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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0308.PDF
ISSIS mined only by experience, the police throughout the country should receive special instruction in matters connected with flying. Any policeman on duty finding it necessary to com municate would ring up or go to the nearest airguard station, and thus be able to give a more intelligent and intelligible report than does our present day Robert—he is always willing to help us, but.is quite untaught in matters aeronautical. If the airguards were made part of the police force, they might sometimes work from police stations, but often (on Salisbury Plain, for example) it would be necessary to provide special airguard stations. In course of time it would prob ably be found best to make the airguards a separate service, like the coastguards. It would be essential to give them the power of arrest and the power of search without the presence of police or Customs. All private aerodromes and privately- owned aeroplanes would be open to inspection by airguards at any time. The public landing grounds of the future and those owned by the proprietors of commercial passenger- carrying and cargo machines would be suitably dealt with by the Customs authorities, by stationing representatives at these places as is done at docks and harbours. There should always be close co-operation between airguards, police and C ustoms whenever necessary or possible. Special regulations would have to be made to cover the sub ject of inland flights, and the chief difficulties in the framing of these would be in the matter of the private owner. The latter could begin flights from private aerodromes as well as from commercial and public landing grounds. Obviously he would be liable to undergo search every time he made a landing, but to be obliged to submit to this or to obtain a special permit every time he wished to make an inland flight would be a very irksome rule. It would also result in greatly restricting the use of private flying machines, and thus do great harm to the industry, just as any possible pro gress in the motor car industry was practically stifled in the early days through the rigid enforcement of the ridiculous regulations governing the use of mechanically-propelled vehicles on public highways. The difficulty could be over come by requiring every pilot to carry a licence which he would produce upon demand whenever he made a landing. Only when making a flight from England to a foreign country would he be obliged to obtain a special permit. Returns of all landings of machines entering this country from abroad, giving name of pilot, time, place, and number of machine, would be sect daily to a central authority. This authority would also receive from abroad similar daily lists of machines which had landed in foreign countries, flying from this country. It would be extremely difficult for a pilot unobserved to make a flight from England to France, for in stance, land in a field other than one of the special landing grounds which would probably be nominated or imoming foreign machines, pick up contraband goods anywhere near, convey them to England and land in an unofficial field on this side. He would find it necessary to break so many regulations both here and in France that detection would be practically assured. The various regulations in force already, combined with the organization and precautions suggested in this article, would be sufficient to deter a pilot from dropping overboard any contraband goods to accomplices below. To do so he would be obliged to limit himself to areas within which machines from abroad are required to land. While flying over these areas he would be under observation, and his action in dropping a parcel overboard could not easily pass un noticed by airguards and police below. Aerial smuggling by the users, both crew and passengers, of the commercial classes of aircraft have now to be con sidered, and it can easily be understood that, as in the case of a steamer, the crew and passengers travelling by the various machines enumerated above would have the power to attempt smuggling. Whether the results would prove satisfactory to themselves would, of course, depend upon their ingenuity and upon the efficiency of the Government organisa tion. Although crew and passengers present cases in many respects similar to one another, they are in others singularly at variance, and especially so in the matter of motive. There is little doubt that an employe, if paid on the very moderate scale of that deserving class the mercantile marine, would, if he were to attempt to smuggle, do so with the idea of gaining some pecuniary advantage. The aerial passenger, too, would often have this as his sole object, but there is also that not inconsiderable class of passenger, possibly imbued with a natural love of adventure and the taking of risks, who would always endeavour to smuggle contraband goods concealed about the person or in baggage, with no other object than a secret delight in " besting " the authorities. We all know the dear old lady whose religious convictions, elastic-sided boots, pet dog, and general MARCH 6, 1919 air of dull and pious respectability seem to point to her as being the very last person who would attempt to evade His Majesty's Customs laws. Yet she is often filled with a consum ing passion to pass some small contraband article through the Customs undetected for the pure joy of doing so, afterwards unblushingly boasting of her prowess among her friends. The prevention and detection of aerial smuggling by crew and passengers would not in practice present so many difficulties as that by those who travel by the sea. Owing to the comparatively small loads which even very large aeroplanes would be capable of carrying, the weight of luggage allowed to each passenger would be restricted. Whether search were to take place at embarkation or upon landing, detection would thus be correspondingly easier. So far as can be seen, no few features would be likely to exist, as the Customs authorities would have their repre sentatives upon every public and commercial landing ground, and the searching of luggage and cargo would be made much in the same way as on the quays at present Special legislation of an international character would doubtless be created to deal with foreign aircraft entering the British Isles. For example, marks easily distinguishable by observation from the ground such as the Union Jack for British machines, the Tricolour for French, and so on, could be clearly exhibited by being painted on the lower surfaces of the main planes as well as a number plainly marked in large figures under the fuselage. Already there exist orders issued before the War by the Home Secretary, acting under powers conferred by the Aerial Navigation Acts of 1911 and 1913, whereby flying, except by our own Service machines, is prohibited over the areas m.med in these orders. Certain portions of the coast line are also forbidden to machines from abroad, and the areas within which they are permitted to land are clearly laid down. Governments would keep each other advised of any changes that it might be found necessary to make in limitations of this nature, and the information would be accessible to users of aircraft. A regulation would also seem desirable compelling all machines. British and foreign, coming into the British Isles, to cross the coast below a certain limit of height. This would entail no risk or hardship, for although a pilot would often wish to fly at a greater altitude when passing over the sea he could easily glide down when approaching the coast. Any machine disregarding these rules could be followed by means of a series of telephone messages transmitted through the airguard stations. Upon landing, the nearest airguard should be on the spot and in possession of powers to deal with the offender. It has been suggested that when flying comes into general use it will be necessary to police the skies. This, however, seems to be quite an unnecessary measure, at any rate so far as smuggling is concerned. It is true that an ascent by aeroplane might be necessary if a pilot were to persist in flying at a very high altitude after entering the country, but if it were his intention to smuggle he must come down sooner or later, and the airguards would meet him upon land ing. If, on the other hand, observation by telescope showed it to be a foreign machine, or if it were behaving in a suspicious manner, especially when over a prohibited area, this would be a matte for the Royal Air Force to take in hand, and a pilot would be sent up to deal with the intruder in a suitable way. Machines flying from overseas and crossing our coasts out of sight above the clouds must sooner or later make their presence known by coming down through the clouds. They could have no possible object in staying above them nor gain any advantage in doing so. Except in war-time they would be quite harmless while they remained there, whatever their purpose may have been in flying to this country. A constant air patrol by police above the clouds would hardly be seriously suggested, in view of the enormous expense it would entail. The foregoing not< s apply main y to flying by day, but there is little doubt that the smuggler's best oppor tunities would be at night ; for clearness it has been necessary to work up to this very important side of the question by first considering day flying. It is assumed that aircraft will be allowed to enter this country by night as well as by day. Commercial machines will not present any greater difficulties than do ships entering harbours at night. They will be required to show lights in various positions and of various colours in order to indicate the nature of the craft, and they will l>e treated in the usual way upon reaching their landing grounds. But it may also be assumed that a privately-owned machine, if bent upon smuggling, would not hesitate to show similar lights rather than arouse suspicion by crossing the coast without lights. The latter omission would put the airguards on the alert, and the presence of the craft over the country
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