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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0323.PDF
FLIGHT, APRIL 3, 1931 the neighbourhood of 150 of them already in force in this ountry. An unusual feature of the Blackburn plan is free rursing service. The insurance company provides a staff of highly-competent visiting nurses who will, in cases of illness or disability, call at the member's home, assist in carrying out the doctor's instructions, and give any possible aid. The nurses only call at the direct request of the member. In other plans, which have been longer in effect in this country, the visiting nurse service has proved an exceedingly well-appreciated feature. This group insurance in no way supersedes or conflicts in anv way with the Workmen's Compensation Act or any benefits payable under any of the National Insurance Acts, but is entirely in addition to them. TllC insurance company further agrees that, in case any member leaves the service of the Blackburn Co. for any cause, he or she may apply for an individual life insurance policy, without medical examination, and at attained age and rate, for an amount equal to that of the group insurance plan, provided application for such a policy is made within 31 days. It is obvious that the benefits provided for members •of this plan could not be secured for them individually for several times the cost given above. This is because the wholesale buying power of the employer has been utilised for the individual benefit of the employees, an achievement made possible by the advance of actuarial science during the last few years. The group insurance in this plan, which incidentally provides a total of nearly £175,000 in protection to the families of Blackburn employees, is exactly the same in principle as that in the plan of the Standard Oil Co. of New York, which was recently described in cable messages to this country. This plan covers 45,000 employees, and is also being administered by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. It is generally known that people of this country, and especially the wage-earners, who are the backbone of the nation, are grievously under-insured. The average for all of Great Britain, including large policies, is only about £38. Thus, such plans as the one just adopted by the Blackburn Co., in co-operation with its associated employees, marks a very great step in advance. There is now in force in the world a total of approximately £2,000,000,000 in group insurance, practically every pound of which protects some family where the death of the breadwinner would mean tragedy. Its constantly increasing popularity in this country, therefore, means that families will be kept together which might otherwise have become scattered, children will be educated who would otherwise be thrown on an already crowded labour market, and the genera! well-being of the communitv increased and strengthened. CORRESPONDENCE [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns. OUR AIRSHIP POLICY [2373] A firm believer in airships myself, I read with interest the recent letter in FLIGHT from P. D. B., and I fully agree with him that the performance of the " Graf Zeppelin " is sufficient proof that with sound design and operation, the lighter-than-air craft has enormous commercial possibilities. I think, however, that the present type of rigid design will not be the ultimate one ; the weakest points appear to be in the gas-bag and outer cover. The all-metal hulled ship appears to offer the greatest hope of success, provided that sufficient strength combined with lightness can be attained. The problem of producing a gas-tight cover of such large dimen- sions and composed of such thin metal will no doubt be a matter of great difficulty. To my mind the method of ensuring a stiff outer cover by keeping the gas under slight pressure, as employed successfully on non-rigids, could be applied even more successfully on the metal-hulled ship and practically all trimming could be done by ballast and the use of the ballonet alone, without the necessity for valving gas, a very wasteful and altogether undesirable proceeding. It would probably be necessary to incorporate some system of water recovery to keep the static trim reasonably constant on a long flight. If these features could be incorporated without undue increase of weight over present designs, it would be possible to use one filling of gas to last a considerable period and it might then be economically possible to use helium in place of hydrogen as an additional safeguard. If the American experiments on metal-hulled ships show any positive results 1 think we should, in this country, experiment along these lines, building small ships at first and so gain operational experience. It does not appear to me impossible for a regular service to be operated in districts where bad visibility make aeroplane services unreliable and dangsrous. We know that airships can operate and moor safely in or above fogs, and some such route as that between London and Manchester, for instance, which is so notorious to aeroplane pilots in the winter months, could be worked quite successfully as a commencement. Should success attend this experiment we could go by stages until an economic size of ship for really long distances is reached. Sutton, Surrey. G. E. WILLS. Mar. 24, 1931. THE POTTERS BAR AIRSHIP ,2374] On page 236 of your issue dated March 13 you have a paragraph reporting a German " Day of Rembrance " at Potters Bar, when wreaths were laid on the gra\res of the German airmen who lost their lives when a Zeppelin was shot down near that place in September, 1916. Your after- thought, however, in correcting that statement to say that it was a Schutte-Lanz airship, is in error. The Schutte- Lanz was shot down at Cuffley by Lt. W. Leefe Robinson, of No. 39 Squadron, R.F.C. The'Potters Bar Zeppelin was destroyed by 2nd Lt. W. Tempest (of the same Squadron) on October 1, 1916. Its number was L.31 and, although I was quite a young schoolboy at the time I can distinctly remember dashing outdoors to watch it fall, a terrible flaming mass, visible here at Croydon. Confirmation of the above facts may be obtained from Captain Joseph Morris's book " The German Air Raids on Great Britain, 1914-1918." to which I am indebted for refresh- ing my memory as to the names and precise particulars. Croydon, Surrey. A. E. APTED. March 24, 1931. FASTER BRITISH MAIL PLANES [2375] As an old R.A.F. pilot, I am very interested in reading all the aviation news from Great Britain through your excellent paper FLIGHT. I am very pleased tc see that the public in Great Britain are at last going to see some high speed flying over long dis- tances by the Lockeed Yega at present in England. As there exists in the I'.S.A. a type of aircraft whose per- formance would permit a flight from Karachi to London in one day, landing seven times for refuelling, I think it might bs good for British prestige in general if some British aircraft showed its paces on the route to the East. It might bs of interest to point out that 2,500 miles has already been accomplished in the U.S.A. in 12-25 hrs. ; this distance almost corresponds to the 2,590 miles between Bagdad and London. Like your correspondent, " B.P.," in the Croydon Weekly Notes, on February 27, I would ask a question : what com- mercial aeroplane has Great Britain which could fly from Karachi to London in one day ? Montreal, Oue., " S. T. B. CRIPPS. Canada. March 16, 1931. AIR MAILS TO THE EAST [2376] Your Editorial Comment deals with an extension to Rangoon, &c. Aberdonian brains have long dominated commercial and industrial Burma, and I doubt if they will see gain enough in the Imperial Air Mail to justify the expendi- ture of one bawbee. Letters from Bengal tell me the air mail is not worth using, the gain being only three days, and that, on occasions, has been converted into a loss. A train doing 60 m.p.h. for 24 hours is as speedy and more reliable than an aeroplane that does 120, and that sits in its nest all night. Also, in its effort to kill two birds at one shot, the Indian air mail diverges about as far as possible from its great circle route. The divergence will give it passengers and mail from equatorial Africa, but the Aberdonian in Rangoon has little connection with the Victoria Nyanza, and if he wanted a speedy one, would make it by Kenya radio. A. J. RICHARDSON. North Walsham. March 27, 1931. . 299
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