FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0131.PDF
JANUARY 17. 1935- FLIGHT. 67 The S.B.A.C. Conference PLANNING for the FUTURE The Problem of Air Traffic Control : Major R. H. Thornton, M.C., M.A., Introduces a Complete Plan whereby a Special Board would Take Charge of Air Route Development :••.••' ' ' • - A group of those who attended the Air Transport Conference, photographed at Heston, where they had lunch on Saturday. Flight Photograph.) LAST week, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, January 10, 11 and 12, the Air Transport Section of the J Society of British Aircraft Constructors held its first conference. Some 200 delegates gathered at Grosvenor House, London, includ ing many representatives of muni cipalities, and the proceedings were opened by Mr. Herbert J. Thomas, Chairman of the S.B.A.C., Mr. W. D. Roberts, of Spartan Airlines, and Councillor R. Ashley Hall, of Bristol. Papers were read by Major R. H. Thornton on the problem of air traffic control; by Mr. C. V. Allen on the legal aspects of airline and airport operation ; by Mr. H. R. Gillman on the existing laws and regulations of national and inter national control of civil aviation ; and by Mr. H. N. St. V. Norman on the organisation of airports and aerodromes. An official dinner was held at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Grosvenor House, and on the last day of the conference both Heston and Croy don were visited by the delegate's. In introducing the first paper— that on the problems of air traffic control—Major R. H. Thornton opened on a note of apology, which was proved to be totally unnecessary by the sheer value of the paper which followed. He explained that, as an amateur, he might be better situated to correlate the rival views of the knowledgeable experts. He had no axe to grind and could be as provocative as he pleased. The primary question was: Did they consider the Air Ministry responsible for the advance planning of air routes and did it regard itself as responsible? Was its function to anticipate or to control? Many considered that both PROPOSED . . . A NATIONAL Airways Board, on the lines of the London Passenger Transport Board or the Electricity Com missioners, witn the following terms of reference: — (1) To administer all State-owned civil airports. (2) To license all civil aerodromes. (3) To equip and administer all ground stations for communication with civil aircraft. (4) To select, equip, and ad minister national airways. (5) To license the equipment and personnel of aircraft using national airways. (6) To collect dues in respect of aircraft using the airways. (7) To make regulations for the control of traffic. (8) To make recommendations to the Secretary of State for the issue of general air navigation orders. these functions were proper to the Air Ministry, but, so far, no announcement had been made. He could find little evidence of advance planning on a national scale, and in the North, for instance, aids had noticeably lagged behind air line development. Advice was available, but the municipal airport owners had not been invited to take part in any co-ordinated plan for air route de velopment. Meanwhile, operators, in an endeavour to keep to a winter time-table, were accepting hazards, and the S.B.A.C. would perform a very valuable service if they for mulated a concerted policy. During the last five years some thing approaching a revolution had occurred in flying technique. To-day amateur and professional pilots were in different categories, due entirely to the perfection and constant use of what were gener ally known as '' blind flying '' in struments. This development of reliable blind flying was of the greatest significance to commercial aviation. Until one could offer the business man reliable transport on ten days out of ten, one could not expect him to be interested. It was just this ability to fly without reference to a visible horizon which made of that tenth day a flying day, and made possible a time table with which future business plans could be laid with absolute certainty. There were three immediate and important consequences of this development: — 1. An adequate service of radio communication, both for navigation and for information, was an essential accom paniment to blind flying technique. 2. If aircraft were to be free to fly under conditions of
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
