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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0812.PDF
APRIL 2 1936. FLIGHT. 343 The Outlooks A Running Commentary on Ait Topics The Air Navigation Bill r HERE is nothing to shock or surprise the public in the Air Navigation Bill, the second reading of which was moved by Sir Philip Sassoon in the House of Commons last Monday. It has received plenty of advance publicity, and the main provisions were described and dis cussed in Flight in the issue of February 6 last. None the less, the Bill is very welcome, and the Under-Secretary for Air remarked that there was less likely to be opposition to its provisions than complaints that the reforms pro posed were long overdue. Sir Philip explained to the House that there were five main points in the Bill, (i) enabling the Air Minister to make subsidy grants of one and a half million pounds, instead of only one million per annum, up to the end of the year 1953 ; (2) the handing over of control of air worthiness matters from the Air Minister to an independent body representing civil flying interests; (3) allowing the licensing by Orders in Council of air transport services ; (4) permitting metropolitan boroughs to acquire land com- pulsorily for aerodromes; and (5) compulsory insurance against third-party risks, with a limitation of liability of the aircraft owner. Greatest Natural Obstacle M OST far-reaching in its importance is the subsidy clause of the Bill. Its main object is to enable air transport to attack what Sir Philip called '' thr greatest of the natural obstacles with which air transport is confronted, namely, the Atlantic." Imperial Airways need money to enable them to tackle that obstacle, and the Air Ministry must be able to provide it. No transport company would undertake the task unless it could count on a long-term agreement, and this clause will enable the Air Ministry to conclude such an agreement. The public and the Houses of Parliament are now so air-conscious, and so anxious to see British air transport hold its own against all foreign competition, that there was not very much opposition to this clause. There are some members who are opposed to the principle of entrusting all these long-distance enterprises to the same company, but surely rt is reasonable that when the greatest natural obstacle 01 all is to be attacked, the onslaught should be entrusted to the only hands which have gained experience and proved their competency. The Bill does not tie the Air Ministry to Imperial Airways, but it is common knowledge that that company is to be the chosen representative of Great Britain m spanning the Atlantic. Even those who are opposed to Imperial Airways found no reason for oppos ing this clause in the Bill. Freed from the Shackles r HE handing over of airworthiness matters to an inde pendent body was described by Sir Philip (doubtless with his tongue in his cheek) as "the liberation, to th A l^ least' of Civil Aviation from the shackles of wh-it 1 ^nistrv • • • the freeing of Civil Aviation from not !ft described—with how much accuracy I will emborT • t0 sav~as bureaucratic control." The clause the -IIs a recommeildation of the Gorell Committee, for oi res f -K-rP °f which FliSht claims a certain amount this innslt"hty- There will certainly be no opposition to freedom"8*'^1*1 Pnvate owners will rejoice in the added gain from"? pr°bablv reduced expenditure which they will is nothing contentious in the giving to metropolitan boroughs the powers which other boroughs have already received, and which they have had by a series of tem porary measures, of compulsory acquisition of aerodrome lands. The compulsory insurance against third-party risks, with a limitation of liability, has been widely discussed and generally approved. The power to license air services is another attempt to be practical rather than idealistic. To some extent it may limit the freedom of trade, and were it not that the Orders in Council must be submitted to Parliament, it might also be stigmatised as bureaucratic control. To check the loss involved by wasteful and unnecessary competition on in land air routes is, however, conferring a practical benefit on the public. The Bill was given a second reading. Exit a Theory 7V TEWS that the U.S. Navy has placed a large con- _/ Y tract with the Douglas Company for torpedo-bomber monoplanes for carrier operation sounds the death- knell of yet another die-hard contention. It seemed at one time that naval air arms were resign ing themselves to "stick and wire" biplanes. Mono planes, it was generally maintained, could not be made compact enough to permit their use from aircraft carriers ; with ce/tain modern forms of construction wing-folding would present great difficulties; the high landing speed, at one time almost universally regarded as an insuppres- sible vice of monoplane designs, would also render the type useless for carrier operation. Douglases are building 116 answers to these archaic theories. Details of the machine concerned are lacking. It is, however, a low-wing monoplane mounting the new Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp. Whether or not the wings are made to fold is uncertain. Possibly the compactness renders this unnecessary. Resumption of " Flat" Racing A STUDY of the King's Cup Race regulations on page J^\ 361 of this issue seems to indicate that the course for the eliminating trials has been selected this year by "flat-racing ' enthusiasts! It lies mainly over flat country, and nowhere, apparently, will competitors have to cross hills of more than about 1,oooft. in height. This is in contrast to the country used in several previous King's Cup Races. In last year's eliminating event, too, one competitor actually was forced down in the sea, and an other barely escaped a similar ducking; fortunately the pilots suffered no serious harm, and the mishaps did serve to draw attention to the risk of race-flying over sea. This year the Racing Committee of the R.Ae.C. has evidently set out to avoid sea crossings altogether, a deci sion with which few will quarrel, although it seems a pity to leave Ireland out of the race altogether. But it is a little more difficult to see the reason for leaving Scotland and Northern England out. The course selected makes Notting ham the northernmost turning point in the race, and the course certainly avoids hills of any great height. That, however, is barely a good and sufficient reason for depriv ing the northern parts of the country of an opportunity of seeing the competing machines. On the other hand, there is something to be said for changing the turning points from year to year, and the only aerodrome " repeated " in this year's eliminating course will be Hatfield, the starting and finishing point. The towns which are to see the machines will see them twice, and at Hatfield there should be plenty to watch.
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