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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0130.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY I8TH, 1945 CIVIL AVIATION MAKING THE LAYMAN AIR-CONSCIOUS NATIONAL POLICY By V. L. GRUBERG tion THE NEED FOR A MUCH has been written and debated on the need toprovide better research and training facilities forthe post-war aeronautical technician, but a much wider and, in a sense, no less important task—that of edu- cating the future John Citizen for this air age seems to have been rather overlooked. Yet the need for air educa- tion of the layman, and the necessity of acquainting the growing generation with the changed ideas of the world for which air progress has been responsible, is certainly pressing. Without such education the best technical organ- isation ai^d the greatest technological achievements will not be able to secure for this country the air position it deserves. Aeronautical progress has completely revolutionised the accepted ideas of distance, geography, international rela- tions, and finally of security. Just as in the 19th and pre- vious centuries the expansion of international commerce was closely linked-up with t&e development of shipping lanes, so in future the intensity of commercial relations between countries and continents will be conditioned by the development of air transport facilities. Commerce will not follow the flag or the ship lane, but the trail pf the transport aircraft. By this is not implied that air transport will become the exclusive carrier of the world's goods and eliminate sur- face traffic, but because of its speed and flexibility it must become the bonding medium between commercial com- munities. The country with the better developed air trans- port system will have, therefore, a potential advantage. To translate this potential advantage into material terms, business men, manufacturers, engineers and salesmen will have to realise that air transport gives them exceptional opportunity of intimate contact between producer and con- sumer. The country whose business leaders have learnt to think of distances in terms of flying hours, and who have struck off their vocabulary such conceptions as '' out- posts," "off the beaten track," and "back of beyond"— only such a country will be able to retain commercial pre- ponderance and economic strength. The provision of a network of air services is, therefore, not adequate by itself. Nor can it be left to commercially operated air services to educate people to air travel. While no doubt the achievements of the air services in safety and speed will become publicised, and their persuasive and appealing publicity will draw larger and larger numbers to air travel, the education task is much wider. Change of Outlook Deep-seated tradition and ideas rooted for centuries in the minds of people have to be changed. The earth-bound outlook in travel, business and political relations which is man's burden of heritage must be swept aside and replaced by the new air age conceptions. For this reason a nation- wide educational programme is needed, with school children at its base. Starting in elementary schools and going right through to the higher age groups, such a programme, graded to suit different age groups, should embrace the tuition in all forms of the following subjects: (1) air geography; (2) scier.ee of air (including physics and biology); (3) air mathematics; (4) elementary aeronautical science. At first glance this sounds alarming. However, almost any curriculum looks awe-inspiring on fkft acquaintance. What is here suggested is not so much the addition of new subjects, but a new and perhaps broader approach and a wider and moiu liberal use of the "air" as a medium of tuition. To take one example: the teaching of geography, for instance, should be given a new meaning by replacing such archaic remnants as distances, directions, locations and maps based on sailing boats, by air distances, global conceptions, meanings of great-circle routes, etc. Current ideas of distances and relationship between trade centres and countries as measured in time must be completely revised under the impact of air travel. For the shrinkage of the world in terms of time is perhaps the most striking feature introduced by air transport. In more advanced courses the study of political and * economic geography would be made in the light of its changed meaning as influenced by air power and air com-,. merce. "^ New Problems Similarly in other subjects, the new factor, air, should be used as a medium of instruction and exercise, with calculations of flying time, ranges, fuel consumption, load- ings, etc., serving as an inexhaustible source for interesting and practical mathematical problems. Concurrently with this theoretical education, the prac- tical side should embrace the construction of aircraft model* from the toy stage to realistic, true-to-scale models and the study of their aerodynamic properties. Finally, practical experience should be derived from full-scale sail- planes ; this might be divided into construction, servicing and actual flying, and should be made a regular feature for higher-age groups in all or most schools as part of the general training. It should not be limited to members of the A.T.C. To feed such an educational programme a whole series of books would be wanted which would tell the young reader of the rediscovered world. Not merely the type of book showing which-is-which in the aircraft world, or how to build a model or when the first flight across the Atlantic t was made, but books that will show him how aircraft have expanded his world from two-dimensional earth to three-dimensional skies. Books that show the changed significance of geographical factors. It is obvious that such a wide programme of air educa- tion can be dealt with here only in the very briefest outline. The formulation of such a national policy is clearly not a matter for an individual or group effort. It is a national task requiring a considerable amount of groundwork and study of all relevant factors and possi- bilities. To begin with, however, it should not be impos- sible to bring together a committee of aeronautical experts, educationalists and representatives of export and trading interests who would take upon themselves this arduous but vitally essential task of breaking new ground. One may participate already the criticism of the sceptic that after all, there is no need for everyone to become an aviator. Indeed there is not. But does the teaching of geography or of Scripture necessarily induce all pupils to become explorers or parsons? What is needed is an educational programme aimed at helping the growing generation to understand the world as it is to-day, and not as it was yesterday; an under- standing that can be achieved only if it is based on three- dimensional thinking. Air transport means more than just another method of locomotion. It not only provides us with faster and more
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