FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0456.PDF
ICHt APRIL IO. 1919 other organ of opinion was actively antagonistic to the idea or else kept silence. Over a year ago the recom mendation was adopted by the then Government, and the Royal Air Force emerged from the welter of muddle in which it had been engulfed under the system of dual control which had obtained up till then. The record of the Force since then is surely a sufficient answer to those who opposed the change, and it is simply unthinkable that the organisation which, during the closing months of the war, accom plished so much and made so great a contribution to the Allied victory, should be sacriliced now to appease a few reactionary admirals and generals. It is not to be—and for this relief much thanks ! Again, there is the question of the future of civil aviation, which popular rumour had assigned to the control of the Geddes administration. How the Cabinet has managed to escape the mesmeric influence of " Eric, or Little by Little " we do not know, but it is more than satisfactory to know that the develop ment of a new transport, from which so much is to be hoped, is not to be trammelled by the control of a bureaucratic Ministry which knows nothing about it. The intention, apparently, is that civil aviation shall be left to the control of the Air Ministry, which is at least composed of men who know something about aviation and its future possibilities. Mr. Churchill made this categorical statement in the House on the 4th inst. :— ' The Controller-General of Civil Aviation is the member of the Air Council responsible lor the execu tive work falling to the Air Ministry under the Air Navigation Acts, 1911-19, and for carrying out Un accepted policy of assisting the development of civil aviation. It is proposed tha,t he shall be assisted by four heads of departments, who will take charge of planning, information, communications, and aero dromes respectively. Provision will also be made for meteorological services. Terms for the heads of departments have been approved, appointment of staff is proceeding, and the department is being formally constituted as from to-day, being the beginning of the financial year." That should effectively dispose of the Ministrv of Ways and Communications canard. Air Raid Readers of FLIGHT may remember that when the danger to be apprehended Results from enemy aircraft was first realised shortly after the outbreak of the war, we expressed the strong conviction that damage caused during air raids ought to be made a State liability—that the State should indemnify the private citizen against all loss or damage caused by enemy action. Alternatively, we suggested that' if the Government could not see its way to accept such a liability, then it should turn enemy action to account and make a national asset out of it by instituting a State scheme of insurance against damage by hostile aircraft. This was in September, 1914. It is a matter of ancient history now that the Government in July, 1915, adopted the last of these suggestions and did inaugurate an insurance scheme, covering shipping losses, damage by aircraft and by bombard ment. The figures relating to this vast enterprise- have recently been published as a White Paper, and show that the scheme produced £197,797,800 in premiums, while the total losses^ amounted to £171,462,800, leaving a credit balance of £26.335,000. The White Paper discloses that payments due to our Allies will reduce this balancg to about £17,000,000. No less than £10,640,000 of this latter sum is repre sented by profits on insurance of property against aircraft and bombardment risks. The premiums paid under these heads amount to £13,610,000, while the claims paid total' only £2,970,000. This enormous profit has been made in face of the fact that since February, 1917, a discount of 50 per cent, on the original premium rates has been allowed. As the original suggestion of the scheme came from FLIGHT, perhaps we may be allowed to congratulate the Government on the success obtained, which must have surprised even the Government actuaries. The Echo de Paris announces, according A to Reuter, that it is instituting a corn- Competition petition for commercial and tourist aviation, for which prizes to the value of £12,500 are being offered, and already one British entry has been sent in. There will be a preliminary test, which will consist of a flight of about 2,490 miles, to be completed in stages. The route will lie through the largest towns in France, and competing aviators will have to touch at every country contiguous to France with the exception of Germany. Pilots passing this test will then be subjected to a detailed examination, and will be judged by a jury who will give different marks for security, comfort, and speed. The maximum speed, lifting power, and cost of transport per ton per mile will also be con sidered from a practical and commercial point of view. This is the sort of competition which is really wanted, and we congratulate our French* contem porary on its enterprise and foresight. We need not elaborate the point, upon which we have so frequently insisted, that there is still a long road to be travelled before commercial aviation shall have cstablished itself in the confidence of the public. That is so much of a truism that it becomes almost wearisome by constant repetition. Any form of test^or 'com petition, therefore, which is calculated to inspire confidence in the security and dependability of aircraft i^ to be welcomed, especially at this ccm- paratively early stage in commercial development, and we trust that the one under notice will prove to be only the forerunner of many. The aeroplane, for all its success in the war, is now, so far as the general public is concerned, in a position similar to that of the motor-car in the early days of the present century. The car had then become more or less of a practical proposition, but it had not gone beyond the hands of the expert and the enthusiast—the public knew little of its capabili ties and had even less faith in them. But then came the time of the long-distance trials carried out by the A.C.G.B. and I.—now the R A.C.—and other pioneer bodies. From these trials, carried out as they were under absolute touring conditions, but also under the strictest supervision, an enormous mass (t data valuable to the designer and constructor was obtained, which all tended to make the car the vehicle we know to-day. Quite as valuable in its effect was the qcular demonstration these trials afforded to the public of the fact that the car was not a toy, but a really practical vehicle, designed and built for prac tical work on the highways. Year after year these 456
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
