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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1065.PDF
446 FLIGHT. APRIL 23, 1936. bility of training is really in the hands of the instructor, who must b'e both guide and philosopher to a most oddly assorted collection of different individuals. During the past ten years the general system of training has followed that developed by the R.A.F. at the Central Flying School, and it would be difficult for anyone to improve on this as a system. Nevertheless, there is a steadily growing feeling amongst civil instructors that the type of training machine which is suitable and necessary for Service use is not at all the sort of machine which is necessary for the club pilot in the ordinary way. Clubs are, in fact, interesting themselves more and more in machines which are easy to fly and reasonably fool-proof, the feeling being that an hour or two of special instruction is necessary in any case with a strange machine, and that the less trouble a novice has at the start the better it will be for all concerned. Those pupils who are considering the purchase of their own machines are naturally desirous of obtaining their training in a machine similar to that which they eventually expect to buy, and there is a strong ten dency, too, towards the cabin trainer, in which the pupil and instructor are able to converse in more or less normal tones. Not-too-easy Training There are, of course, two sides to every question, and a great deal is to be said for the good old system of using a machine which is fairly difficult to fly—or, at least, to fly well—and which is possessed of all the minor vices likely to be found in other machines. Once learnt, never for gotten, is an unfortunate fact where the absolute novice is concerned and if an easy machine encourages faults in the early stages these faults may be very difficult to eradicate. Another problem concerns the advent of the low-wing cantilever monoplane which is, more often than not, fitted with flap gear. The well-trained pilot of the standard biplane can always put up some sort of show with a strange machine, but this comparatively new development requires a flying technique which is really sufficiently different to demand special training. That is not to say that there is anything essentially difficult about the type, but merely that the best results cannot be immediately obtained by the pilot who has been trained on a normal machine. Contrary to popular opinion, there is nothing either diffi cult or dangerous in the business of flying an aeroplane in reasonably good weather conditions, and the pupil usually learns to carry out all the normal evolutions with fair accuracy after a matter of two or three hours' instruction. Even the correct estimation of landing height presents no difficulties to individuals who habitually travel precari ously about in cars or on motor cycles over roads on which every mile brings a new problem requiring quick judgment. The operation of a new form of directional control—the rudder pedal—demands a certain degree of concentration, but the knack is soon learned. The fountain-head of all the pupil's difficulties lies in the twin problems of the approach and the three-point landing. Only practice can show the pupil when to close the throttle for the approach, and only a suddenly developed instinct will show him when to ease back the control column for the final touch-down. During the early stages of instruc tion the victim will undershoot and overshoot, and will pro gress across the wide spaces of the aerodrome in a series of inebriated hops, while an otherwise charming instructor will roar advice and contumelious remarks at him. Let it be clearly stated, however, that the only difference between the novice motorist and the novice aeronaut is that the latter can do rather more damage both to an expensive piece of machinery and to an irreplaceable zoological exhibit—the novice himself. Generally speaking, there are fewer things to worry about when in the air. If it is difficult to assess the cost of flying training, it is even more difficult to give any reliable figures covering the costs of ownership, since these will depend on the type of NOW—AND NEXT MONTH. THIS issue of Flight is devoted to light aircraft and private flying. The smaller types of machines and their equipment are reviewed in detail and much valuable information of direct interest to the new-comer to the flying movement and club life is embodied. On May 21 next a companion issue will be published, devoted to airlines and the commercial transport side of aviation in general, including, of course, the now extensive Empire Air Routes. machine chosen, on the number of hours flown during the year, and on the insurance policy required—the cost of which will again depend on the experience of the owner in question. We might, however, endeavour to obtain some approxi mate costs from a study of two extreme types, one a second-hand light aeroplane of a conventional pattern and flown by a fairly inexperienced pilot, and the other a four- five-seater twin-engined machine which is being flown very seriously by an experienced man—perhaps with a "B" licence. In each case the somewhat vital figure of deprecia tion must necessarily be left out as this might be negligible in the case of the small machine and would certainly be impossible to assess in the case of the larger. So much depends on supply and demand when dealing with the comparatively small number of prospective owners of this class of machine. However, there is, after the initial loss on semi- or total obsolescence, no depreciation at all in the sense to which car people are accustomed, since proper maintenance is demanded, so to speak, by law. Working It Out The first owner, who paid perhaps /300 for his machine, may do a matter of a hundred hours' flying in the course of a year. His fuel—with an engine using an average of six gallons an hour—will cost him £45, and his oil—at the rate of a pint an hour plus a regular twenty-five hour replacement—a matter of ^10. Insurance, for which he will be satisfied with a third-party policy, will cost him about £10, and hangarage at any aerodrome will not cost more than £45, and this figure usually includes all the normal tarmac services in the matter of wing-folding and engine-starting. The yearly Certificate of Airworthiness overhaul may involve any sum in the world, but, if reason able care has been exercised during the year, this should not come out at much more than £25, to which must be added the five guineas charged by the Air Ministry for an official "look-see." Occasional repairs of a minor nature may tot up to £>o. At any rate, the sum total of £15° 1S on the generous side and this works out at 30s. an hour— or 4-5d. a mile at a cruising speed of 80 m.p.h. Our second owner might be allowed a five-hundred-hoiir year, in which case his fuel* and oil bill would be in t f region of £300—the machine has two engines—and a insurance policy covering all damage would, worked on approximate daily rate, come out at £jo. Hangara?* might reasonably be put down at the same sum and 8en<L? maintenance and complete overhaul costs at £200. total of ^840 may appear at first to be a little stagger^ but the cost every hour is only 34s., or, at a cruising spe of 120 m.p.h., a matter of 3-4d. a mile. , . ^g It is all a question of yearly mileage, just as it is "^]rp5 case of the car owner, and these purely hypothetical f. are given merely to provide some idea of the relatn ^ which may appear high when thought of in a ?m]'"ae but are reasonable enough wrier* the considerable is taken into consideration.
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