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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0084.PDF
FEBRUARY 9, lo^a- of the Government's reasons for abandoning airships. The cry for economy which was used as the reason for this fatal decision is already too well known to readers of this journal to need stating afresh, as are also the various plans put before the special Committee of the Imperial Conference, and the almost entire absence of tangible results up to the present. Lord Gorell said that with regard to certain comments, alleging Government hostility or indifference to airships, his experience had been that the Air Ministry was anxious to discover, if possible, some practicable financial means by which the airship service could be maintained. He thought it was a mistake to concentrate solely on one type of aircraft and not on the other, as the functions of both airships and heavier-than-air craft, although different, are concerned with transport through the air, and the capabilities of each should supplement those of the other. He considered that the airship can be employed most economically over long distances and the aeroplanes over shorter distances. The Under- Secretary then referred to German airship activity, and men tioned that recently the Council of Ambassadors have agreed to allow Germany to build an airship for the United States. He then briefly referred to what is being done and contemplated by other nations, and concluded by expressing the conviction that the main air lines of the British Empire in the future, will be primarily airship lines, with branch aeroplane con nections running off from them. The Progress of Civil Aviation Turning now his attention to the general progress of civil aviation. Lord Gorell quoted the facts and figures relating to the progress in the United States, the chief Continental powers, the Dominions, and this country. As many of them were included in the recent half-yearly report of the Controller-General, we do not propose to refer to them in detail here, but will confine ourselves to a brief reference to Lord Gorell's remarks on the relative progress made in France and in this country. The total French civil aviation vote for 1921 was. Lord Gorell said, about 184J million francs, or about 55 million francs more than in the previous year, and amounted to about half the vote for Service aviation. Thirty-three million francs was allocated for subsidies to air transport companies, and about 25J millions to the construction of two rigid airships, airship bases and supplementary equipment. Lord Gorell pointed out, however, that it is not possible to arrive correctly at a comparison between the French effort and our own, merely by dividing francs into pounds, as francs go further than the pounds for which they can be exchanged. The Under-Secretary of State for Air then called attention to the progress made in the matter of regular services, and pointed out how these have been constantly increased from 1919 up to the present time. He gave the following statistics, which are of considerable interest. The total work carried out by French civil aircraft in the period from January 1 to September 30, 1921, was as follows:—Number of flights, 5,115. Number of machine hours flown 14,100. Average duration of each flight 2 hrs. 45 mins. Approximate machine mileage 1,145,500. Number of passengers carried 8,761. Weight of goods carried 126 tons. Lord Gorell next turned his attention to civil aviation in the United Kingdom, pointing out that the attention of the Government and of transport companies has been largely concentrated on the maintenance of regular services to and from the Continent. The greatest activity, he said, was shown in the summer months. In August 155 flights between this country and the Continent were made by British machines, which carried 920 passengers. He pointed out that although the number of flights last summer was only about one-third of those during the summer of 1920, the number of passengers does not show any serious diminution, the numbers being 4,006 and 4,336 respectively, while about 500 more passengers were carried in British machines than in French. French companies, on the other hand, captured the largest portion of goods traffic, carrying between April and October, 1921, 53 tons, as opposed to n tons carried in British machines. The reliability and efficiency were good, about 93 per cent, of flights being completed within 4 hours during April to September, and the number of accidents has been encouragingly small. Lord Gorrell also devoted portions of his paper to develop ments in wireless telegraphy and other signal work, and to the work of the Meteorological Office, as well as to mentioning two definite attempts on the part of the Air Ministry to encourage research. One of these dealt with the Air Ministry safety tank competition, and the other with the progress which has been made towards the successful solution of vertical flight by means of a helicopter. Foundations of a Prosperous Industry HAVING thus outlined some of the most material facts and figures relating to the progress of civil aviation, Lord Gorell admitted that it would be idle to pretend that a comparison between the respective positions of this country and such others as France, the United States, and Germany can be considered satisfactory, although he did not think that a true estimate of the position can, at this stage, of devlopment, be reached merely by comparison of facts and figures. He said that comparison has chiefly been made between the re spective positions in France and in this country, and the question has been bluntly asked whether, when the figures of the two are set side by side, the French nation or we are right in the policy which each is pursuing. That, he said, is not a question which can be answered in a very few words. Many factors must be taken into account, and although it is true that much more flying is being done in France at the present time than in this country, that is not enough in itself to show that the French policy is right and ours is wrong. He thought that the recent Aero Show at Paris must have given those responsible for aviation in France serious thought for consideration, since, although the French have spent 33, and are about to spend 46, million francs on subsidies to civil aviation, he had found a fairly general agreement that in matters of design and construction the French have not advanced to the extent that might have been expected. Certain it is. Lord Gorell said, that a lavish policy of subsidies, though it must produce immediate and even striking results in the way of miles flown and lines opened, may not really be successful in producing the per manent results which those who believe in the development of aerial transport wish to see firmly established. Lord Gorell disclaimed any intention of criticising the policy which the French have adopted for themselves, and said he only questioned whether it is one which should be applied to this country. " We, in this country," Lord Gorell said, " should not be diverted by comparisons with other countries from what we conceive to be the best means to secure the object which best suits the interests of this country : and there is always a further difference with which we must reckon, namely, that national characteristics are by no means the same. It does not suit our temperament to advance far in any commercial enterprise, until we are satisfied as to the foundations. It seems to me, looking at it from the British point of view, that of all the necessary factors in the successful development of the civil aircraft industry, the first and greatest must be the bringing about in the public mind of a sense of safety : in other words, the first requisite of civil aeroplanes must be their trustworthiness, and, though I cannot claim to be able to pronounce technical judgments, nevertheless, from all the information which comes to me, I, personally, feel no doubt whatever that in this respect British machines at the present time lead the field." The Under Secretary then called attention to the importance bearing in upon the public consciousness that travel by air is a normal means of journeying, and that this can only be done by ensuring before all else the trustworthiness of trans port machines, and by maintaining this assurance over a long period of time. In this connection. Lord Gorell thought there will inevitably be, as competition grows, a tendency to get the most possible out of the pilots employed. It must never be forgotten, he said, that an overworked pilot may reduce the factor of trustworthiness to which he had referred as the first essential of commercial prosperity. The Cross-Channel Services TURNING his attention to the cross-Channel services, and stating that he, as Chairman of the Committee which investi gated the question of subsidies and framed the conditions concerning them, carried a direct responsibility for the policy adopted, Lord Gorell briefly summarised the history of sub sidies. As this is already well-known to oar readers, we need not go into the matter here. Regarding the decision of the Air Ministry to approve one additional firm for the London- Paris route, this has, Lord Gorell said, been criticised in some quarters on the grounds that it will diminish the chances of commercial success for all three, and those-who made this criticism at the same time put forward the view that it was a mistake to concentrate on the cross-Channel services alone the money available for subsidies. The Committee, he said, based their approval of three firms upon a careful consideration of the volume of traffic that might reasonably be expected, and had to steer between limiting approval unduly and extending it too widely. The Committee came to the conclusion that the traffic on this route might reasonably be expected to be sufficient to make the operation of three firms successful. 84
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