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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0104.PDF
Weir said that a review of the achievements of the last three years showed very meagre results. He was, he said, intensely pro-aviation, but we had to admit that the aeroplane had been unable to show results compatible with expenditure. In saying this, he would except the cross-Channel services. What was the reason, and should the fact lessen our belief in civil aviation ? He was of the opinion that there was absolutely nothing.that gave cause for lessening our faith In civil aviation. He pointed out that if one could obtain the balance-sheet of modern machines and that of those three years old one would find great improvement, but that the aeroplane, in spite of this, still carried relatively small commercial loads. Subsidies had enabled us to keep machines flying on the cross-Channel services with fairly good regu larity, and with regard to subsidies, he endorsed Lord Gorell's remarks relating to the fallacy of making comparisons with what was being done in other countries. He thought that, for the purpose in view, the present subsidies were sufficient. We must now, he said, ask ourselves the question whether the experience gained on the cross-Channel services justified us in taking the next step in the form of an additional route elsewhere in the Empire. He was of opinion that such a step was justified, and that the logical one was undoubtedly the Cairo-Karachi route. On this, more modern machines were becoming advisable. With regard to the formation of the new C.A.A.B. (Civil Aviation Advisory Board), as chairman of the old Committee, he heartily welcomed the formation of the new, and thought that it should be fruitful of good results. He then called upon general Sir Frederick Sykes, Controller-General of Civil Aviation, to open the discussion. Sir F. Sykes stated that we are all concerned in laying down the broad principles on which aviation in this country can best be developed. We are, as a nation, poorer by some /14,000,000,000 since 1914, and must practice the strictest economy. There are certain things which we must make up our minds to go without. Is aviation, he said, one of those luxuries which we can afford to forego ? He thought the answer must undoubtedly be that it is not. The air, Sir Frederick said, materially helped, if it did not actually win, the last War. Next time it will be the same, but more so. He quoted Mahan as saying " Sea power is based upon a flourishing industry." If, Sir Frederick said, we substitute "air " for " sea," the analogy is still true. The Air Force, by itself, is not air power. Wise generals maintain a reserve of at least three men for every one in the firing line. To maintain an Air Force capable of prolonged resistance, the same ratio as a minimum in pilots, personnel and material is necessary. Peace and commerce, he said, never yet looked well tied to war's chariot, and he pleaded for something greater than a measure of financial support, namely, for freeing Civil Aviation from the blighting incubus of military end-all and be-all, and allow her to go her own way as a peaceful, not unproductive, sister, a child as yet, but in time capable of assisting the fighting arm. Real progress depends on commercial development. Personally, Sir Frederick said, he was convinced that as yet civil aviation cannot fly by itself, that support must be given and is justified, and that we run a grave risk if, for want of support, we allow the aviation industry to fade and die. He would throw this apple into the arena : (1) Is aviation a necessity of our national life, and therefore to be afforded at any cost ? (2) Can Service aviation exist without its civil counterpart ? (3) How best to develop civil aviation. Col. Armstrong, President of the Federation of British Industries, said that his federation had had the subject of aviation in mind for some considerable time. The Federation / thinks, he said, that aviation can and will be of great service to the community. It seemed to him that the Government looked upon civil aviation too much from the military point of view. He thought it could best be developed on sound commercial lines. With regard to air mails, he thought that the G.P.O. was not as sympathetic as it might be. He was of the opinion that an air mail stamp would help materially in popularising air mails. As regards the carriage of goods, he thought, and quoted figures to prove his opinion, that the amount of goods sent by air was negligible ; far more impor tant were passengers and mails. He thought, however, that the London-Paris route was far too short, and did not provide a fair test of the advantages of commercial aviation. Much more might be done by extending services to cities in the United Kingdom, and he looked forward to seeing such services established. He thought that there would be very great advantage in linking up distant parts of the Empire with the Mother country, and pleaded for services to Egypt, India and Africa. As regards expense, although air travel cost more than other means of locomotion, he thought that FEBRUARY 16, 1922 if a distinct saving in time could be effected, business men would willingly pay at a higher rate for the services rendered, and he thought that services to Egypt, India, Australia etc., would certainly receive great support from passengers. Brig.-Gen. Sir Sefton Brancker said he was speaking on behalf of the Air League of the British Empire. He criticised the speech of Capt. Guest, and could not agree that it would be many years before air lines in Europe would pay. That, he thought, was a very pessimistic statement. He did not believe in developing civil aviation at the expense of military aviation, and said that already the Service had been cut down to the bone. The R.A.F. was better and more econo mically run than either of the two other Services. He congratulated the Government on making Palestine an Air Force Command, as that would make for economy. The cross-Channel services were of no value, he thought, except for the purpose of gaining experience, and now was the time to go for Imperial air routes. He did not agree with the- policy that the R.A.F. should open air routes. Apparently the impression was, he said, that whereas civil aerodromes cost a lot of money to establish and run, military aerodromes cost nothing. As a matter of fact they cost a great deal more, and the services were of no value in demonstrating the cost of running commercial lines, as the machines were not of commercial types and there were, furthermore, unlimited supplies of them. With regard to subsidies, he knew that many were opposed to subsidies for aviation. He really did not see why, as other services were subsidised. What about the P. and O. subsidies ? he asked. Competition was said to be good for trade, but he did not think that any good purpose was served by competition between British companies. We had, he thought, plenty of competition from France. As regards paying, it was not for the Government to insist that civil aviation should pay at once. The telephones did not pay, but nobody suggested that we should do without telephones. The General then referred to civil aviation as a sort of "fifth wheel which, moreover, had been jammed. In 1920 we heard a lot about " all-red routes," blazing the trial and so on. The C. of C.A. was then ^300,000 in pocket, but no assistance was given to aviation. Later came a change, and now He thought the subsidies were greater than necessary. He pleaded for the formation of a national company so as to avoid competition between British firms. Gen. F. H. Williamson, C.B.E., representing the General Post Office, gave first a brief summary of what has been done in the matter of air mails. On the London-Paris services there was a distinct gain so long as the morning services were running. Letters were then delivered on the same day. On the London-Amsterdam service there was a very considerable saving in time. The efficiency of this service had been 89 per cent. He also referred to the extensions of the London- Amsterdam route to Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin, and stated that, on the whole, the service was very successful and gave a very considerable saving in time. It was rather significant that Berlin made far greater use of the air mails on this line than did London in the opposite direction. Thus in one month the number of letters transmitted by air from Berlin to London was 2,540, while in the same period only 480 letters were sent in the opposite direction. On the Cairo- Baghdad route a saving in time of from 11 to 18 days was effected, and there was, he said, a gratifying increase in the use of this service. The Belgian services in Belgian Congo saved about rt days. As regards the future, Gen. Williamson thought that civil aviation was full of promise, although still in its infancy. The Post Office authorities had to consider four things : regularity, cost, distance over which air services were possible and night flying. It was, he said, difncjjlt to foresee what would be the effect of the charges made for conveyance by air. Thus when the air fees were reduced from 2S. to 2d. the increase might be expected to be enormous ; as a matter of fact, the number using the air service only increased 200 per cent. Parcels post by air was very useful and effected a great saving in time. Thus parcels posted from London in the morning were usually delivered in Paris the same evening. Real development would come, he thought, with services over longer distances, and night flying, when it becomes possible, would materially assist. On the subject of the air mail stamp, he thought that, while such a stamp might have a certain amount of advertising value, it would tend to hamper the extensive use of air mail as it would necessitate a special stamp, whereas now one could use the ordinary stamps and post the letter anywhere. Mr. F. Handley-Page said that he had been somewhat depressed by the remarks made at the opening of the con ference by Capt. Guest. It seemed that that gentleman's experience recently on a flight to Paris had been unfortunate, 104
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