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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0143.PDF
~———— AIRCRAFT ENGINEERAND AIRSHIPS FIRST AERONAUTICAL^WEEKLY IN THECS1VORLD .• FOUNDED WOO Editor C M. POULSEN Managing Edilor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief PhotographaJOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices = DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Tetegraml : Trnditor, Sediit, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines). HERTFORD ST.,COVENTRY. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry.Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS,NAVIGATION 8T., BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham.Telephone: Midland 2971. 260, DEANSOATE,MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: HiSe, Manchester. Telephone Blackfriars 4412. 26B, RENFIELI) ST.,GLASGOiV. C.2. Telegrams: Ililife, Glasgow. Telephoae: Central 4357. SUBSCRIPTIONRATES: Home and Canada: Year, £1 13 0.Other Countries: Year, £1 16 0. 6 months, 16s. 6tl6 months, 18B. Od. 3 months. 8s. 0d.3 months, 9a. od. No. 1517. Vol. XXXIII. JANUARY 20, 193S. Thursdays, Price 6d. The Outlooks A Wise MoveI T is safe to say that never, since the formation of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors in 1916, can any event in its history have caused so much specu- lation in aviation circles as did the announcement last week that Mr. Handley Page had become the Society's first President, and that to the post of chairman of the council had been appointed Sir Charles Bruce-Gardner. Speculation is rife concerning the duties of the new- chairman. They were by no means clearly defined in the official statement issued by the S.B.A.C. and published on p. 56 of this issue. Consequently one is free to in- terpret the move according to one's own ideas and incli- nations. . Fundamentally, the appointment of a paid chairman must be regarded as thoroughly sound policy. In most cases, members of the council of the S.B.A.C., from whom in the past the chairman was elected, have enough to do with looking after the affairs of their own particular firms ; and since the expansion the industry's particular problems, plus the liaison with the Air Ministry, have become a whole-time job. Apart from this, there are obvious advantages in having as chairman of the council a man who is entirely unbiased and with no personal interest in any one firm in the in- dustry. This is no reflection on those chairmen of the Society who have, up till now, given so freely and un- stintingly of their time, often sacrificing self-interest for the good of the Society. Thus, one may accept the appointment of an executive chairman, particularly of one taken from outside the aircraft industry, as a wise and timely move. Dictator or . . . . ?T HERE has been a tendency in some quarters to jump to the conclusion that the new chairman rf the S.B.A.C. is to be given dictatorial powers, so that in cases of dispute he can give an overruling decision. •Ihe term "executive" chairman scarcely justifies this assumption. Cynics have pointed out that Sir Charles Bruce-Gardner was, in the past, closely associated with the Bank of England, and that the new move was the S.B.A.C.'s clever way of forestalling any possibility of a future nationalisation of the British aircraft industry. One need not take this view very seriously. In fact, one might reply by quoting the fact that Sir Charles was also, among his many past activities, once chairman of the Galvanising Conciliation Board, and that there is likely to be need for both galvanising and conciliation in his new job. Be that as it may, the idea of a dictator is rather dis- pelled by the wording of the official announcement, which states that the new chairman will "conduct the affairs of the Society in accordance with the policy settled by the Council," and that "he will be particularly concerned in interpreting to the Air Ministry and to the industry the views and wishes of one to the other." Of all the comments which have been published on the subject, the Aeronautical Correspondent of The Times probably put it nearest the truth, and certainly most neatly, when he wrote "The British aircraft industry has provided itself with an ambassador, already skilled in solving industrial difficulties, to serve as principal nego- tiator between the industry and the Government and to help the industry in laying long-term plans." Developing Civil AviationP ARTICULARLY welcome is the statement in the official announcement that the new chairman will be primarily concerned with "ensuring the well-being of the industry in the development of civil aviation and export trade." Under the stress of military expansion, British civil aviation has been somewhat neglected during the last few years ; naturally and inevitably so. The defences of the country must come before commercial development in times of emergency. But one may hope that when production has caught up with requirements, time and opportunity will be found for giving to civil aviation that careful attention which has been denied it for some years ; and if that is to be done effectively and without loss of time, it will be necessary to plan carefully and well ahead. The past experience of Sir Charles Bruce- Gardner is such that one is justified in believing that if the problems with which he will be faced during the next few months are capable of solution, he is the right man to solve them.
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