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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0777.PDF
Augmi 2, AIRCRAFT~ENGINEER VAND AIRSHIPS csound&d in 1909 by Stanley Spooner" DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS, IN THE PRACTICE AND PROGRESS CWORLD ' OF AVIATION .; ; y OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB ' * ' - •"•- -• No. 1336. Vol. XXVI. 26th Year AUGUST 2, 1934 Thursdays, Price 6d.By Post. 74d. Editorial, Advertising, and Publishing Offices : DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Truditur, Watloo, London. HERTFORD ST., COVENTRY. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone; Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 2970. SUBSCRIPTION Home and Canada: Year, £1 13 0; 6 months, 16s. Od.; 3 months Rs. 3d. RATES: Other Countries: Year, £1 15 0; (5 months, 17s. 6d.; 3 months, 8s. 9d. Telephone: Hop 3333 (50 lines). 260, DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. 20B, RENFIELD ST.. GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams: Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4Si7. A Novel R.A.F. ReserveF OR years past, Flight has been an advocate of the airman pilot in the Royal Air Force. Historically it appears that when the Royal Flying Corps was formed in 1912, with naval and military wings, there was some discussion among the framers of the scheme as to what rank should be borne by the ordinary pilot of the corps. There was no precedent to guide them, and the only fact which they could take into account was that the men who had qualified for '' wings were all officers. It seemed the simplest thing to let things run on as they had started and to lay it down that the pilot should ordinarily be an officer. This idea did not prevail among all European nations. The need for a great number of pilots who can never rise to high rank has led to the institution in the British Air Force of short service officers. This plan has always seemed to us to be wrong, as it exploits the individual. Unless a man is sure of his future six years hence, it seems to us a very bad bargain for him to accept a short service commission ; and it cannot be good for a fighting service to contain a large proportion of men who, whether they feel a grievance or not, are being treated in a not very considerate manner by the State. The only way out of this difficulty is the employment of the airman pilot, which has lately been on the increase. Against this, the authorities argued that a reserve of R.A.F. pilots was necessary, and the short service officers who had done their five or six years with a squadron pro- vided that reserve. Now a new and important step has been taken. Ob- viously, with the coming increase of the Royal Air Force some increase of the reserve at the same time was necessary. The new squadrons will presumably contain a number of short service officers who will automatically go to swell the reserve six years later. It would be unwise to wait for them and to take no steps in the meantime. An immediate increase in the flying reserve is clearly necessary. • It may t>e as well to explain that hitherto the Reserve of Air Force Officers has been drawn from two sources, the short service men and direct entries from civil life. These latter have been taught to fly gratis at the four . civilian schools at Hamble, Hatfield, Bristol, and Brough. All reserve officers must put in twenty hours' flying at one of those schools each year, and each one gets reserve pay and allowances of £23 10s. per annum. In the future the direct entry men will mainly come into the reserve as airmen pilots. The only direct com- missions in the Reserve will be given to men who have qualified at the air squadrons at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, which are already a sort of aerial Officers Training Corps, and a recognised channel of entry to a permanent commission in the R.A.F. Only after three years' service as airmen pilots, during which each must fly at least 100 hours, will commissions in the Reserve be given to the best of the direct entry men. The free flying instruction will be given as before. Qualified civil pilots are also invited to join the reserve as airmen, and of course they will not need the tuition. A Corner Lurried THE Postmaster-General has taken us by surprise.It is a very pleasant surprise, and we beg to offerour compliments to Sir Kingsley Wood. In the recent past we have felt constrained to criticise the attitude of the Post Office towards air mails in general, and we certainly do not recant. What is chiefly surprising is the selection of inland air services for the carriage of letters without surcharge. The reform which had seemed most urgent was the institution of a reasonable flat rate for Empire air mails. It is still a most desirable reform, and it must come, sooner or later. But, because we have not got our full loaf, we are not going to sniff at the half. The carriage of inland letters by air wherever practicable, without extra charge, is a very significant step forward, and sve
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