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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0453.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 13, 1932 Increasing Safety In the Air /l«rS recorded in our issue of April 29, 1932, the C""^\l| National Safety First Association (Inc.) recently ^/ ill, formed an Air Safety Section, and this was offi cially inaugurated at Croydon on May 5, when His Royal Highness the Duke of York, K.G., who is Patron of the Association, presided at a luncheon which preceded the special session at which the inauguration of the Air Safety Section took place. After lunch at the aerodrome hotel, His Royal Highness made a tour of inspection of the aerodrome buildings, and boarded the Handley Page 42 " Horatius," which he examined with great interest. It had been intended that the machine should make a flight, but the weather just then was very bad indeed, with heavy rain and no visi bility, and the flight was very wisely cancelled. In formally opening the conference, the Duke of York said that as Patron he was very glad to be present at the setting up of the Air Safety Committee, which marked a new development in the work of the Association. The great assistance given by other bodies was acknowledged, and was much appreciated. It might seem, His Royal High ness said, early days to start an Air Safety Committee, but who, he asked, could have foretold the extent to which motor transport had developed during the last 30 years. So no one could foretell how aviation would develop during the next 30 years, and if a road safety movement had been started 30 years ago, the statistics recently issued by the Home Office might not have been such sad reading. Aviation, the Duke of York said, provided a magnificent field for the pioneer among the youth of the country, and he could think of nothing better calculated to develop self- reliance, good judgment and other qualities which all wished to see fostered among the rising generation. They all wanted to see aviation de velop on sound lines and with out needless waste of life. No effort should be spared to keep that waste as low as possible. In the early days of flying, the weakest link was the machine. So great had been the techni cal development that now the weakest link was the human factor. The National Safety First Association had done, and was doing, good work in encouraging the sound and safe use of the roads. Its aim was not so much to stress danger unduly as to encourage the facing of danger in the best way. He thought there was great scope for similar teaching in regard to aviation, and wished the new Air Safety Committee success. Capt. F. E. Guest was in the chair, in the absence of Sir Philip Sassoon, who was detained at Geneva. Before calling upon Capt. Ivor McClure, D.S.O., to read the first paper of the congress, Capt. Guest referred to the warm response which any national cause could always count upon from the Royal Family. Capt. McClure's paper was entitled " Air Sense," and was an extremely interesting and amusing one. He began by saying that they might well exclaim, " What! Another Committee in aviation? " But he would point out that when a passenger was about to fly, he did not ask if the pilot was keen. He asked how much experience the pilot had. The best intentions were of little use without ex perience. Man was perpetually at war with machinery, which he tried to bend to his will. Often enough he merely succeeded in bending the machine! For every victory man gained, the machine counter-attacked a thousand times. To keep it disciplined and safe demanded unceasing vigilance. Vigilance was just what the National SAFETY IN THE AIR : His Royal Highness the Duke of York inspected the aerodrome building at Croydon, and the Handley Page " Horatius," on the occasion of the Inauguration of the Air Safety Section of the National Safety First Association on May 5. (FLIGHT Photo.) Safety First Association had been doing its best to en courage, and in doing so had gained experience. The slogan of the Association had been, " Education and Co operation rather than Legislation and Compulsion." To assist the Safety First Association in its air safety campaign a committee had been formed, on which were representatives of the Air Ministry, the Automobile Asso ciation, the Air League, the British Aviation Insurance Co., Ltd., and the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators. Work had begun by trying to establish between pilots and ground folk greater consideration for each other's needs. A pamphlet entitled " Air Sense " was now being pre pared, and would be issued to each new holder of an " A " licence. The contents were based on accidents which had happened, dangers which had been incurred, and ill-feeling which had been aroused at home and abroad. At present it was only at a very popular meeting that more than 100 aeroplanes were gathered together. Every body recognised that it was an exceptional occasion which demanded exceptional care, and everybody took great care. When the time came for 200 aeroplanes to be housed at each aerodrome around London, the occasion would cease to be regarded as special, and the danger of the human element would be introduced. Maj. R. H. S. Mealing, Chief Technical Assistant at the Directorate of Civil Avia tion, then read a paper en titled " The Services Neces sary for the Safety of Regular Air Transport." The paper dealt with the wireless, meteo rological and the lighting ser vices. As these will already be familiar to readers of FLIGHT, and we have but little space to spare, we will con fine ourselves to placing on record the nature of Maj. Mealing's paper. Capt. P. D. Acland (who is chairman of the Aviation Section of the Chamber of Commerce) said he was asked to open the discussion in place of Col. Shelmerdine, Director of Civil Aviation, who was away at Geneva and could not get back for the conference. Maj. Mealing's paper had told them a little of the working of air transport services under Government and international control. He would point out that in aviation there was more official control than in any other branch of life. In aviation there were no less than 14 bodies and standing committees which dealt with regulations and control, and contact had to be kept with a further 20 bodies abroad! Air transport was getting safer and safer. What was now wanted was that the public should be given the best pos sible information about flying and should be told that it was with us and that it was safe. The public should be encouraged to let their children fly. He had a son who, he hoped, would join the R.A.F. in two or three years. Propaganda was wanted, and the Air League had been asked to collect money for propaganda. He hoped people would be asked to dip their hands into their pockets, deep and often. Col. Mervyn O'Gorman referred to the 34 bodies men tioned by Capt. Acland, and said that he hoped the new one, the 35th, would not adopt an executive attitude and would not go in for more rules. He referred to the May Committee and the " saving " of £20,000 on research. Research was an entity, and one could not reduce it in one place without affecting numerous other sides. Reduce research and one reduced the chances of reducing accidents. He would plead that the support to research should be restored as soon as it was possible when the present abnormal financial conditions had improved. 421
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