The first step will to establish mooring masts, gas and refilling plants, according to Sir Keith Smith. The question of aerial light-houses when travel is to be by airship is of minor importance. As for the mooring masts and other ground plant, they need not on a such a numerous scale, It will be possible to cover, as has often been done, the distance from London to Cairo without a single stop.
The experimental work is already in hand. Much of it is necessary in connexion with flying in the tropics. As soon as the airships are taken over, experimental runs will be made regularly between India Home, and between Australia and India. It will be necessary to start using the airships at_present lying in their hangers at Home as goon as possible for this work, as they deteriorate after a number of year's, From two to two and a half years hence the airship services, with the new airships will be in operation. No attempt is being made to rush the scheme, as it is intended to build it up on the soundest possible basis a commercial proposition. It will naturally be some time before the hangers and filling apparatus can be built at terminal and other important points.
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Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.