| Capital Charges: | |
| 28 aëroplanes at $600,000 | $16,750,000 |
| 28 aëroplane sheds at $50,000 | 1,400,000 |
| Land for 4 aërodromes | 500,000 |
| Workshops and equipments | 100,000 |
| Spare parts, etc. | 500,000 |
| Wireless equipment | 50,000 |
| Total capital required | $19,300,000 |
| Annual charge at 10% interest | $1,930,000 |
| Depreciation and Insurance: | |
| Aëroplanes. | |
| Useful life, say 3 years, as for airships. | |
| Obsolete value, say, $30,000 per machine. Average total depreciation per annum for 28 machines | $5,250,000 |
| Aëroplane Sheds. | |
| Total annual charge | 60,000 |
| Workshops and Plant. | |
| Depreciation at 3% per annum | 3,000 |
| Total annual charge for depreciation | 5,314,000 |
| Total annual insurance charges on machinery and plant | 1,152,000 |
| Annual Establishment Expenses: | |
| Salaries of 36 pilots at $3,000 per annum | $108,000 |
| Salaries of 36 engineers at $2,000 per annum | 72,000 |
| Salaries of 12 stewards at $1,500 per annum | 18,000 |
| Salaries of establishment— | |
| Management and staff | 25,000 |
| Workshop hands and storekeepers, etc., 100 off | 100,000 |
| Total annual establishment expenses | $323,000 |
| Repairs and Maintenance: | |
| Sheds and plant, annual charge, say | $25,000 |
| Repairs and overhaul to machines | 50,000 |
| Total. | $75,000 |
| Total annual charges on above basis | $8,792,500 |
| Cost chargeable per crossing: | |
| Proportion of annual charges per crossing | $7,250 |
| Petrol used per trip, 28 tons at $125 per ton | 3,500 |
| Oil per trip, 2 tons at $200 per ton | 400 |
| Cost of food per trip for 29 passengers and crew of seven | 500 |
| $11,650 |
It will be seen from the above that the direct running cost is 38%, and the overhead charges 62% of the total cost.
With a weight of 2.1 tons available on each machine for passengers and mails twenty passengers might be carried. To cover the working costs and interest they must be charged $575 per head. The rate for mails would be $5,500 per ton.
Having made clear that the airship is the only means of transatlantic flight on a paying basis, the next point to be considered is the type of dirigible necessary. A discussion at present of the size of the airships that will link Europe and America can be little more substantial than guesswork. The British dirigible R-34, which last year made the famous pioneer voyage between England and the United States, is too small for commercial purposes, with its disposable lift of twenty-nine tons and its gas capacity of less than two million cubic feet. Experts have predicted the use of airships of five million and ten million cubic feet capacity, with respective weights of thirty tons and one hundred tons available for passengers and freight.
It is probable, however, that such colossi must await birth for many years, and that a beginning will be made with moderate-sized craft of about three million, five hundred thousand cubic feet capacity, similar to those that serve as the basis of the estimates for a service between London and New York. A combination of British interests is planning to send ships of this type all over the world. These can be built immediately, and there are already in existence suitable sheds to house them. Details of their structure and capabilities may be of interest.
LUCKY JIM AND TWINKLETOE, THE MASCOTS
