§ Mr. DAYasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he will state the number of parachutes carried on the trial flights of His Majesty's Airship, R 101; and whether the crew and other persons carried on these trial flights received any previous instruction in the use of these parachutes?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEThe answer to the first part of the question is 50; to the second, that the officers and crew have been fully instructed in the use of the parachutes, and while it is not possible, for obvious reasons, similary to instruct passengers, no real difficulty should be experienced in the use of the parachutes by anyone.
§ Sir J. POWERasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he can state the cost, respectively, of building the airships R 100 and R 101?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEThe cost of R 101 was given in Air Estimates as £527,000; figures of actual cost are not yet available, but will probably slightly exceed this total. The contract price of R 100 is £350,000 with an option of re-purchase to which a precise money value cannot be assigned. I am not in a position to state how much the contractor has actually spent on her construction.
§ Mr. MALONEasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he can 1070W yet say when Airship R 101 will make her projected flight to India?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEUntil the airship has completed her preliminary trials I am not in a position to give any definite date. To judge, however, by the successful progress of the trials to date she should foe ready to make a flight to India some time in the coming winter.
§ Mr. MALONEasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether, assuming that airships R 100 and R 101 pass their trials satisfactorily, it is expected that either of these airships will be suitable for commercial service to any of the Dominions; and has he prepared any estimate of the number of airships, sheds, and equipment required, and the total cost thereof, to maintain a regular service with any of the Dominions?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEAs regards the first part of the question, I am advised that both R 100 and R 101 should prove suitable (subject, possibly, to some minor modifications) for experimental operation and demonstration flights to the Dominions. At a time, however, when the R 100 has not yet left her shed and the R 101 is still in the midst of her preliminary trials, I should prefer not to say anything more definite. My hon. Friend will be aware that a regular service could not in any case be established with only two airships. As regards the last part of the question, various estimates have been worked out on paper, but until the airships have been operated for some time much of the necessary data will inevitably be lacking.