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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0293.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERAND AIRSHIPS f7k$T AERONAUTICAFWEEKLY IN THE^WORLD •• FOUNDED WOO 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 Telecrami: Tmditnr, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 line*). HERTFORD ST., COVENTKY. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry.Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION 6T., BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 2971. 260, DEANSQATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: Ilifie, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. 26B, BENFIELD ST., GLASQOW, C.2. Telegrams: Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home and Canada: Other Countries: Year,£l Year, £1 13 0.10 0. 6 months, 16a. 6d.6 mouths, 188. Od. 3 months, 8s. 6d.3 months, 9s. Od. No 1519. Vol. XXXIII. FEBRUARY 3, 1938. The Outlooks Thursdays, Price 6d. "--• .. .-| iZ- —•* PosUconferentialN OW that the representatives of the Airports Confer- ence have had their say and while the Cadrnan Committee is still in secret conclave, it might be as well to attempt to clarify the general position in the field of useful subsidies. Not unnaturally the aerodrome representatives were almost universally in favour of a direct airport subsidy. In some ways such a subsidy might be considered a good and fair one, though on principle we are opposed to it. In any case, it is extremely unlikely, to say the least of it, that the Government will consider such a provision following the Maybury Committee's recommendations to the contrary. The Government might, however, consider very seriously the possibility of a complete change of front in the matter of air transport subsidies, and these would, %vhile indirectly benefiting the aerodrome owners in a way which would at least be economically healthy, help the entire flying in- dustry. Basically, Flight is firm in its belief that air transport must eventually, in Mr. Winston Churchill's words, fly by itself. But since these words were spoken the entire appear- ance of world transport has been changed, and every- where Governments are subsidising their selected air trans- port companies very heavily so that these companies may not only help to uphold the particular country's prestige and indirectly assist its commercial interests, but also so that the aircraft manufacturing industry may be assisted and machines be produced which will find favour in the world's markets. Too LateI T is possible that the present craving for speed and uneconomic efficiency will disappear in course of time, and no one can deny that the type of machine which •is been produced in this country during the past few yearsn as proved itself more capable of making a profit in normal irrKtlDg conditi°ns than any others in the world. SuchJ ws been the direct result of self-sufficiency, virf Urmf itS iast year of operati011. for instance, and by abl ^ard work' much joy-riding and the use of suit- e macMnes, Hillman's Airways were reputed to have made quite a reasonable little profit. This without the help of any subsidy whatever, and, if we may say so, with the hands of many people (who should have known better) against them largely because of the late Mr. Hillman's forthright and common-sense methods. He was not, so to | speak, playing at air transport; he intended that it should ' be made to produce a profit. While we have been trying so hard to fly by ourselves, however, the rest of the world has been flying much faster, if not more efficiently, with the help of large subsidies. Nor is there anything new and unreasonable about the idea of such subsidies for industries from which the returns, though not immediately obvious, are of definite benefit to the entire community. As an instance—and this brings up an entirely new subject when considered in terms of the often criticised payments made to Imperial Airways—the P. and O. Company have been heavily subsidised from the very start in order that India, Australia and ourselves should receive the obviously necessary benefits which always accrue from fast and regular transport services. It is not too late to consider an important change of front in this matter. Whatever their direct usefulness or otherwise, a series of really fast and logical services in this country alone might provide the manufacturers with the necessary stimulus to produce the kind of machines which are at present in demand overseas. Such services could only be run with financial assistance, and this assist- ance might reasonably be extended to a number of others, in Europe and even farther afield, with the same object in view. Obviously, no private manufacturer can afford to lay down the necessary plant for the manufacture of a machine which may only be sold in very small quantities. The risk is far too great, If, however, these manufacturers could feel certain that a useful number of machines could be sold, there would be no difficulty in finding the necessary money for development. Furthermore, assistance might, in the end, prove to be an economy, since it would enable manufacturers to keep abreast of technical progress and so save money in the development of military proto- types. The entire situation has certain resemblances to that ofarmament and disarmament. While the rest of the world arms its air transport with adequate subsidies, we canhardly afford to fail to follow suit.
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