Air Ministry's memorandum to the Imperial Conference, dealing comprehensively with Imperial air communications, is now publishes After surveying the substantial progress made regarding aeroplane services and their suggested development in cooperation with the Dominions, it indicates the great advance made as a result of research, experiment and trial in airship development.
Hitherto the chief cause of the irregularity of airship flying has, been the difficulty of handling ships on ground and the risk involved in taking them in and out of sheds except in favourable weather, As a result of development of the system of mooring at masts, airships can now be moored to a mast by a mast crew of ten and it should be possible in future to operate from the mast for long periods for refuelling and changing engines, and even gas bags, while so moored. An airship shed should then be more analogous to the dry dock of a surface ship than to its ordinary harbour Voyages to India In connexion with the experimental voyages to India and back two airships have been designed and re in the first stages of production, The masts at Cardington and Isnislin have been completed and the shed at Karachi on the site presented with a grant made by the Indian Government has been begun. As a result of the knowledge act cumulated during meteorological investigations of the route, the ex-Ferimental fights will be made with 8 greater prospect of safety than would otherwise have been possible.
Tt remains to build airships to overcome the mechanical difficulties jof heavy oil engines, establish myeteorotogicat wireless organd anization to carry out home trials and to fly the two airships to India and back, When this experimental gramme has been successfully the memorandum, airship design and construction will have Leen placed upon an entirely new and practical basis, and. the way will be clear for carrying out further experiments which are-required to establish the practicability of regular airship throughout the Empire, Aeroplane Transport, Dealing with aeroplane transport: JGevelopments in various parts of the Empire, the memorandum—refers to the investigations conducted by: the Air Ministry Committee into. opportunities for operation of civil air transport in the neighbourhood of the West Indies, It states thal consisting as they do of a group of islands extending over roughly 1,800 miles and separated by considerable distances, the West Indies are in position to derive maximum benefits from the rapid transport facilities afforded by air services, The Committee's report ix not yet complete but it recognizes that a service throughout the West Indies is impracticable at present owing to the comparatively small volume of {traffic likely to be forthcoming and the necessity of a large subsidy. It therefore considers that local services should first be established on those sections which offer the best chance of early commercial success with gradual extension subsequently The Committee proposes that ti initial services should include service in British Guiana, a servic from British Guiana to Trinidad, a coastal service from Trinidad to Curacoa and Maracaibo and a service from Trinidad to the Barbados.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.