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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0916.PDF
FLIGHT MAY IOTH, 1945 " Indicator " Discusses Topics of the. Day Grading the Amaienr A Suggested Licensing Arrangement for the Private Pilot : "Experience Training" in Two Stages : Flight Authorisation as a Means 0/ Control and Discipline for the Inexperienced THE word freedom, as we all know quite well, is amuch-abused one. At one end of the scale it maymean merely someone's right to do what he likes with his " own "—at whatever cost to the rest of the com- munity. At the other end it may simply mean the right of free political (or other) thought or speech. But since we must all live with one another, for better or for worse, it has always been clear that certain '' freedoms '' must be sacrificed for the benefit of society in general. Although war conditions have necessarily increased the number of restrictions on individual freedom of action, these restrictions by no means constitute a new and tem- porary situation. The principle is as old as the concepiior of law and order. Apart from the prospective tax-yjfcoj»res involved, someone must know, for instance, wherr'araem- ber of the community has purchased a prospectro^y lethal firearm or a potentially lethal dog. And sanreone must obviously be in a position to prevent a blirj^ror paralytii individual from using a car or an aircraft., Until comparatively recently, anyone w*o was prepared to perjure himself could obtain a car licence and forthwit" drive away into a Cup Final crowd on *e payment f purely nominal sum. And, at least iaVheory, anj who could pass a simple medical examinitipk ancian simpler series of flying tests could buy Wfly^Hft and forthwith spin into the local markVfc squa«A Prc vided that he was not flying " for hire or reward "\nd was prepared to take his own accident risks, thA^^X licence pilot could purchase a fast and lethal multi-engtafid dev;k with which to plough, in an uncontrolled take-off swing, through the clubhouse on the other side of the airfield. Self Preservation Fortunately, the average novice pilot's own natural instinct of self-preservation prevented him from doing any such thing, and, in any case, his potential freedom was adequately curbed on all sides. If he had shown no signs of being a sensible and competent pilot his instructor would not have let him go solo; this same instructor would have discouraged the initial purchase and certainly the initial uninstructed take-off; and the seller would, in any case, and for the sake of his own prestige as a manufacturer or agent, have taken steps to prevent any euch premature finale. Nevertheless the ..possibility was there, and is likely to be more prominent in the future. Until recently, this fly- ing business has been in the nature of a " carefully guarded secret," known only to a select band of instructors and old-timers whose expressions of opinion and whose judg- ments were accepted as final and binding. There may come a time when, with the help, perhaps, of ill-informed writings of one sort and another, the general public may take suddenly to the air in a series of contraptions and in a variety of weather conditions on the understanding that it is " all quite easy." And so it is—but not quite as easy as all that. Almost anybody can be taught to fly and a very big proportion can be made into sound, careful and safe pilots. But it takes • time, good training, and a thorough understanding of the whys and wherefores. Obviously, there will need to be an overhaul of the amateur licence situation as soon as the war is over. Although, because of the good sense of club instructors and others, it was not then altogether obvious—the licence arrangements in pre-catastrophic days were ludicrous. They dated, with very little change, from the early years of flying when it was something of a miracle to be airborne at all, and when the tests for an R.Ae.C. Certificate could not be made more difficult owing to the limitations imposed by the aircraft in use. As far as I can remembeT, all that was necessary for me to do, even in the late twenties, to be considered a theoretically competent aeronaut, was a series of figure-of-eights, with a barograph to show that I had maintained an approximate height of eight hundred feet (!); a " height'' test followed by a rather approxi-1 myte (and lightly watched) motorless '' spot'' landing frorfr ie_ particular altitude; and the verbal production of a accurate series of replies to questions covering erything\from the laws of passage over alien countries to kind of^ghts carried by out-of-control navigable bal- at nighY Thereafter, in order to obtain a renewal tfiis licencel it was only necessary for me to put in a pl period ol not less than three hours annually as the lot of a heayier-than-air machine. Ground '' Cramming '' The conditions for a " B " licence were very little less rchaic anp could be rapidly covered, with & little air and ground '^Cramming," during a period of weeks. But, here, arrangements of employment and insurance, with the fact thatJne licence had to be endorsed for each separate type, braflght things under control, and the comparative ease of Te '' examinations'' and requirements at least made it possible for impecunious enthusiasts to "earn while they learnt." If the minimum experience requirements had been increased to suit general transport flying conditions, many scores of potentially excellent professional pilots would have been unable to continue with their self-train- ing. So we can leave the professional licences happily in the hands of the operators, pilots' unions and the Air Ministry. The question is—what form should the amateur licence (or licences) take in immediately post-war years ? For very much the same reasons as those for which an easy " B " licence may be considered to be to everyone's advantage, some form of easy preliminary licence will need to be retained- so that the civil-trained amateur may be in a position to gain the necessary experience in comparative : freedom. But this freedom should be modified until such a time as he or she has obtained the requisite number of hours in different '' exercises'' and is able to pass fairly stringent flying tests and examinations. Thereafter, a higher class of licence would give its owner complete free- dom within the bounds of air Taw and usage in different areas and countries. During the intermediate period there would be no need for the amateur to feel any obvious restrictions unless he happened to be a particularly moronic type in whom the instructors felt no confidence. And if, by reason of age or general inaptitude, he was unable to gain the higher class he would still, as an owner, hirer, or "club member, be able to fly about the place more or less as he pleased But with one largely unnoticed restriction: he would not ( be permitted to authorise his own flights. Instructors or flying control officers would need to " vet." his plans before he would be permitted to take off, and any infringement of this rule, or deviation from the pre- arranged schedule, would possibly, involve him in t!i<; suspension, for a time, of his "primary" licence. The
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