Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 11 April 1938, page 13


HUGE SHIPS OF

THE AIR.

COMING/TRENDS.

Captain Taylor's Views.

ELIMINATION OF RISK.

Captain P. G. Taylor, nfter returning to Australia from a survey of develop-ments in aviation in Britain and the United States, piedicted remarkable

and rapid advance in aviation and aeioplanes

Alrctnft no« und'r con«tructlon and exist

Ing designs for the future «how that larg« passenger cnnylng landplnne« will soon flv st high altitudes iindei clear rklts shove the weather of the enith and ming ships of fan tnstlc sire will rl«e from Ihe water and flv thousands of miles ovei the oceans of ihe woilri Capteln TAvlor snld

Alreadj deHgns wer« compile for flying boats of more than 100 tons Rross weight catrying 10 tons of pro load ovei a distante of 3 OflO mile« against a head wind of 10 miles an horn These arc not sketchy pot abilities he «nid aliciaft rrtie designed and consliiicted non as a shipbuilder builds his ship Of Ihe sea to the slated r-quilements of

the shlpoftnei

UTIL11Y OF FLYING -BOATS

CaptRln laylrr said that the sbe of land planes mav be limited bv welRht olhei prac tirai difficulties of lending gear and bv length of take-off run but theie was no predictable limit to the sl*e of flying-ships which land upon their hulls and have almost unlimited length of take-ofl fiom the harbouts which aie their natural alipoits It Is mainly foi this iea«on thftt flying boat- or ship to vhlch Ihey have now giown vlil be employed foi the teally long ocean crossings since as size Increases so docs the ability to fly lonit dis-tance« without refuelling while maintaining sufficient loading for malls passenger and freight

Fiom the point of view of safety added Captain layloi there is little to choose between the flying-boBt and lnndplene ai elthei would have little chance of surviving in a heavy sen The matter of ali services over water is thciefore being attacked fiom the aspect of building alicraft which aie not going to be forced down To all practical pin poses this object has been achieved in types now undei tonsti uctlon In Fnghnd and

America

Foi ti ans continental and ti ans ocean services wheie the demand is for an ali craft of dimension« rathei similar to a lall vvav ran läge as opposed to those of a ship the over weather Iftndplane is no« being built In this all-metal machine 40 passengeis will fly in limit lou« saloons inside a pt essuie con

trolled hull high ovei the unpleasantness of weathei While the piesent continental ali tian&poits do not fly much above 13 000 feet because of di«comfort to passengeis thP ovei

(leather transpoit will fly into eteinallv cleai «kies at high speeds while the passengeis test comfortably In heated cabins In ali main tallied at suitable pressure by engine diiven

pumps

FORCED LANDINGS ELIMINATFD

Fquippcd with four engine« p-vrh of 1000 hoise-powei these machines will ciulre at ¿00 miles an hotit at (10 peí cent of theil total pover Thev will maintain (light at lflOOO feet on SHY thiee engine« and «I 10 000 feet on nnv two alone Foiccd landing from engine failurp has viituallv bfen eliminated Ruch sirriafl MP Ideallv suited foi such n «eivlce a« that belween New Zealand and \u«tialio. whcle ovci-westhri flight is the obvious thing Alicmft must remain In the sit over this «en and safefv must be asae-ved from ability to remain in

the ali

For ti ans ocean services wheie ships of the air are to be u«eo to cany huge loads foi Ihou anris of mile without icf idling Captain Tavloi said that all metal flying-boats aie being built beyond thp purtles! limit of land

planes These «hips of the air of 40 tons gTpss weight the foieiunneis of ships man\ times gicater In si/e will accommodate 7*> passenpcis foi dav flv Ing or 34 In sp-iclous and comfortable sleeping cabin« Thev will be u«Pd foi flv ing the gr<")t di tances of Ihe Atlantic and Piciflc ocein He aid lhat thev will bring fir in? still rloscr to spflfdilni, In the eomolement and duties of the cicws

Forwaid in the nose on the upper deck of these living boah sold Captain Tas loi

is a csbin with flight contiols foi two pilots insfiument panpls vith ill light instruments and master contiols foi all engines Behind the pilots cabin is a hrge contiol loom with stations foi flight rnginefi laaio operatoi navigator and queiters foi the commander At the engineeis station aie all engine in stmments throttles and other engine con-trol« and cat-wall.« Into the wing giving access to all four motors dining flight DP fpcts other than a meioi stiuctural failuie can be îppaircd in flight Though a flight nfflrpi ni pilot will always be on watch in the forwaid control cabin the ship will be held on course bv Ihe mechanicnl quailprniastcr an automatic pilot

PACIFIC SERVICES

Foi the Pacific sel vices Captiln Tai lol ex-plained the dirertion of thp altcláft is maintained piimaiily by astronomical and dead-retkonlng mefhods of navigation The China sid Havvailin Clippeis aie alv/a ;n in i ario communication with the shoie but to eulde against possible fannie of the radio Ihe machines SIP milsnt d bv the moir funrlPinental mean« T siv; a Clippei come in al AltniPda from rhino The sight was wonderful bul it gave mc lafhel- o pang lo think lhat aHhou"h Austtallans were the fli«t over thp Pacific there Is not vel i Biitl-h sei vice ovei this toute The Mans

Ppoiflc China «eivlcp f* at present flov n bv Hie long-iange Mm tin flyin^ boat which with available loading foi msll end IT pa«

renrteis still has n afp nn"P for th ° 400 miles flight fiom Alameda to Honolulu Slcfep Ing quaiteis PIP pioviripd foi pas«enscis eight of whom carne a hoic fiom ihe machine I «svv Leaving Honolulu onp daj if wis al Alameda the following morning at 11 o clock It hld « crew of eight-eommandei flight offlcôi two ipsei P officei« nailgafoi flight engineer radio operator and stcwerd All are trained foi additional duties for which thev are cmplovfd

Captain Tavlol said that of thp short ran*e tiansooit flvlng boats now in semce the British Empire flvlng boat Is probably the most advanced vvhcieas of the long lange tvpps the «amc mav be «riid of the Ametican Mai tin boat In Ameiicn veij much laigei bipts alp now practically ipadv foi nicht and In Biftain aie about to b» constiuctcd

ISLAND BASES

Referring to military machines captain Tajloi said that anti h seivlce aliciáfl aie gcncrall unsuipassed b those of am othet nation With ipgud to Australian deffcnee the necessity foi airciaft heie Is «o obvious that any statement to this effect would mcfelv be a platitude

The late Sii Charles Klnpsfoiri Smith and Captain tsvlor were the flist to male an a ii survev of the Phoenix Islands and Captain Taylor said that he was inteiested to SPP as the Niagsia pa .sed close lo Canton island the British and Ampi lean flags flying at the base camp iccently established theie Perhaps the most dneçllv piactlçnl infoimation that was obtained on the trans-Paclflc flight of the Lady Southern Cio s in 1914 was that ipsulting from a CIOFP expmination of the Phoenix Islands from the air and icpresenta tions were made to the Government legardinp their utility as bases he said Though at the time theie was no Intel national Interest displayed in these islands it was obvious thal Ihey would foi m a vltsl link in Pacific ali

communipalion

Captain Taylor has been appointed agent In Australia and siuioundlng teirltorles foi the Percival Alicraft Company in England He legards the new Percival Q type of twin cngined aircraft as highlv suitable for Aus tralian condition«_