1935-02-14 — Page 7

BLIND FLYING

WORK STARTED ON R.A.F. PLANS

W

FIRST LINE MACHINES

IN 1937

MORE AERODROMES

ON

7ORK has begun on the accelerated Royal Air Force expansion programme, and according to the present plans the first-line strength of the British Flying Service will be increased from the existing 900 machines to 1,450 by March. 1937.

L

Steps are also being taken to preserve a comparable rate of technical development, and for the RAF, 1935 is going to be a spced year, during which special attention is to be paid to im- proving the performance of the standard types of Service aero-

plane.

By the end of the present finan cin! year the Air Force will have

THE CHINA MAIL, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1935

BRITISH-CONTINENTAL PASSENGER ROUTES

AIR POWER IN EAST

FLYING BOATS

LONG JOURNEY

TO SINGAPORE

FORMATION FLIGHT·

TO AIR BASE

RELIEVING FIRST SQUADRON STATIONED THERE'

Four of the new Short Singapore

M. Paul Codos; the French air Dock a month ago on an 8000

I flying boats left Pembroke

man, joint holder of the long- distance fight record of '5.657 miles,

ATLANTIC AIRWAYS been increased by four squadrons. OUR AIR ARM

SERVICE

Preparations Being Expedited

BRITISH ORDER PLACED

FOR FLYING-BOAT ·

London, To-day. The Under-Secretary for Air, Sir Philip Sassoon, stated in the House)

when it will consist of 81 regular squadrons. Of these 16 are Flect Air Arm Squadrons.

IS ONLY HALF

In

The number of aeroplanes each aquadron varies according to the type: single-seater fighter. squadrons usually having 12 aero- planes, although they normally y in formations of nine. There are fewer machines in twin-engined, hamber and in flying hoat suun- drons.

Sites For Aerodromes

of Commons that he understood un The task before the Air Minis

Bermuda-New York section of the

ITS STRENGTH

EXPERT'S GRAVE WARNING

Ten Capital Ships Without "Eyes"

miles formation flight to the Royal Air Force base at Singapore.

The boats are scheduled to re- place the. Supermarine. Southamp- ton boats whch have given good

Major James Doolittle, famous American fier, who recently visit ed the Far-East in connection with the projected trans-Pacific. air line.

service for some years, but which SEEING ROUTE

are now due for replacement.

Whether these boats will

'Shipped Home?

be

PILOTS NEED NOT

SEE THEIR

THEIR WAY

DIRECTIONAL RADIO IS AS GOOD AS EYES

WIRELESS DEVELOPMENTS THAT SPELL SAFETY

(By Victor Burnett)

The radio man reaches for his pad.

A harsh voice is speaking in his earphones.

now

The control tower at the airport of London, Croydon, has learned the exact position of the inward-bound Paris mail"

· GAA-DX- calling Croydon-- All day and all night, the work GAA-DX calling Croydon. Am goes one with a background of pip- over Bexhill Height ing morse, or the abflant whisper 5.000 feet, flying above cloud. of the radio telephone. Over. The message is repeated by the ministrative buildings, on the road In the centre of Croydon's ad- operator. Then a sheet from the side of the flying field, the short, pad is pushed through a hatch grey tower stands. It is topped by

A stoutly built, tanned man narrow gallery.

radio mast, encircled by a

in a glass partition, "THROUGH FOG.

takes it. In front of him is a map,

[flown or shipped home will depend OR DARKNESS

upon their condition. The person-

(more than

terior into two rooms. One of four feet square. He

Nerve Centre reads the message, moves a colour- A glass partition divides the in-

el of No. 210 Squadron will fly CLEARLY DISPLAYED ed flag a fraction of an inch on the

them back if it is decided to send them by air.

No. 205 Squadron at Singapore

ON SCREEN

will take over the new boats, which Infra-Red Ray Wonder

In New Adaptation

have heen. built at the yard of Short Bros., Rochester.

The Journey Below is the itinerary of the

Apparatus by which a motor- ist, airman, or ship's pilot can see

"

16 daylight has been invented by a

10

young Englishman,"

18

22

map.

AIRSHIP LINES PAY

DUTCH SYNDICATE - MAY EMPLOY ZEPPELINS

Than Ocean Travel ·

them faces the aerodrome. The jother faces the road.

.....

Those two rooms house the nerve centre of commercial aviation in this country.

Minute by minute comes news of every air liner in fight, whether it ja approaching Britain or on ita

tions are charted.

"During the last ten years Bri·{-. || order for the construction of al try, which was outlined recently by tish naval air strength has fallen

ying-boat suitable for use on the Mr. Baldwin, is the provision to a very low point. By compari-Squadron: projected Trans-atlantic Afr Ser some 25 new squadrons with their son with that of foreign naval Leave Pembroke Dock January 16 through tog as though it were Not Much More Costly way to the Continent. Their pock-

versonnel and equipment and their powers, it is overwhelmingly out, Hourtin (France) aerodromes. Ninety. sites for numbered, and the unfavourable Berre". American Airways, had been plag-veyed in 10 different counties.

new aerodromes have been sur- ratio is growing every year." Naples (Italy) ed by Imperial Airways,

Sites for 11 new stations have been the new volume of Brassey's Naval Athens (Greece) finally selected, and six have been and Shipping Annual,

quired, or are in process of

vice, via the Azores und Bermuda, In conjunction with the Pan-

Preparations for the British participation in the project were being expedited as far as possible.

Replying to supplementary, question Sassoon said that a great deal of ground organisation, includ- Ing a new air port in Bermuda, had to be done, and also the permission i of the Portuguese authorities to use the. Azures would have to be ab- tained. British Wireless Service.

BRITISH AIR FORCE EXTENSIONS

Provision For Equipment

In 1935 Estimates

London, to-day.

nequisition.

This statement is contained in Brindisi

Deüclencles

Kastelorizo

Alexandretta Bagdad (Irak)

Plans for altering or enlarging In dealing with the position of Basra. about 40 of the existing stations the Fleet Air Arm, "Volage," inahrein (Persian G.) February are well advanced, and at some

Juddition to the foregoing state-Ras al Khaimah places the work has already begun. ment, says: "By an assesinent of Gwador (Baluchistan)

'absolute'

ship-by-ship require Karachi .......... ments it is also lamentably in Udaipur (India)

New Flying School

An extra lying training school fault." These deficiencies may be Gwalior has been opened, and another is to shown in detail under these cate-Allahabad be opened in April. The number gories:

of short-service officers is being Shortage in the aircraft car- Chittagong "(I

At short Intervals come weather reports from all over Europe, to be Amsterdam.-Air lines run with relayed immediately to He is Mr. E. J. Rigby, who has dirigibles for the carrying of pas-mail pilots guiding their machines

23 been experimenting for some time sengers and mail can be made a through fog or storm.

25

26

29

5

anxious

with an infra-ray instrument in paying proposition it has been con- On a day of poor visibility, in 27 his Kensington laboratory."

cluded by J. E van Tijen, repro-mist or fog, the work of the con- sentative of the Dutch dirigible trol tower is invaluable... He is shortly to give demonstra-study syndicate, who acted as a I went there on such a day. itions to shipping, railway and member of the crew on 74 voyages Messages came in continually. 8 other transport officials.

of Graf Zeppelin.

As they arrived the man in 'front According to calculations by the of the flagged map continually The instrument projects a per-Dutch syndicate,, based on the Graf changed the position of the flags, 13 fectly clear view of the route Zeppelin's running, the 9000-mile added new flags, removed others,

7

8

-

14 ahead on to a ground-glass screen trip from Amsterdam to Batayin All the time, he issued messages toi 15 before the driver.

Bhagalpur

18

19

augmented, and the entry of air, riers. craft apprentices to the training station at Halton will be doubled

Rangoon

20

(Continued At Column 0)

in this month.

Mergui Penang Singapore.

27

28

March 2

:

Many Stopa

The expansion scheme necessi-

tates an increase in strength of SPECIAL

about 800 commissioned officers and 5.000 other ranks. Four years ago Preparations are in hand to en-the Royal Air Force consisted of sure that the necessary equipment 72 regular squadrons including will be available to keep pace with Fleet Air Arm. the formation of the new squadrons:

An interesting technical develop

of the Royal Air Force already animent which will run parallel with nounced.

days are

could be made nonstop in four and be sent to the incoming machines."

"In the case of flying," he said, a half days by a dirigible carrying Each flag represented a machine "it aimply means that infra red 50 passengers in perfect comfort. flying to or from Britain." floodlights will be an additional

Such a trip would east 46,475 Four air liners were nearing the equipment to airplanes. Airports florins, about $31,000. A journey aerodrome. One French machin will also be equipped.'

from New York to Batavia via Bar-was bound from Paris. An Im- colons could be completed in 10 perial Airways" ship was on the "These lights or rays are in-days, costing about 60,000 forins, same route. One came from Bel It will be seen that forty-seven visible. A system of AVIATION

lenses

$40,000. The fares would be only glum the other from Holland. to be occupied by the focuses the floodlit moving picture slightly more than the first class cruise, so that the boats will take by means of a photo-electric cell cabin on ocean liners, it is calculat- them asking for his exact position.

A message came from one the trip. leisurely, with stops, of several days at many points.

A map with cords on was brought across the map, represent the radio info

use. The cords, stretched bearings of the machine from two other stations. A-third cord repre- sents the radio bearings from Croydon.

GASOLINE

INCREASING NEED FOR SAFETY FUELS

Proceeding

the increase in strength during the Development Continually Sir Philip Sassoon, Under-Seere next two years in the gradual super- tary for Air, in the House of Con-session of the ordinary water- mons said yesterday that the aul-cooled engine in favour of the stantial increase in the financial evaporative-cooled, the composite- provisions for the supply of aircraft cooled, and the engine cooled with and engines which would be re-some special liquid.. quired in 1935 would be reflected inj the estimates shortly to be present- ed-British Wireless Service.

RICKENBACKER RECORD BEATEN BY TWO MINUTES

Air-Cooted Engines

I hope it will become part of stan-led. The fight shows that it is pos-mobile police patrols, fra engines, OUR AIR ARM IS ONLY HALF dura equipments for ambulances, | aible to organise a flying boat and commercial, transport.". route to the East for India, Singa-" pore and Australis. From Singa- port to Darwin the route is entire ly a flying boat route..

Bases have been. found for such ROUND-THE-WORLD

AIR RACE

It is quite obvious that the fuel a route which will not be without requirements of the direct-injection their influence on a civil route for engine introduce new problems to our air lines to India and Aus- the fuel suppliera. Apart from the tralia. manufacture of a close boiling-!

Most of the acroplanes now being range material of the requisite prepared for Service acceptance flashpoint, it is of course essential tests have either air-cooled engines that the anti-knock value of the

'PLANS LAID FOR 1937 COMPETITION

three wings cooled in one of the fuel shall be high enough to enable DUTCH AIR TRAFFIC Expected Will Attract

"steam

on carburettor

--

INCREASES

REGULAR FLYING ON EASTERN ROUTES

ITS STRENGTH

(Continued From Column 3).

of

Lack of all or part of the They are moved until the bear equipment which would normal-ings agree. Where the cords inter- ly be carried in our exfating seet, is the position of the 'plané,, capital ships and cruisers; It is quickly radioed through.

Those further numbers for the operation of our

Fog Rules present fleet, The British machine was nearing which cannot be embarked before Croydon. It the older cruisers are replaced miles away. Although the throb of was about twenty by more modern types three ways mentioned above. The compression ratios and supercharge

A careful analysis of our pre-loutside, the voice of its pilot came its giant engines was inaudible World's Finest Fliers engine cooled solely with water. in pressures to be used comparable to

sent Fleet would indicate that un-to the coatrol tower, the fing show Newark, N. J.-A T. W. A. plane becoming rare in Service type those employed

der these headings the Fleet Aired exactly where it was. with 14 passengers Inaugurating a machines, says the "Morning Post." engines."

Faris, Feb. 5.

Arm is shown to be barely half its A 'round-the-world air race in new run on January 11 set what, Evaporative cooling, or

Fog regulations were in force. 1937, to be open to all entrants, to-proper strength. These stipulated that all incoming company officials et the here said was a record between of the aeroplane to be reduced by a means of producing safety Passengers And Freight eral council of the International have no illusions in the matter of fifteen miles radius drawn round

airport cooling," not only enables the drag Hydrogenation has been talked of

day was agreed upon by the gen-

Only 159 Machines

machines should stay outside the He goes on to say, "We should control zone a circle of about Chicago and Newark, three hours the abolition of the ordinary and while satisfactory duela have fuels of the desired knock-rating,

Aeronautic Federation, moeting in providing equipment and training the airport. and 15 minutes.--

of water radiator, but it is also less.

Both Rising

session here.be The plane left Chicago at 5.25 vulnerable to enemy fire, the steamen produced by this process it in

to meet this need. War comes They had to cruise there until p.m. central standard

Lime, and not being under pressure in the not by any means essential that

The Federation has been in sea-swiftly and the ships abroad, cap- the radio voice from the control rolled into Newark at 9.50 p.m., system.

hydrogenation should be employed. senger trafic for 1934 as compare taking up and deciding, on Import sonnel and equipment at

A 38 per cent increase in passion here for the past two days, not be brought home for fresh per tower told them to come in. This eastern standard time, airport offi- With the expansion of the R.A.F.] The Shell Group has for someted with 1938 is reported by the ant questions relative to aviation. eleventh hour. They must be collision through several machines cials said, beating by two minutes on certain

the disposes of any possible risk of. a mark held formerly by Mai. One of these is the wider distribu-blem with a view to being able to Indies' Airways,don-to-Melbourne air sprint was peace,

strategical changes. time past been examining this pro- K. N. L.M. (Royal Netherlands The success of the recent Lon-properly equipped at all times. In coming to land at one time. Eddie Rickenbacker.. Hor pilots tion of aircraft and engine manu- meet any demand for safety fuel The K. N. I. L. M. carried, in regarded as having materially lu "Official information shows that of the others. It received instruc claimed 266 miles an hour speed at fact ring plants and the establish- which may arise in the future. As 1984 a total of 17,624 passengers. fuenced the committee in its de- there are at present 132 carrier tions to come in and land. Soon The British machine was ahead of new ones far from the a result Shell High Flash Aviation Freight increased from 69 to 74 cision to conduct a round-the-world borne and 27 catapult ship aircraft the thunder of its engines could, London area.

Gasoline, meeting all requirements tons, airmail from 53,000 to 61, dash in 1937., of flashpoint, volatility and ant 000 pounds. A

37.5

now in service?

be heard, the great silver shape who are planning to shatter their commercially as soon as the de- increased 26 per cent. The de every leading Bier in the world but one plece. These numbers Its flag was removed from the

knock value, can now be offered Trafic on the regular services. It was anticipated that virtually aircraft at all, and the remainder gently to the grash.

Ten capitel ships still carry no circled above us, touched down' own mark, have postponed their mand for it arises. For experi- holders of the world record for will start out around the middle of can be obtained upon request,

per cent higher than in 1938, in view of the fame and glory to and 4 seaplanes regularly embark airlinera followed it. As each distance flying in a straight line, this month.

while the number of passengers be bestowed upon the winner of ed in the battleships of our Japan-landed the man at the central map The following is an average analysis of Shell High Flash Avis carried on pleasure fights in-chale or the dash was set ese and, American contemporaries, removed its flds, tion: Gasoline

creased nearly 70 per cent. Aperide Gravity at 15°C..2, 0.863 In December, last year, the com- many months in advance to give water white pany booked, the 100,000th passen- the committee ample time to ar-

times aided by a stiff tall wind.

CODOS AND ROSSI AFTER NEW DISTANCE RECORD

men

M. M. Codos and Roast, French take-off for about two weeks and mental purposes small quantities and for special flights was 31'will enter the globe-circling race should be compared to the 2, 3, (map. In quick succession, the other

Three People Saved By

Colour

Promptness Of Service ASTM

Flashpoint A.P

Initial Boiling Point

590%

70%

The Philippine Abrial Taxi Com- Several days ago, George Cush pany has been instrumental in saving, well-known mining man, was ing three lives during the last two rushed to Manila in a Patco plane

Final Boiling Point Distils up to 175°C. LG. Heston, pilot of the air from Paracale, seriously ill, Octane, Numbers. C.

Motor, Method company, returned to Manila one short Um PRA

time ago an engineer of AS This

weeks.

day bringing the sick child of R. M. Marsman and Company, was taken to co Cort of the Atlantic, Gulf and ill at Paracale and rushed to Manila specification" Pacific Company, from Camarines. Aby & Patco pla

alteratio

date for

100% Cger Durfag "thak Jear 156,466 zange for entry liste, refuelling Poland Considers Air

150°C

kilometers were flown with 100 points, compulsory checking points 160°

per cent, regularity of asrvice on and the many complicated factors 166°C the following linen, my which enter into such a huge un- 171°C Batavia-Bandoeng

V. v. at detstanding. Nov1st May twips daily. Beveral points of

Bat

Nov

arang

rice, dally. brought to the atten

Sperabaya committee this 2015

wen Joint (Anglo-Ame -Palembang Singapore.

desUnit

Races Are Too Costly

de, such an event in 1936, but, the Polish representative declared, the two contests of this kind had over 12,000,000 Zlotya, of all proportion to achieved: Instead

Warsaw, Feb: 5 The Pol portance legate to the

nautical Club, whic met in declared that Polar Again to organik no "All-Round whi

test nor the Buch a con-

of air Europe aer

also would she take par recording, testi

It is. Poland'a turn

organise

of

to develop civil rendered a ser