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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0921.PDF
FLIGHT. MARCH 30, 1939 Topics of the Day "Indicator'' Discusses— The Lightweight Market and is Tetnporarily Pessimistic Qetting Together O NE day in the not-too-distant future all the smaller independent manufacturers of light aeroplanes might get together in a large room and decide exactly what ought to be made for private owner, club and C.A.G. use. I am all for individuality and private ven ture, but just at the moment there does not appear to be a real market of any importance for a small macnine made by a company with no particular backing or background. A visitor examining some of the oddments which were to be found at any one of the more important flying meet ings last year must have been surprised and shocked at the lack of cohesive thought amongst designers, and, for that matter, at the indifferent appearance, in finish and equipment, of some of the individual prototypes which were out and about for demonstration purposes. We all know perfectly well that the conditions of aero plane manufacture are very different from those of, say, the large-scale production of motor cars, but it is not diffi cult to imagine the train of thought in the mind of a com plete newcomer who compares the apparent value for money offered in a single- or two-seater aeroplane costing anything up to /500 with that provided in his car, which may cost as little as ^120. Additionally, the considerable difference in the various schemes of general design must have given this visitor a fair, if false, impression of the fluid state, to say the least of it, of the light aircraft manufacturing industry. Probably at the end of this year there will be less than half a dozen types available for reasonably immediate pur chase, with a few more well-known machines in the larger classes for those who can afford to spend as much as ^2,000 or more on an aeroplane. Of the half-dozen, most are being, or will be, sold at any figure between ^600 and ^1,000, and all will have been through a period of any thing up to two years of development and test work. So many optimistic manufacturers, generally in a small way, decide to build a light aeroplane for some special purpose and expect to be manufacturing it in fully certi ficated form within six months or less. Experience has shown that very few single machines ever go into production after much less than a couple of years. Even if the proto type is in every way successful and suitable—as they some times are—it is still necessary for this first machine to be flown furiously about the country during a whole season before any of the clubs or private owners show signs of taking it seriously. Flying people are nothing if not con servative. Facing the Facts f" OOKING at the score or so of light aeroplane types -*-' which are available now—or likely to be available if backers are forthcoming—one cannot help feeling that something like half of them have little place in the scheme of things. A few are single-seaters of no outstanding merit, though good enough in their own way—and a single-seater must be exceptionally good before its maker can possibly expect to sell it in more than single examples to a few enthusiastic owners. Others are, in some cases, two- seaters competing against much better-known British and foreign machines whose sponsors have already been trying, without much success, to sell them during the past year or so. The moral seems to be that if you must make an aero plane, make one that is either better than any other in its own class or one that has some really outstanding charac teristics which are not otherwise obtainable. A well-known firm can produce almost anything that is reasonably good, and succeed in selling it partly because the prospective owners know that the firm will back them in spares and Along the Brazilian coast. service, and partly because such a firm can afford to apply really strenuous efforts to the work of demonstrating and selling it. It is all very well for individual makers and designers in a small way to wonder tearfully why they are not able to interest the flying public in their safe and excellent products, but each one of them should ask himself, quite honestly, whether he, in the position of a prospective private owner, would risk buying a singleton machine from a small firm when other and similar machines from much better-known factories are available at an equally low price. One way or another, the light aircraft industry must be mildly reorganised. Owners, whether clubs or individuals, will inevitably have their choice reduced to one of the aforementioned half-dozen types—with a few American ultra-lightweights thrown in. The reduction may as well be made without necessary hardship—and those who stay in the field will deserve the money that will eventually be made in this light aircraft industry. Concentrated Effort TN spite of the air of slight depression pervading my •*• remarks so far, I still believe that there is a market for light aeroplanes—and a much larger one than is offered by the new club outlook alone. Properly propaganded, there are quite a few hundreds, and even thousands, of prospective owners in the country. Any manufacturer who will concentrate on the produc tion of an all-round type which is safe, reasonably fast, comfortable, and comparatively inexpensive both to buy and to run (insurance included), can, if he has ample patience and financial backing, interest the semi-lay public which is now, through the C.A.G. scheme, being brought into the field. Thirteen years ago D.H.'s and others managed to find a market of private owners when there (Continued on next page.)
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