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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0968.PDF
We think not. It is quite obvious that the mind which can view the first double crossing of the Atlantic by airship as being in the nature merely of a routine service flight, and can miss the significance of its historical incidence, must be equally obtuse to the importance of all development save that of " THE SERVICE." And we know only too well what that means. It means simply the stiff regulation of a stiff mechanism swaddled in the stiffest of stiff red tape. That is not what we want. We need more imagination than the Service mind seems to be cap able of displaying. We want a greater breadth of outlook and a more generous view generally than appears possible to men who are brought up in the routine and traditions of " THE SERVICE." • • • At last the long-anticipated announce- The £ay ment of new rates of pay for officers R.A.F. OI tne Royal Air Force has been made. Gen. Seely stated in the House of Commons on Monday last that the new scale had been completed and approved and was being circu lated with the votes. The full details of the scale will be found in another part of this issue of FLIGHT. Under the new scale officers of the non-flying branches benefit considerably, since a single standard rate of pay is laid down for all branches,, except such services as the medical branch and school-masters, while, in future, all officers, whether they intend to fly or to undertake technical or administrative work, will have to pass the flying test on entry. Under the old scale a captain in the flying branch drew pay at the rate of 19s. per day, plus 7s. flying pay, while the administrative officer of the same rank drew a maximum of 17s. 6d. per diem. The pay of the technical branch was also lower than that of the flying officer, so that the levelling up of all branches in regard to pay makes a considerable difference to the non-flying officer., The new scale has been calculated with reference to the increased cost of living, and it has been decided that 20 per cent, of the rates of pay and retired pay will be considered as due to the present high cost of living, and will be subject after five years to change, either upwards or downwards according as the cost of living rises or falls. Subsequent revisions will be made at three-yearly intervals on the basis of the Board of Trade food prices. We really do not altogether see the need for this announcement, unless it is that the Air Ministry and the Government are under the impression that service in the R'.A.F. is worth no more than a bare subsistence rate of pay. However, as it is, the officers of the R.A.F. can look forward to periodic adjustments of their rates of pay from which they may or may not benefit as the case may happen to be. These new rates are intended to apply only to officers who are given permanent or short-service commissions in the R.A.F. as reconstituted, or to officers seconded from other Services to the Forces. They do not apply to officers awaiting demobilisation or who are temporarily retained. On the whole, the new scale is eminently satisfactory, and will be welcomed by the R.A.F. as setting at rest the un certainty which has existed for so long as to the future of pay and prospects—a state of uncertainty which has undoubtedly lost the Force a very large number of valuable officers whose retention in the Service would have been distinctly in the public interest. JVLY 24, 1919 There seems to be only one point on which con troversy may—probably" will—arise, and that is the levelling up of pay in the administrative branch. It will probably be argued that the flying officer takes all the risks incidental to his calling in peace or war, while the administrative officer shares in none of these and yet receives the same rate of pay and allowances. That, however, is a point upon which we need express no present opinion, since it opens up all sorts of questions which, for the moment, are of purely Service interest. For years past more or less spasmodic _ 0il attention has been directed towards the Ea thC oil-bearing shales of Norfolk as a Counties potential source of fuel oils and motor spirit. Dr. Forbes-Leslie, the eminent geologist, has been persistent in declaring that the richest shales in Britain, if not in the world, lie within the rectangle defined by King's Lynn, Great Massingham, Downham Market, and Cockley Cley. Until quite recently no steps had been taken to actively develop the resources of this area, but work is proceeding now on a fairly ambitious scale. Accord ing to a Times correspondent who has recently traversed the oil-bearing area, a first shaft has been driven, the driving of the roads well advanced, and the key detail of the distillation plant complete. Everything, he says, is ready for the genesis of an industry which, richer far than the Midlothian shales enterprises, holds prospects of the very highest importance. The programme of development is the definition of the area into fields of approximately 2,000 acres each, of which the No. 1 Mine at West Winch, to which reference has already been made, is the outlet of the first, each of these fields being equipped for the recovery and distillation of 1,000 tons per day of the shale, the crude oil produced being taken to a central refining plant designed for the Setchey centre. Apparently, the enterprise is still only in its initial stage of development, and it would thus seem to be too early to speculate upon its chances of success. We are convinced, however, that it is quite possible that Norfolk will turn out to be one of the greatest centres of shale oil production in the world. It is many years since our sister journal, AUTO., first drew attention to the possibilities of the Norfolk shales, and urged that they should at least be experimented with in order to ascertain whether they were really worth developing as an oil-producing enterprise. Other responsible journals have, from time to time, made similar references, yet it is not until now that anything serious is being attempted, so slow are we to do the obvious thing that lies ready to hand. We are spending a great deal of money in boring for oil, which may or may not be found in paying quantities, but we will not spend anything on developing resources that are patent to everyone. We have been content to import all our fuel oils and most of our motor spirit from overseas, risking the complete breakdown of our aviation and transport services, the while we made no effort to develop resources to which attention has been directed time after time over a long period of years. We are indeed a curious people! However, it seems as though a serious effort were now going to be made to develop those resources in good earnest, and we sincerely wish those engaged every success in their task. 970
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