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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0233.PDF
JANUARY 28, 1937. FLIGHT. 85 The A Running Commentary on 73, Lord Swinton on Municipalities / N opening the Conference and Exhibition of the Aero drome Owners Association Lord Swinton took the opportunity to discuss the duties of municipal bodies to their ratepayers in the matter of acquiring aerodromes. He commented on the fact that municipal aerodromes do not pay a dividend, and admitted that it might be a long time before they did pay a dividend in cash. But, added the Air Minister, it would be a curious municipality which only provided for cash dividends. A good municipality was one which provided things which would ultimately be useful. He prophesied that those bodies which provided airports would be fully justified in the long run. Later in the day the report of the Maybury Committee came out, and it says much the same thing. It sums up the matter in the words; '' Where civil aviation can serve and thus benefit a locality it is in the interest of the local authorities to make such provision as will enable the in habitants of that locality to derive the fullest advantages from flying." It would be a good thing to put the word "where" into italics, for in other places where there is little prospect of advantage it would be most unwise for the ratepayers' money to be spent on aerodromes. The Aerodrome Owners Association had asked the Maybury Committee for advice as to the lines where air traffic was likely to move, and other parties who are in doubt whether to buy or reserve land are also anxious for guidance. What they want is a certain number of definite "Don'ts," and these the committee declined to supply. It may now be taken for granted, however, that interest and effort will be concentrated on the routes suggested in the junction scheme, as the report calls it; and though it is open to any company to start an air line on a route outside that scheme, and to get a licence for it which means a monopoly, the probability is that most people will piefer to wait and see how that scheme works during the five years which are suggested for it. That, probably, is all the guidance which municipalities can expect at the present moment. The Air and Shipping / F war should break out again it seems fairly clear that a country which can get its supplies of oil must beat a country which fails to get them. From this it follows that the British Empire is more dependent, than ever before on the Royal Navy and its ability to keep British trade routes open to British shipping. Mr. Hector Bywater, the Naval Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, discussed this problem in last Monday's issue of his paper, and came to the conclusion that the prospects of the British Isles are not so parlous as some alarmists would have us believe. The Navy, given sufficient ships and m en, is confident of its power to guard the open seas. It is believed that, at least in the early stages of hostilities, international law would be observed, and that there would be no '' unrestricted'' sinking of merchant vessels by hostile submarines. It has always been the belief of Flight that sensible rules of war (and the rules concerning mer chant shipping are eminently sensible) will be respected, except by belligerents insolent from strength or reckless irom despair. The rules restricting the conduct of a warship towards Merchantmen would apply with even greater force to air-CD ft TU "1L- lney cannot search a ship, and they cannot pro- 'ue for the safety of passengers and crew. Shipping in harbour, however, remains a legitimate object for air attack. Mr. Bywater puts it: "It will be for the Air Force, working in conjunction with the Army's anti aircraft organisation, to safeguard the docks and the ships berthed in them." He believes that the problem will not prove insoluble, and it is to be hoped that he is right. If docks can be safeguarded, then so can London. Dominion Air Forces / T is gratifying to learn that two of the Dominions are undertaking the reorganisation of their Air Forces, those in question being Canada and New Zealand. New Zealand is probably about to act on the advice of Wing Commander the Hon. R. A. Cochrane, R.A.F., who has been lent to the Dominion. He has commanded No. 8 (Bomber) Squadron at Aden, and his very excellent lecture to the Royal United Service Institution on the situation there will be remembered by all who heard it. Since then he has graduated at the R.A.F. Staff College. His recom mendations to the New Zealand Government will be awaited with much interest. Canada is allotting $11,750,000 for the Royal Canadian Air Force in the coming fiscal year, which is an increase of $5,250,000 over the expenditure in the current year. This Budget will increase the strength of the R.C.A.F. by forty- eight officers and 565 airmen to make a total of 195 officers and 1,498 airmen in the permanent Force. The non- permanent Air Force is also to be increased. An addition of 102 aircraft is to be made to the machine strength, but these will not add much to the strength of any ex peditionary force which Canada may decide to send overseas. They include only twenty-four bombers (two squadrons), twelve fighters (one squadron on the old reckoning), and three (so one report says, though it seems hardly credible) army co-operation machines. Flying boats have always been the favourite craft of the R.C.A.F., though they are chiefly used for civil work for the Govern ment. Their number is to be increased by seven. The coast defence of Canada will be strengthened by eleven (a strange number!) torpedo-bombers and eighteen coastal reconnaissance machines, while the balance will be made up of twenty-seven training aeroplanes. The New Lateral Control rJ~*HE first instalment of Mr. P. P. Nazir's article on his / new lateral control, published in last month's Aircraft Engineer supplement, aroused enormous interest among designers and others, and the continuation, which appears in this issue, has been eagerly awaited. The results obtained with the Nazir cut slot-trailing llap combination are held by the inventor to be due, to the extent of 50 per cent, at least, to the smooth, unbroken top surface of wing which the combination affords. This seems to be a reasonable assumption, in view of the pronounced effect which diverging surfaces are known to have on the onset of burbling. Work still remains to be done before the value of the device can be fully ascer tained, but the very great promise shown by the model tests makes full-scale development appear well worth while. Flight regrets that it has been necessary to keep readers waiting for the concluding instalment of Mr. Nazir's article, but, as our regular readers know. The Aircraft Engineer Technical Supplement is issued with the last issue of Flight every month. However, all good things are worth waiting for.
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