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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0141.PDF
A1RCRAF AND ENGINEER AIRSHIPS FIRST AERONAUT/CAL^WEEKLYIN THE^ORLD .- FOUNDED tooo Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices : DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Tehxrams : Trudirar, Seam, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines). HERTFOBD8T., COVENTRY. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS. NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone. Midland 2971. 260. DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. 26B, BENFIELD ST., GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams: IliSe, Manchester. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone Blackfriars 4412. Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION BATES : Home and Canada: Other Countries: Year, £1 13 0. Year, £1 16 0. 6 months, I6s. 6d. 6 months, 18s. Od. 3 months, 8s. 6d. 3 months, 9s. od. No 1465. Vol. XXXI. JANUARY 21, 1937. Thursdays, Price 66. Q etting Together F EW aeronautical events have started with greater promise of useful practical results than the Airports Conference and Exhibition which was due to be officially opened by Lord Swinton, the Secretary of State for Air, yesterday. Not only is the Exhibi tion—at the Central Hall, Westminster—a large and representative one, at which no fewer than fifty firms are showing products used in connection with airports, their buildings and equipment, but the visitors include delegates from nearly thirty townships drawn from all over the country. These delegates will have the opportunity to study a paper by Mr. Brueton, Town Planning Officer of the Bristol Corporation, on the application of town planning regulations to aerodromes, ind to discuss problems connected with this subject. Flight has, during the past year, published a con siderable number of opinions on the somewhat vexed luestion of aerodrome fees and charges, and we there fore naturally welcome the discussion of this subject luring to-day's session. It seems, however, a little Regrettable that the conference will, it is understood, "online itself to a discussion of the general principles nvolved, and that no attempt will be made to arrive it definite scales. However, presumably such details ™i be settled by correspondence among those directly jpncerned. It is to be hoped that no time will be lost. I matter is in urgent need of settlement without °ne cannot avoid feeling keen disappointment at the ^ delay in issuing the Maybury Committee Report, jnich, at the •time of writing, has still not appeared. ae announcement by the Aerodrome Owners' Asso- ation of the prospect that "the report of the May- ^y Committee, appointed by the Air Ministry to •amine British home civil aviation and to make recom- iendations, reaks hat 'ght may be available before the Conference 1P>" does not seem to help matters very much. report ought to have been issued at least a fort- ag° so as to give delegates to the Conference an opportunity to study it thoroughly. As it is, even if the Maybury Report is issued "before the Conference breaks up," there will be no time to read it or to digest its contents. Thus a golden opportunity has been lost; One wonders whether the Air Ministry prefers to avoid a too searching study of the report and a too pertinent discussion of its recommendations. • Ultimate Responsibility THE rider added by the jury at the resumed in quest on the fifteen people, who lost their lives in the K.L.M. accident at Croydon on Decem ber 9, to the effect that the final decision as to whether aircraft should take off in bad visibility should rest with an officially appointed authority at the air port, has once more raised a subject which has been studied often. One can understand the feeling of the members of the jury which prompted this rider; it is more difficult to agree with the rider. From weather reports received at the aerodrome, con ditions along any particular route are known, and at present the decision of putting "Q.B.I." into force rests quite rightly with the authorities on the ground. The weather conditions at both termini are also known, and superficially it might well appear that those most qualified to decide whether or not a pilot is to take off would be these same authorities. The matter is not, however, quite as simple as it appears on the surface. Commercial aircraft differ considerably in their hand ling characteristics, on the ground and in the air. Some are known to have a tendency to swing when the throttles are opened. Most twin-engined aeroplanes have this tendency to a greater or smaller degree. The manner in which the gyros of the blind-flying equip ment are driven has a bearing on the subject of take-off in poor visibility. With some installations there is a perceptible lag, which may reduce the sensitivity during the initial stages. The point is that only the pilot can possibly know whether or not he is safe to take off any
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