Aviation

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 287, 22 November 1930, Page 12

Aviation

News and Notes

(By

“WING-TIPS”).

A Nation's Civil Aviation is a Measure of Its Commercial Efficiency. The Empire Is Handicapped by Air Ignorance—Help Us Conquer It I

R.A.F. TRAINING. AN INTERESTING LETTER. The following letter has boon received from a former Hastings boy who is now undergoing training as a pilot in the R.A.F. at Home. We reproduce those parts of the letter which will be of general interest to our readers. The writer has been in hospital recently, where he underwent an operation. He says: “I got up for the first time today and feel very fit. I have arranged for the medical officer to let me go back to the camp when. I leave here instead of taking a month’s sick leave, as one is meant to. The reason for this is because I want to get on with my work. I shall not be able to fly, but can attend lectures and make up the work I have missed, as we start, our exams soon.. “The time-table of our day’s work is: 7 a.m.—7.15 a.m.: Physical drill. 7.30 a.m.—8.30 a.m.-. Breakfast. 8.30 a.m.—8.45 a.m.: .Colour hoisting parade 8.45 a.m.—12.30 p.m.: Lectures and flying, two hours each. 12.30 p.m.—1.30 p.m.: Lunch. 1.30 p.m.—4.30 p.m.: Flying and lectures, 1½ hours each. 4.30 p.m.: Afternoon tea. “After that we play games till 6.30, then bathe and change for dinner at 7.45. Dinner ends about 9 pm. and from then until 10 I study, then go to bed. "We have one hour’s rifle drill a week, but when I get to a squadron at the end of the year I will do no more, as it is not done after you leave a training school. “Another chap whom I know well was doing a cross-country fly the other day, when he got lost and made a forced landing because he had run out of petrol. He died in hospital next day, and is to be buried tomorrow. That makes two deaths in a fortnight, and they were both friends of mine. The other one, who slept next to me, was burnt to death when his aeroplane crashed and he was pinned underneath it; -but they say that he was unconscious, as he had a fractured skull when they found him. He had a proper R.A.F. funeral which we all attended. 'We slow-marched for two' miles, and it was a wonderful and terribly impressive thing. “At any rate the bombers, which I am flying, are amongst the safest machines in the service, because they have a range of 8 hours or ’5OO miles and if one engine cuts out you can carry on with the other one. They are not like the ordinary machine which carries only one or two. You always have a crew of four with you, so it does not pay to be too rash with them when you have all those lives in your hands at one time. “Your friends in the R.A.F. are never the same, as a chap may be here to-day and at another station to-morrow. But they are all a good lot and keep going, as you never know how much longer you have to go. “We had a week's leave, and I went and stayed with a friend on a farm just out of Oxford and did some shooting; but it was not too good, as I only got six pheasants and two hares. This will not do for this part of the world, where pheasants are as plentiful as rabbits in the Waikato district.

“You meet people of all types in the service. There are Chinks, Egyptians, South Africans, Canadians and New Zealanders. The Chinaman has done 50 hours dual and is not solo yet, but the Chinese Government is paying for him, so he is kept on. “Lord Thomson, the Secretary of State for Air, was here yesterday, and he came in and spoke, to me for a few minutes and with him was the Air Vice-Marshal, who is the A.D.C. of this unit.”

THE COST AND REWARD.

There is a general impreasion that those fliers who make these epochal flights to Australia from England receive an enormous sum of money directly or indirectly for their flights. This is not the case, however. In this regard Amy Johnson’s flight was an exception. From the Vacuum Oil Company, it is learned that these flights do not cost a great deal so far as petrol and oil are concerned. It is cheaper than travelling in the best accommodation that first class steamers have to offer. Motor spirit to the value of £90 and oil to the value of £18 - a total of £108--were used by Oscar Garden on his flight from England to Australia.. . It is not in the air that the expenses of a world-wide flight are incurred. The laying down of supplies; the arrangements for a very tired man on his alighting after, say, 10 hours at the joy stick, the maintenance of mechanics at each place of call, the arrangements for food and accommodation, the supplying of sandwiches and refreshments, for the flight—these and a hundred other details, are expensive. Supplies of Plume, and Mobiloil had to be ready for Garden not only at the proposed landing places, but at all, places where it might have been necessary to make emergency landings. At the various stopping places, reports of weather conditions were furnished to Oscar Garden and these furnished him with full knowledge of the flying conditions he had to encounter over various stages of his journey.

OSCAR GARDEN’S FLIGHT. NEW ZEALANDER’S WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT.

In completing the flight from England to Australia in eighteen days Oscar Garden achieved something of which New Zealanders ought to be justly proud. Of more, than usual interest is the fact that while most fliers who have made this trip land at Darwin and from there take, thr recognised air

.... to Brisbane or Sydney, Oscar Garden landed at Wyndham, and took an .alternative route through Central Australia by way of Broken Hill and Alice Springs, across hundreds. of miles of waterless, uninhabited country.

LOCAL NEWS AND NOTES. On Monday afternoon last, a prominent executive member and a pilot of the H.B. and E.C. Club, with a reporter from one of the daily papers, as passenger, flew one of the club’s 'planes on a tour of inspection over the site selected for the proposed landing ground, close to Napier. No doubt the reporter enjoyed the “bird’s eye” view obtained, and would be able to give a good account of all he had seen. But the object of the flight seemed to be one of publicity rather than of a practical nature. The writer’s opinion is that the benefit which might accrue as a result of that trip, could be considerably enhanced bv inviting a prominent member of the Napier body of enthusiasts, chairman of the Harbour Board, or for that matter any other prominent air-minded citizen of Napier, to an aerial trip over the same course, The effect of this would be to combine publicity with the practical help side, and the weight of this would enhance aviation interest in the district. » » • The Desoutter, The Desoutter monoplane arrived back from Wellington last Saturday morning. Flight-Lieutenant White accompanied Mr. Ivan Kight on the return trip. The unfavourable conditions prevailing last week-end prevented the visit to Blenheim being made. Boisterous weather was experienced on the way back from Wellington. Visitors and people of this district should not fail to pay a visit to the ’drome this week-end, where the machine will be on public exhibition.' • « • New Gisborne 'Drome. Wing-Commander Grant-Dalton paid a visit to Gisborne, last Thursday for the purpose of inspecting, the new aerodrome that is in course of preparation. Although the area is not quite finished, the wingcommander expressed a very favourable opinion upon the progress already made. This must be gratifying to those in Gisborne, who have been so active and instrumental in the establishment of the aerodrome. * • « Waiting for Instruction, Gisborne members of the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club are getting-very-impatient because of the fact that for the last two months no machine has been sent there, for those members to receive further instruction. This seeming neglect of members in the Poverty Bay district is not altogether the fault of the central executive body at Hastings. Many circumstances have arisen during the period stated, preventing Gisborne being serviced, and this state of things will probably continue until such time as the H.B. and E.C. Club has a permanent instructor appointed, and certain days set aside for visits of a club ’plane to that district for the continuance of instruction.

Hastings-Napier Negotiation!. Action is being made manifest as regards the H.B. and E.C. Club’s doing things appertaining to club advancement between the two towns of Napier and Hastings. Harmony is about to be the outcome of efforts made during the last fortnight, and With harmony, fusion (not confusion) in aero club matters peculiar to this aviation district.

Napier is soon to have its hopes realised in the matter of a temporary aerodrome. The H.B. and E.C. Club surely want to help Napier enthusiasts. Nothing could be more commendable than this spirit of cooperation for the advancement of aviation in Hawke’s Bay.

Visit from Defence Minister. information has been received that the Minister of Defence, the Hon. J. A. Cobbe, will visit Hastings this week-end, or during the course of the next few days, to consult with the executive of the H.B. and E.C. Aero Club.

. Arrangements Necessary.

On matters of importance such as this visit of the Minister of Defence, and Minister in charge of Aviation, the H.B. and E.C. Aero Club should call ageneral meeting of all members to welcome and meet the Hon. Minister, and to have an opportunity as members of taking part at the meeting. During last year, the local executive have thought fit to maintain a policy of keeping ordinary and other active members uninformed of important club doings. This has not been in the best interests of the club, or to the average member. There has not been one general meeting held whereby club matters could be discussed and the general confidence of non-executive members maintained. This attitude of the “elected” is deplored, for no opportunity has been given ordinary members to bring forward suggestions for discussion or adoption. The forthcoming annual meeting will no doubt prove interesting and every member, active and honorary, should make it a duty, to attend the meeting to be held early in December.

The Week's Flying.

Flying time for the week ending 15th November was Dual instruction 7 hours, solo 1 hour, passengers 45 minutes; total 8¾ hours. Flying time put in this week so far has been very small. This is accounted for-by the club’s instructor being absent from the district for the best part of the week.