DISCOVERY 



A MONTHLY POPULAR 

 JOURNAL or KNOWTLLDGE 



No. 6. JUNE 1920. 



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DISCOVERY. A Monthly Popular Journal of know- 

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Editorial Notes 



An interesting description of the Air Routes of the 

 Empire was given recentl}' before the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society by Major-General Sir Frederick 

 Sykes, Controller-General of Civil Aviation, and by 

 the courtesy of the Editor of the Society's publication, 

 the Geographical Journal, we are allowed to give some 

 notes on the lecture, and to reproduce some of the 

 sketch-maps shown. 



***** 

 In considering tke general development of Imperial 

 air routes, one of the first tilings that appears is that 

 for some time to come Egypt must be the " hub " 

 of the India, Australia, and Cape routes. It is, in Sir 

 Frederick Sykes' phrase, the Clapham Junction of 

 air routes. Our own country, being, so to speak, on 

 the edge of a continent, is baned geographically from 

 occupying this position; and furthermore our climate, 

 and especially our fogs, tend to hinder successful 

 flying. Fortunately, however, parts of the Empire 

 are wonderfully wisely distributed over the surface of 

 the earth, so that unequalled positions for the estab- 

 lishments of depots, fuel bases, and for meteorological 

 and wireless stations are at hand in almost every part 

 of the world. 



carefully gone over and sites for depots chosen. 

 These sites must be very carefully selected and 

 equipped, so that an airman may get what he 

 requires on his journey. Routes must be selected 

 which involve the least risk to the flyer. Mountainous 

 country and ver\' large stretches of sea, for'example, 

 should be avoided, if that be possible. It is also 

 expedient, if circumstances allow, to avoid flying over 

 foreign lands unless a perfectly good understanding, 

 about the matter exists. In Europe, of course, an all- 

 red route is impossible. 



In the past two or three years the preliminary work 

 has been done, the routes have been selected, depots 

 and aerodromes have been stationed along the routes, 

 and many of the suggested journeys have been success- 

 fully flown. 



***** 



Let us next consider the actual air routes them- 

 selves. The journey from England to Egypt was 

 first accomplished in November 1918, by Generals 

 Borton and Salmond. Although it has been flown 

 many times in the past two years, it is by no means 

 an easy journey. The accompanying map shows the 

 route clearly. The continuous line is the course taken 

 by Sir M. Ross-Smith, the dotted Unes suggest alterna- 

 tive routes. The numbers refer to distances over the 

 sea in statute miles. 



***** 



The journey between Egypt and India is very 

 quick by air, and a comparison of the times of transit 

 by sea and air is very interesting. From Cairo to 

 Karachi the journey by air occupies four days, flying 

 by daylight only, while by sea from Port Said to 

 Bombay the journey takes nine days. Between Cairo 

 and Baghdad the journey by air takes twelve hours 

 only ; by the existing sea route the time taken is about 

 three weeks. In the second map the air route taken 

 by Ross-Smith is shown, and alternative routes are 

 indicated 



It is clear that, before an air rqute is established Once in India, there are several ways at the airman's 



between two places, the ground between must be disposal in the trans-Indian journey. From Karachi 



163 



