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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1301.PDF
53° FLIGHT. MAY 21, 1936. only a mail compartment, and the weight will be made up by- extra fuel, which should give a range sufficient to fly the. Atlantic via the Azores and Bermuda. Of very original conception is the Short-Mayo Composite aircraft, which comprises an upper component, fairly small, carried on the wings of a fairly larger lower component. The object is to enable a relatively small and therefore not very expensive machine to carry a reasonable pay load over a very long stage. The extra power of the lower component, which is, of course, lightly loaded, is used to help the upper com ponent into the air. When the desired height has been reached the two separate, the upper component heading for its destina tion and the lower returning to the base. 7 he idea is due to Major Mayo, of the Mayo Composite Aircraft Co., Ltd., Quadrant House, Pall Mall, London, S.W.i, and Short Brothers undertook some of the detail design and the construction. The upper component is a twin- float monoplane with four Napier Rapier engines, and" the lower is a flying boat very similar to the Empire boats. It is estimated that the upper component will be able to carry a pay load of 1,000 lb. for a distance of 3,500 miles. This should suffice for the direct North Atlantic crossing against an average head wind of 60 m.p.h. Makers: Short Brothers, Rochester, Kent. STINSON THE new • Stinson bimotor model B is a low-wing semi-cantilever monoplane, powered by two Lycoming R-680-5 engines giving 360 h.p. each for cruising. The standard cabin lay-out caters for pilot and five passengers, but by squeezing a little, three can be accommodated in the rearmost seat. In addition to five passengers, the machine carries fuel for a range of 720 miles at a cruising speed of 162 m.p.h. The Stinson multi-purpose Reliant is the 1936 model of the well-known type. It is obtainable as a landplane, as a twin- float seaplane, and fitted with skis. According to equipment it can be used for a variety of purposes. Normally it carries four passengers at a cruising speed of 135 m.p.h. The European distributors of the Stinson machines are Brian Allen Aviation, Ltd., Airport of London, Croydon. The AIR NAVIGATION BILL and SUBSIDIES "THE following letter on an important topical subject has •*• been received by the Editor from Viscount Elibank;— Sir,—The Air Navigation Bill now before Parliament is a measure of such importanse that these individuals who take the long view in Imperial air development might well be urged to turn aside for a little from the more doubtful fascinations ol the International arena to examine its provisions. It is without doubt one of the most important enactments presented to Parliament in recent years, and it is. regrettable to find that so many persons are unaware of its true signifi cance. It is in the same tradition as the enactments which, adjusted to the personal qualities of our seamen, made our merchant navy the finest in the world. Here is an instrument so fashioned that in course, of time it should give us simiiar prestige in the air. But there is a danger to its effectiveness in the constant clamour one hears against the wise policy of the Government in not putting its subsidies into more than a few selected concerns. In my judgment, and in all the circumstances, it would be an act of folly to split the available subsidy funds among concerns operating either now or prospectively over the same routes merely on the ground that it is a good thing to encourage competition. I agree that monopolies, as a general rule, are bad, but, in the development of our Imperial air communications, unity of control and administration is essential for efficiency, for the planning of long-term policies, for the negotiation of concessions with overseas countries, and for the most economic employment of public funds in the form of subsidies. In the case of the two organisations already selected for subsidy payments, namely, Imperial Airways and British Airways, these conditions are amply fulfilled. On the other hand, a policy of piecemeal subsidy payments to every company with space on aeroplanes to sell would be to fritter away our air future. It may be urged in the course of debates on the Bill that the subsidies paid to British concerns are too heavy. I have been looking into some comparative statistics, which show- that, in addition to being on a diminishing scale, the British subsidy amounts to only 3s. 6d. per ton-mile compared with 4s. io|d. in Germany, 8s. nd. in France, and 12s. $&. in Italy. The subsidies to American airways are on an even larger scale, and this raises another point to which I should like to draw attention. How is it that although the conditions of flying over the United States, which is a single national unit, are entirely different from those of flying over many countries as our own services have to do—obviously a much more complex task—we are always compared unfavourably with the United States!' Such comparisons will certainly be made again when the Bill is under discussion. For the benefit of those who may take this point of view let me quote this passage from a recent report of America's Federal Aviation Commission :— "The total of original privately financed investments in the aeronautical industries . . . appears to have been $550,000,000. To that we have added a further $00,000,000 for the investment in municipal airports. Much of the investment was disastrously reckless. . . . It appears, in short, that financial disaster is in the making for a large part of the present air transport system. Whether it makes its appearance in six weeks or six months or longer, we cannot see how it can be postponed indefinitely.." It seems, therefore, that there is a good deal to be said for the much-abused British policy, embodied in the Air Naviga tion Bill, of proceeding with a courage tempered by caution. It would be a disaster if, after all these years of patient development and far-sighted planning, we allowed ourselves to be influenced in the shaping of this Bill by any other con siderations. ELIBANK. House of Lords, London, S.W.i. Call 0/ the Clyde THE Scottish National Development Council is appealing to aircraft manufacturers to study the possibilities of estab lishing factories on the raid-remote south-west coast of Scot land, and on the Clyde Estuary in particular. Very full information regarding sites, factories for sale, power and fuel supplies, etc., are obtainable from the Council at 19, Blythswood Square, Glasgow, C.2. Forthcoming Events May 15-June 1. Stockholm Aero Show May 2-S. Empire Air Dav. May27-June 4 Austrian Aero Club Whitsun Tour. May 29-June 2. Swis3 Aero Club : Whitsun Tour. May 30-June 1. Is!e ol Man Air Races May 30-Jun? 1. Aero Club de Provence: Marseilles Week-end. May 30-June 2. Yorkshire Gliding Club Open Meeting and C.omoerltions. June 6. Official Opening of Gatwick Airport. Jjn- ti-]>. Czechoslovakia Aero CIUD: Tour June 7. London Air Park Club: Han worth Garden Party. June 13-14. Opening of Brighton, Hove and Worthing Airport International Rally. June 27. Royal Air Force Display, Hendon. July 2-5. Belgian Aviation Clubs: Tour Aerien Belgiquj. July 10 and 11. R.Ae.C.: King's Cup Race. July 18. Portsmo'itn Aero Club" Isle oi Wight Race. July 23-^6. R.Ae.C.: Week-end Aerien. August 1. Cinque Ports Club: Folkestone Trophy Race. August 1 3. Yorkshire Gliding Club: Open Meeting. August 2-15. Yorkshire Gliding Club: Instruction Camp. August 3. Ramsgate Airport: Pov-da-Ciel Race. August 8. Reading Aero Club: Northesk Cup Competition ior Women Pilots. Augus: 15-30. Yorkshire GlldtaJ Club Open Meeting and Competitions. . August 22. Midland Aero Club: "At Home" and Contact Air Race. , August 29-30. Cinque Ports Club: Internationa! Rally anJ Wakefield Cup Race. August 30. Gordon Bennett Balloon Race, Poland. Seotember 5-6. Aero Club of Hungary : Week-end Aeric:n. September 12. London Aeroplane Club: Hatfield Garden Party September 13. Aero Club de France: Coupe Deutsch Race- September 20. London Air Park Club : Display. October 25. Aero Club de France: Saigon Race. . . November 13-29. Fifteenth Internationa! Aero ExhlDU'""' Paris.
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