FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0413.PDF
FLIGHT, APRIL 26, 1984 SfJSc' tZS Wt h°ld, hlmsllt 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 tnsertum in these columns. EMPIRE AIR SERVICES [2919] All who are interested in the improvement ofEmpire communications must have been delighted to learn that the air route to Australia will be in operation beforethe end of the year. The service contemplated seems to be inadequate ;surely more than ten passengers per week, each way, be- tween Singapore and Australia will require accommodation. The time has come when all letters should be carriedby air liner ; we could then look forward to a daily, in- stead of a weekly, service to Australia. On a route that connects Britain and Australia, viaEgypt, Palestine, Iraq, India, Burma, and Malaya, the backbone of the Empire, and consequently to us the mostimportant air route in the world, passengers will be counted by hundreds, and not by tens! The present position with regard to the carriage of mails is unsatisfactory. We are probably paying more for their carriage by mail steamer than it would cost to have all letters sent by air and delivered in less than half the time taken by the fastest sea transport. In fact, if all letters were sent by air, it might be possible to run our air services at a profit without subsidy from the Air Ministry. If the present Empire postal rate of l£d. per 1 oz. were increased to ljd. or 2£d. per £ oz. and surcharges for carriage by air were abolished, few would object, con- sidering the time saved in transit. The Post Office mail contracts also cover the carriage of second-class mail matter, i.e., newspapers, parcels, etc., which could be consigned per passenger steamer as ordinary freight ; as their classification indicates, there is no special urgency for their delivery, and as the P.O. contracts mainly pay for speed, once letters go by air speed need not be paid for. To sum up : — (1) Our Imperial communications are inadequate. (2) We 'pay a large subsidy for the carriage of a small number of letters by air, the letters themselves bearing a surcharge. (3) We pay a still larger sum for the carriage of the rest of our letters by sea, at a very low speed. (4) Could not all letters be carried by air at less cost than we now pay for the combined services of steamer and aeroplane? (5) Is it too late for those anxious to improve Empire communications to bring sufficient pressure on the authori- ties in order that the first planes that leave Croydon and Brisbane carry all His Majesty's mails? Marlow, Bucks. WALTER L. NAYLOR. April 21, 1934. THE CHEAP " FLY ABOUT " [2920] In order to meet the demand for a cheap, robust aeroplane, with low maintenance costs for club instruction and aerodrome " Fly About," may I suggest to manufacturers that something similar to the old D.H.6 would fill the book. It was originally designed for this purpose and fulfilled it admirably. The seating arrangement enabled the pupil and instructor to see what one another were doing, there was plenty of seating and shoulder room and no instrument board within an inch or so of the pilot's face, consequently pilots were seldom injured in really bad crashes. It was also extremely easy to get into and out of. I think one could land it in a smaller space than any present-day machine, and therefore one had no trepidation at the prospects of a forced landing, and it was ideal for just enjoying the air. , I thirlk, therefore, that if it could be cheaply produced again, with a very few improvements, it would fill the demand. V. N. DICKINSON. Hertfordshire Flying Club, St. Albans. April 22, 1934: Rook Review* " Combat." An epic history. By Barre Lyndon. Heinemann, Ltd.) Price 7s. 6d. net. VOUNG and old motorists have followed, with perhapsA greater interest than that displayed for any other make of motor-car, the growth of M.G.'s. Most people know that the M.G. in its original form was an attempt on the part of one man to produce a car suitable for the private owner to race with a reasonable chance of success without large expenses. Mr. Cecil Kimber is a courage- ous man. who is not afraid to back his own conviction, and, what is more important, to profit by his failures. Just how he has done so is very fully described in " Com- bat," by Barr6 Lyndon. Most books of this nature are not only very blatant trade " puffs," but are also written in execrable journalese ; " Combat " isn't. The descrip- tions of the races and trials are good and everyone who is an M.G. enthusiast—and most pilots are—should make a. point of reading how their cars came into being. - Kenley R.A.F. Aerodrome Nos. 3 AND 17 FIGHTER SQUADRONS will shortly move from Upavon to Kenley. These two units have been stationed at Upavon for a long time, and have been partners in various chances and changes of R.A.F. life. At one time they were the only two squadrons equipped with the Hawker "Woodcock" night-fighter. Then they were the first two units to receive the " Bulldog " day- and-night fighter. Upavon, famous for so long as the home of the C.F.S., is not an ideal station for units of the Fighting Area, A.D.G.B., as it is too far away from the probable area of hostile raids. Kenley is in the so-called " inner ring," but since 1932 it has been undergoing re- conditioning, old war time buildings being replaced by modern ones. Before this work began, Nos. 23 and 32 Fighter Squadrons lived at Kenley, but they were moved to Biggin Hill, which had just undergone similar re-conditioning. All the squadrons of the Fighting Area will soon be located in this inner ring, but it looks as if stillmore accommodation for Defence units will soon be necessary. Appreciation THE opening article of the April issue of the Danish journal Flyv, the official organ of the Royal Danish Aero- nautical Society, is entitled " Is Denmark, in comparison to its size, the largest purchaser of English aviation material? " The article, which incidentally is written in excellent English by Capt. J. Foltman, Editor of Flyv, points out the range of aviation material which Denmark has bought from England, and substantiates the claim made, that in proportion to its size, Denmark is our best, customer. Bravo, Denmark! 413
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
