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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0031.PDF
JANUARY 5, 1939 FLIGHT. 13 Not So Populaire AS for France, UAviation Populaire appears to have become quite unpopular and has proved to be some thing of a deception for all those who thought so much of the idea when it was first introduced. There is very little similarity between the French subsidy system and our own C.A.G. arrangement. The resemblance is only in the basic idea, which was to offer, almost free of charge, the joys of flying to thousands of young men who could not otherwise afford to learn, and the whole thing was partly, perhaps, an advertising scheme for M. Pierre Cot, the then Minister for Air. (Nowadays we are not so blame less in such matters ourselves that we can sneer with a clear conscience, either.) Nevertheless, the idea had possibilities, though the whole thing seems to have fallen by the wayside because of what can only be described as over-capitalisation. Sec tions were created all over the country at considerable cost, and all manner of slow and somewhat useless aero planes were bought at high prices. Apparently no Govern ment in any country ever seems to be able to get anything cheaply. At one time, I hear from a correspondent, 375 machines of one particular class were ordered, though less than a score of them actually got into the air—with disastrous results in some cases. In the end the various Sections fell back on the old Caudron Luciole which, though a com paratively good aeroplane, is a somewhat ancient design and dates back to 1931, or thereabouts. Needless to say, the Army authorities hated the whole idea—not unnaturally feeling that the continuous circling of aerodromes in light aeroplanes had very little to do with military training. (The R.A.F.'s thoughts on the C.A.G. scheme are still unspoken.) According to reports some very considerable sums have been spent on the scheme. In return, there were, last year, 1,532 licensed pilots, of which the Army made use of— seven. The general opinion in France is that something will have to be done about it, and it seems that, in the end, the French clubs or Sections will be duly rewarded in cash for every licence, more or less on British lines. •"! * * By way of a New Year resolution I shall endeavour, in future, to extend the scope of this weekly commentary. After all, the problems concerned with private flying, as such, are almost invariably mixed up with those of civil aviation in general—and, for that matter (now that the C.A.G. scheme is in full swing), with military demands. It is practically impossible to segregate flying problems, and it is undoubtedly fair to say that every amateur or club pilot is intensely interested in anything connected with civil flying—and is probably more interested than those who are intimately concerned with such things as air trans port. In fact, for real flying enthusiasm one must always turn to the asnateur. One day, private flying will come into its own again and we have yet to see the long-term, effects of the new subsidy scheme on ownership and light aircraft production costs. In the meantime, when there is anything specially concerned with amateur flying to be dis cussed, this commentary will be separated into two parts— one on general lines and one dealing with the particular club problem. But you know what these New Year resolu tions are. We shall see. INDICATOR. Arado Record WHILE on its way to Australia the German Arado AR.79 made a non-stop flight of approximately 4,000 miles from Benghazi (Tripoli) to Gaya (Bihar), in India. If the flight is confirmed, this distance constitutes a world's record for light aeroplanes. The pilots were Lts. Horst Pulkowski and Rudolf Jenett. Jaipur Rally SOME forty machines from the Royal Air Force, Indian National Airways, Himalayan Airways and various flying clubs, took part recently in the first air rally to be held at Jaipur. The main event of the day was the handicap race for the Jaipur Air Cup. This was held over a thirty-mile course and was won by F/O N. S. Henkel. The Isle of Man Again IT seems that the Manx air races, which have been, for various reasons, such a huge success, are to be held once again in 1939. At the annual meeting of the Manx June Effort Committee their continuance was recommended, but it was pointed out that the races could not be successfully run under a cost of about £1,500. There was some opposition, but the recommendation was carried. It is understood that some interesting changes may be made in the character of the events and there is a possibility that the date will be rather later in the year. Usually the races are held at Whitsun. Assistance in America R ESEMBLING our Volunteer Reserve rather than the Civil Air Guard scheme, a plan was last week announced by Mr. Roosevelt for the annual training in the U.S. of 20,000 civilian pilots every year. By way of a start the scheme will be tried out at six schools and colleges which already have some facilities for flying train ing, and before the middle of the year it is expected that some 300 students will have been experimentally instructed. The money needed for the scheme—which, for the initial try-out, will be about £20,000, and for the completed scheme some £2,000,000 per year—will be taken from the funds of the National Youth Administration, and it is stated that the machines will be hired from private owners and from the vari ous flying schools now in existence. Special instructors from the Navy and Army Air Corps will be assigned to the work, though there is no suggestion that the pupils will be taught anything more than straightforward flying. It is hoped, how ever, that a large proportion of the young men will be suffi ciently interested to join the real Reserves. Another Brussels Show THE first International Brussels Aero Show, held in 1937, was so successful that • another is to be held this year, the Palais du Centenaire being the venue. The organisers are the Comit6 National de Propagande Aeronautique. An International military aviation meeting, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Belgian Air Force, is to be held during the period of the exhibition. - Changes at Hyderabad AFTER the local flying club and the Tata mail service have used the Hyderabad landing ground at Hakimpet for the past two years, a new aerodrome is now under construction at Begumpet, where better terminal facilities will be offered to passengers, and where, also, the installation of night-landing equipment will be available not only for transport machines, but for the club pupils. The club was actually started in the summer of 1936 with two D.H. Tiger Moths, and a little later the State Government took founder shares in the Aeronautical Centre at New Delhi, where a nuihber of candidates from Hyderabad have gone, and are going, for advanced training. Hyderabad is a stopping point on the regular Tata mail and passenger service between Karachi and Madras. The Taylorcraft in England A FEW weeks ago we gave some details of the new company, Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England), Ltd., which is shortly to put the American Taylorcraft light aeroplane into quantity production in this country. At the time it was imagined that it would be necessary for a start to import the parts, but it has now been decided that no machines will be turned out until the British factory at Leicester is ready, to make com plete machines. This factory will be laid out as a duplicate of the American company's factory at Alliance, and to this end Mr. Carlson, the chief engineer and factory manager of the Taylor-Young Airplane Company, is coming over to this country. The design of the Taylorcraft is such that mass production in a small way is a reasonable proposition, and the only really skilled work demanded in the assembly of the machine is that of welding and sheet metal fitting. As it happens, each class of worker is available in the Leicester district. In due course the factory is expected to be ready to turn out four machines a day, though this production capacity is not likely to be required with the comparatively limited market available. The British Taylorcraft Plus will be stressed for aerobatics.
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