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and Manila routes, and one for the aeroplanes that will be employed on the services to and from the interior of China.
The experience gained in England and in other parts of the world in the lay-out of modern air ports, has been brought to bear upon the plans for Kai Tak, and when finish- ed Hong Kong will have one of the finest air ports of the world. CIVIL AVIATION FOR HONG KONG.
There are two distinct aviation movements on foot in Hong Kong at the present time;
(1) Commercial Air Services. (2) The Seaplane Flying Club. Both are progressing favourably, but the plans cannot be speeded up because the foundation of civil avia- tion in the Colony must be well and truly laid, otherwise the two proposals will be a failure.
PROPOSED AERIAL TRANS-
PORT COMPANY.
It is proposed to form a British Company in Hong Kong to operate the air lines.
As the plans are drawn up at present, there will be daily services to Canton and Macao, with a week- ly return service to Shanghai, call- ing at Swatow, Amoy and Foochow. These services will be extended or increased as necesary, and in ad- dition there will be machines avail- able for an Aerial Taxi Service; this will enable anybody to charter a special machine to take them any- where at any time.
AERIAL TAXI SERVICE.
As an example of the Aerial Taxi Service; a business man wishing to visit Swatow could hire one of the small machines, fly there in two hours, transact his business, and be back in Hong Kong long before his office closed.
MACHINES, STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATION.
8
The machines that will be em- ployed on the regular services will be seaplanes of the very latest type; they accommodate 6 or passengers, mails and freight, they
fitted with a
British built engine of 500 h.p. and they have a speed of 127 m.p.h., and will normally cruise at 110 m.p.h.
are
The staff will be British and the Company will run on similar lines to Imperial Airways, Ltd., and will comply with all the Air Ministry standard rules and regulations, as required by the International Air Navigation Convention of October,
1919.
1
CHINESE AIR SERVICES.
The Nationalist Administrations in various parts of China fully realise the paramount importance of aerial transport.
China is faced with the problem of re-organisation, and it would seem that before she can tackle the situation in a satisfactory manner she must improve her methods of communication.
To build railways and roads takes a considerable time, but to establish a chain of aerodromes or seaplane bases is not such a difficult problem and takes only a few months; there- fore air services throuhout China can be started almost immediately.
There are many proposals on foot, but space does not permit their examination in detail. Some of them have only just been put forward, but there are several that are well planned, and there is every reason to hope that they will come into operation in the very near future.
Unfortunately, the problem is not quite so simple as it would at first appear, the routes have to be care- fully surveyed, suitable landing grounds and seaplane bases must be prepared, the machines must be obtained from some foreign country, and experienced staffs must be found.
The promotors of these services hope to have the machines operat- ing in a very short time, but if they are going to make a success of the services they must pay con siderable attention to the ground organisation that is required to keep the machines in the air.
By ground organisation I mean, the organisation of proper landing grounds along the routes, wireless services, meteorological services, efficient workshops to carry out the repairs, petrol and oil supplies, and the numerous other services that are required to make a commercial air line a success.
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE.
Not only must the Governments concerned safeguard the public by making certain that the operating Companies carry out the necessary repairs and overhauls to safety, but they must support the Companies.
ensure
Support can best be granted by the Government or Provinces affected if they establish the aero- dromes, landing grounds, wireless service and meteorological reports, and maintain them at the public expense. Also during the first five years the Companies should be granted a subsidy, to enable them to get over the pioneer years.
If this assistance is forthcoming the prospects of commercial avia- tion in China are very great, as there is an unlimited field, no op- position, and there is no country that requires speeded up communi- cations more than China.
R. VAUGHAN-FOWLER.
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