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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0019.PDF
Flight, January 13, 1921 BNGINEEFL IR§HIPS ;: First Aero Weekly in the World '•••'•_ Founder and Editor: STANLEY SPOONER A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM No. 639 (No. 2, Vol. XIII.) JANUARY 13, 1921 TWeekly, Price 6d.L Post free, 7d. Flight The Aircraft Engineer and Airships Editorial Offices: 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C.2 Telegrams : Truditur, Westoent, London. Telephone ; Gerrard 1828 Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free : United Kingdom .. 30s. nd. Abroad .. .. 335. ad* These rates are subject to any alteration found necessary under abnormal conditions and to increases in postage rates • European subscriptions must be remitted in British currency CONTENTS PAGE 1920. 2O Editorial Comment Encouraging Civil Aviation.-• " Economy " in the R.A.F.. A Ministry of Defence ?Ayiatic Types : The Service Pilot .. .. .. 21 Air Ministry Subsidies for Civil Aviation .The De H. 14 Day-Bomber.. Air Ministry Competition ..The H.P. Wing and Germany The Glenn L. Martin Commercial Transport Tlin T n—,4 r* *._• i_i t-< • _ 2223 2526 The London-Continental Services .. .. .. .. ., .. 29Airisms from the Four Winds .. .. .. .. .. ,. 30 Personals .. ., ,. .. .. .. .. .. ,, 31The Royal Air Force .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 32 Model Aeroplanes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 33Sidewinds .. .. ,. .. .. .. .. ., ,. 34 DIARY OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS | Club Secretaries and others desirous of announcing the dates j of important fixtures are invited to send particulars for inclusion in the following list : Jan. 20 ... Lecture, "The Cost of Air-Ton-Miles, Com- pared with other Forms of Transport," by Lord Montagu oi Beaulieu, before R.Ae.S. Feb. 20-22 Aero Club oi France Grand Prix Mar. 20-22 Aero Club oi France Grand Prix . • '• April 20-22 Aero Club of France Grand Prix j EDITORIAL COMMENT \ARTURIUNT monies, nascetur ridi- culus mus. After all that has been said about the seriousness with which the present position of civil aviation is regarded by the Government and of the concrete schemes of encourage- ment it was proposed to extend to the industry, we now know exactly what is Having saved a clear £500,000 on the the Air Estimates, the Cabinet has generously decided to subsidise the air ^nes operating from this country to places across the narrow seas, and any others which may be prompted by this unexampled generosity to come into the business, to the tune of £60,000 during the next financial year. It is a little better than nothing, but not much. to be done, civil side of Aviation Far be it from us to look the gift horse in the mouth, . or to join issue with the principle involved in the proposed subsidies to the air lines, but we cannot help expressing the view that it is wrong from two points of view. In the first place, the sum allocated is not enough. The Advisory Committee, which was appointed for the express purpose of advising the Government as to the shape and scope of the assistance to civil aviation which is, and may become, necessary, laid down that £250,000 should be spent over a period of two years, at the end of which time the whole situation could be reviewed. After a careful study of the facts on which the Advisory Committee based its advice, we remain of opinion that if that Committee erred at all it was on the side of making its estimate of requirements too small to be thoroughly effective. However, let the Com- mittee's figure stand. We now see that what the Cabinet proposes to do is to allocate a sum of, roughly, half the annual grant advised, and to pay it for one year instead of two. Apart from the parsimoniously small sum to be made available, we seriously question the policy of a grant for a single year. There is nothing so desirable in these things as looking ahead and arranging for continuity of policy. It has always been a weakness of British Governments that they have conducted their legislative affairs on a hand-to-mouth principle, and not seldom the consequences have been well-nigh disastrous. We had a lurid example years ago, when this want of a continuous policy landed us in a huge expenditure on the Navy under what was known as the Spencer programme. Money had been grudged and shipbuilding allowed to fall into arrears until we were awakened to the realisation that we were hopelessly inferior in naval strength to the next two naval Powers—those were the days of the " Two- Power standard "—and it cost the country many millions to overtake the consequences of the penny wise, pound foolish, policy of successive Cabinets. That is what seems likely to happen in connection with civil aviation, to which we have to look to provide the bulk of our fighting air forces in the day of emergency. France is fast going ahead of us. Germany is making strenuous preparations to chal- lenge the rest of the world in the air. We are footling and fooling with the proposition, and regarding it, apparently, as one of those things the consideration
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