that if their offer is accepted they will form a new company, to be known as Commonwealth Airways, Ltd., with a nominal capital of £500,000—of which £50,000 had already been subscribed. It is also stated that Sir Charles Kingsford- Smith has sent in a tender, jointly with Mr. G. A. Robinson, of New England Airways, for some of the mail contracts, on the basis of the Avro 10 machines of New England Airways. Mr. A. Pickard, the Town Clerk, is already making an effort to secure local support for the K.L.M. line. The Corporation is endeavouring to induce K.L.M. to introduce bulk fares at a reduced rate, and Mr. Pickard has written to Hull business houses inviting them to say whether they would take advantage of such facilities if afforded. Their replies ought to reveal the amount of traffic that K.L.M. can expect from the Hull terminus. Pending the appointment of passenger and freight agents locally the Town Clerk will assist anyone with information. K.L.M. has now issued a table of ordinary fares, as follows:—From Hull to Amsterdam, £5 (return £8 10s.) ; Berlin, £10 (return £17) ; Copenhagen, £12 (return £20 8s.) ; Hamburg, £8 5s. (return £14 0s. 6d.) ; Liver- pool, £1 10s. (return £2 11s.) ; Malmo, £12 10s. (return £21 5s.) ; Rotterdam, £5 7s. 6d. (return (£9 2s. 9d.). Except for Sundays the service will be daily. The flying times from Hull will be as follows:—Amsterdam, 1\ hours ; Copenhagen, 5 hours 20 minutes ; Malmo, 5 hours 50 minutes ; Berlin, 6 hours 50 minutes. The flying time to Amsterdam is the same as that from Croydon, and as the Lincolnshire coast will be followed, the time spent over open sea will probably be less than on the direct route from the Thames mouth. Before one realises this fact the service seems adventurous for landplane operation. It is not an unfavourable reflection upon the wisdom of the Dutch pilots to suggest that when the skies are blue over the North Sea those experienced airmen will remember that the shortest distance between two points is along a straight line, whether Professor Einstein agrees or not! AN AUSTRALIAN AIR MAIL SERVICE ACCORDING to The Times Adelaide correspondent, an unsubsidised aerial mail passenger service in Australia was inaugurated on April 4 by the arrival of the Western Australian Airways new 10-seater De Havilland " Dragon " from Perth. The double journey is over 3,000 miles, which is to be covered weekly. During the past five years Western Australian Airways has maintained a mail service from Wyndham to Adelaide, which is 3,500 miles, and to the end of March the machines had covered 2,890,364 miles and carried 33,543 passengers, 181,853 lb. of letters and 915,455 lb. of freight. The subsidy for the Perth- Adelaide service expired at the week-end. SPEEDING UP IMPERIAL AIR SERVICES THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL announces the following improvements in the Imperial air mail services. Commencing with the service leaving London on Wednes- day, April 11, the England-South Africa air mail service will be accelerated by one day; the mails will be due to reach Alexandria and Cairo on Friday, Khartoum on Saturday, Nairobi on Monday, Mombasa and Dar-es- Salaam on Tuesday, Broken Hill and Salisbury on Wednes- day, Bulawayo and Johannesburg on Thursday, and Kimberley and Capetown on Friday, 9 days after despatch from London. In the reverse direction the mails will leave Capetown on Tuesdays and will be due to reach London on Thursdays, the first arrival under the new conditions being on Thursday, April 19. The England-India-Malaya air mail service will also be accelerated; the mails leaving London on Saturday, April 14, and subsequent Saturdays, will be due to reach Alexandria and Cairo on Monday, 354
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