The French Government maintains its military aviation facili ties by supporting the aeroplane industry, buying military ma chines for the air forces and commercial planes for the operating companies. The operation of the French air lines was so generally unsatisfactory late in 1928 that the Government adopted a policy of reorganization, uniting and regrouping the principal subsidized lines and stipulating the degree of service they must render. French lines operating throughout Europe, across the Mediter ranean to Africa and in South America, by connecting with steam ship service between French Africa and Brazil, were designed primarily to maintain a great reserve force for the French defen sive establishment. The same condition existed in Italy, where the Fascist policy was to create air highways for exactly the same purpose as the Roman roads were built, to facilitate communica tions of a political nature.
The German Government and a majority of the German States grant liberal subsidies to the commercial air-transport lines, the principal one being the Deutsche Luft Hansa, the largest, most popular and profitable air-transport system in Europe. Luft Hansa aeroplanes operate between all German centres and make connec tions with those of other nations at practically every large city in Europe. Night flying had not progressed to any extent any where on the Continent at the beginning of 1929.
Among the problems remaining to be solved before air-transport may be considered equally practicable with surface methods is the development of aeroplane radio to a degree where it can be made available for direct conversation between the pilot in the machine and persons on the surface, this in order that he may be kept constantly informed of his location in darkness, storm or fog, that he may be warned to swerve from his course and head for some other field where it may be advisable for him to land, espe cially when there is fog at his original destination. Thus far there is no device enabling a pilot to make a safe landing in fog, no matter if he knows he is directly over his airport.
With the widespread development of municipal airports the change of course is not so much of a problem, so far as safety is concerned ; but it does affect the comfort and convenience of passengers. For example, one bound for New York does not like to find oneself set down in Philadelphia because of fog at the other terminal. That was the chief problem awaiting solution in 1929.
A most important phase of air transport in 1929 was the de velopment of air-rail service whereby the air lines and the rail roads might work together in a co-ordinated system, flying pas sengers and express part of the way and for the remainder taking them aboard trains. In both the United States and Europe the railroads had accepted in principle the idea that the faster vehicle might be of the greatest value in reducing operating costs, not as a competitor but as a supplementary carrier.
If the railways could succeed in removing from their rights-of way all fast trains, no small part of the maintenance costs would be eliminated because the fast traffic requires much more repair, supervision and greater safeguards.
Instead of setting up their own private air lines to compete with air transport companies, the railways were joining with the exist ing lines, rearranging schedules, locating terminal and transfer fa cilities, training personnel and generally paving the way for a com pletely equipped air-rail service. A majority of the railroad execu tives were hopeful that the day might soon arrive when they would be able to entrust to aircraft all of their fast, long-distance passen ger traffic.
With the long trunk line systems fairly established in prac tically every country there remained the establishment of short haul or feeder lines ; and considerable progress was being made in that direction in all countries. The linking together of all corn munities within a nation's boundaries was promised for an early date. That would make air transport a distinctly national insti tution.
Following that there must develop international routes con necting all countries. Expert opinion holds that the airship must become the common carrier for all long distance routes over the water, principally because it can carry heavy loads at a greater net profit ; also because it can remain in the air, supported by buoyant gas, even when the engines fail. For shorter distances over water and routes overland within a radius of r,000 miles the aeroplane is superior and more profitable. There is every indication that the two types, heavier and lighter-than-air, will be employed together within the next five years, airships and planes being used to link all countries in one vast system affording a continuous world-wide service travelling at an average of ma miles an hour or even better in any kind of weather. (H. M.)