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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0418.PDF
P"r«siSt-y JUNE 23, 1921 directions. Notably some progress has been made in the investigation of the use of metal in the construc- tion of aircraft, particularly as regards metal pro- pellers, wings, struts, spars and fuselages. Progress has also been made in engine development, with particular regard to direct fuel injection, super- charging and the development of engine-starters. All of which is satisfactory, as far as it goes, but we miss the record of the opening up of new services, the awarding of mail contracts to air lines, and all the evidences which, two years ago, we had hoped to see by this time of a healthy, strong, British aviation industry built up on the strong foundations of the aerial supremacy so hardly won in the War. Instead, we have to content ourselves with the melancholy record of the fact that while British air traffic on the cross-Channel services was, during the previous six mouths, four times as heavy as foreign, in the first three months of 1921 it had fallen to one-fourth of the volume of foreign traffic. This, -of course, was due to the temporary cessation of the British air services. Since the re-starting of these services, the balance has probably swung the other way, though the Report saj'S nothing as to this. During the period under review the machine mileage for civil aviation was 212,200 miles, the number of passengers carried 10,103, and the weight of goods 38 tons, as compared to 689,600 miles, 32,345 passengers, and 86J tons for the previous six months. It is significant that the value of imports by air has only fallen from £376,606 to £305,831, and of exports from £168,300 to £167,731. Principally owing to the depression in the air transport industry, and partly to the weather conditions prevailing during the winter months, there has been a falling-off in the efficiency of the outward mail services, and, although there has been an increase in the number of letters posted for transmission by air mail on the London- Paris and London-Brussels routes, this was mainly accounted for in the first two months. Though the ratio of 0.30 passengers killed per r,000 carried is slightly in excess of that for previous half-yearly periods, there was only one fatal accident during the six months under review. • • • • • -•. •, • - • A section of the Report is devoted toProgress ^ e prOgress of civil aviation in foreign Abroad , • T- ^ • -J. 1 i countries. From this it would appear that France is still remarkable for showing the greater vision, and for her efforts to achieve and maintain a lead in commercial aviation. It is quite clear that Germany, hampered though she is by the provisions of the Peace Treaty, is simply waiting the time when she will again have a free hand to develop aerially, when she too will make another determined bid for the premier place among the nations that fly. All over the world it is manifest that the entering of aviation into the lists as a competitor of older transport methods is being recognised to the full. Even China is, as we have before pointed out, inaugurating a regular aerial mail service between Peking and Shanghai, which, in the course of six months, it is hoped to develop into a goods and passenger carrying enterprise. It is by no means nattering to our amour propre to find that nations which we have hitherto regarded as non-progressive to the nth degree are bearing a full share in the development of aerial enterprise. Of course, it has to be conceded that such countries, owing to their geographical situation and the paucity of rapid means of ground communication, must look more to aviation for the quickening of communica- tions than a country like our own, which has ample means of transport with the advantages of com- paratively short distances to be traversed. But even when all allowances are made, the comparative rates of progress are not nattering to ourselves. The difficulties which stood in the way- An of an air race between representatives Inter- of ^g two Universities of Oxford and Ai/ltac/ Cambridge have been overcome, and such a race, between teams of -three representing each University, will be flown over a circuit having its starting point at the Hendon Aero- drome on July 16, before the Aerial Derby. We have always been in favour of such an event, because the more the spirit of competition can be fostered in aerial matters the better it must be for progress. Therefore, the more races and competitions we can see organised the more cumulative effect the sporting side must have on the material progress of design in particular and the industry generally. Not only so, but, as we have argued so many times in the past, the effect on the public of the publicity given to aviation by all such events as this University race, must assist in no small measure to bring about that state of mind which is essential to the success of commercial avia- tion. Without the necessary confidence on the part of the man in the street, commercial aviation can never make headway, and there is nothing so well calculated to produce this confidence as successful sporting events. We sincerely congratulate the Royal Aero Club on the success of its efforts to bring about this race, and on the public spirit it has displayed in making the arrangements. We are breaking no confidence when we say that the whole of the expense and trouble of organising the event are being borne by the Club. A Man-Power " Flight " •"''- THAT 10,000 francs prize offered some years ago to the first person who by means of his own power is able to " fly " when aboard a machine—bicycle, or otherwise—in France called an " aviette," is still being fought for. Gabriel Pontain is the latest to again try his powers, on a bicycle fashioned after the plan of a biplane. With this last week, at Longchamps, he managed to " fly " a distance of 10 yards at a height of 18 inches, and he has hopes now of,when officially observed, lifting the prize by fulfilling the conditions of flying the 10 yards in both directions without the use of a motor. And we wish him every success ; but why, even if he does it, he should be bracketed with men like Ader, the brothers Wright and Santos Dumos, we fail to appreciate. At best this sort of thing can only result in certain trained athletes accomplishing glorified jumps through the air, and with the wildest stretch of the imagination cannot justify the conclusion (as one enthusiastic reporter puts it) that " the experiments justify the hope that the problem of flying without a motor will be solved." Customs Duties on Aircraft AIRCRAFT when imported into Firland as complete units, or in parts which, when assembled, comprise a complete machine, are dutiable for Customs purposes under item 700 of the Customs tariff, i.e., as machines and appliances not specifically mentioned, upon which the import duty is 10 per cent, ad valorem. Aircraft parts imported separately are dutiable according to the materials of which composed. A special licence must be obtained from the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the importation of aircraft into Finland. 418
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