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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 1161.PDF
fefer:'" Xovetntter A, FIR'IRST AERONAUTICAL AIRCRAFT ENGINEER •AND AIRSHIPS : . <^/bunded in 1909 by Stanley Spooner* DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS, PRACTICE AND PROGRESS OF AVIATION OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB No. 135D. Vol. XXVI. 26th Year. NOVEMBER 8, 1934 Thursdays, Price 6d.By Post, 7Jd. Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams: Truditur, Watloo, London. Telephone: Hop 3333 (50 lines) HERTFORD ST., COVENTRY. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, 260, DEANSGATK, ill AXCHKSTKK :;. 2flB, RENFIELD ST., NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, 2. GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telegrams: Hide, Manchester. Telegrams: Iliffr, Glasgow. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 2971. Telephone: Blackfriars 1412 Telephone: Central 4857 SUBSCRIPTION Home and Canada : Year, £1 13 t). 0 months, Ids. fid. 3 month?. 8s. M. RATES : Other Countries : Year, £1 15 0. 0 months. 17s. Cd. 3 months, 8s. Id The Air Ministry ISAoves AS a mere matter of tactics, the Air Ministry wouldbe well advised if, when important develop-^ ments are in the offing, they took the public into their confidence before things happened instead of waiting to show their wisdom after some event has aroused apprehension. The air race to Australia has stirred popular feeling to a degree only precedented by the Schneider contests. Quite apart from public satis- faction that Great Britain has won the speed race, there is a general feeling abroad that the air services in the British Empire are too slow. Almost as much atten- tion has been bestowed on the Douglas aeroplane which came in second as upon the winning British "Comet." The belief has got abroad that the K.L.M. service to the East is very much faster than the service of Imperial Airways. As appears from a letter published this week in our correspondence columns, there is no foundation in fact for this impression. The K.L.M. service reaches Singapore on the 10th day out from London, while the Imperial Airways service reaches the same port on the ninth day. This comparison only applies to the K.L.M. service as carried on with the older Fokker machines. The Douglas 14-seaters are a new importa- tion from America, and they should materially increase the journey-speed of the K.L.M. service. The point on which critics have seized is that Imperial Airways at the moment do not possess a type of machine which could have done so well in the Australia race as the K.L.M. Douglas actually did. At this juncture, while the Press is full of fury and rage, Sir Philip Sassoon returns from his inspection of R.A.F. stations in the East, and reveals that months ago the Air Ministry entered into consultations with the Post Office and Imperial Airways, and had reached the conclusion that "the present flying times between Lon- don and the other Empire capitals must be progressively and drastically curtailed." What a lot of heated criticism would have been averted if a statement to that effect had Been issued before the great race took place! The Air Ministry is not so fanatically devoted to secrecy as are some other Government Departments, but it is still slow to recognise that there are occasions on which frankness is very much the best policy. It goes without saying that we absolutely accept the assur ance of the Under-Secretary of State for Air, but if more cynical critics should say that the Air Ministry has been wise after the event, or that "months ago " seems to tally with the publication of the terms of the Melbourne race, the Air Ministry will only have itself to blame. Faster and Oftener SIR PHILIP, in the interview which he granted tothe Press, said that he contemplated more frequentsendees as well as faster times. He also spoke con- fidently of the coming of night-flying, and he said that he was sure that in time all first-class mails would go by air. We might not now have as fast a passenger aeroplane as the Douglas, but, said Sir Philip, there is no reason why we should not have as good a machine. His confidence is well founded. British designers have always been able to rise to any definite task which has been set them. They have been able to produce Schneider winners, makers of the distance and altitude records, and the winner of the Melbourne race. There is certainly no reason why they should not produce a passenger aeroplane at least equal in all ways to the Douglas. The mention of night-flying by Sir Philip is especially interesting, because flying passengers by night can hardly be looked on as a commercial proposition. Not very many would be likely to want it, and with pas- sengers lying full length in bunks, the capacity of the machine for paying passengers would be reduced by half. This would mean either very high fares or a sub- stantial increase in subsidy. For the time being we
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