FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1946
1946 - 2109.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Editor - -CM. POULSEN Assistant Editor - MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. (W/NG COR.. R.A.F.V.R.) Art Editor • - JOHN YOXALL FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY ZV THE W6RLD •• FOUNDED WO9 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (SO Unas.) COVENTRY : CORPORATION BIRMINGHAM, 2: MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, C2: 8-10, CORPORATIO ST. J*1 N G^ E D WAR D HO^USE, 260, DEANSGATE. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham. Telegrams: Iliffe, Manchester. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Coventry S2I0. Telephone: Midland 7191 (7 lines). Tefephone : Blackfriars 4412. Telephone: Central 48S7 No. 1974 Vol. L. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Abroad : Year, £3 I 0. 6 months, £1 10 6. Registered at the C.P.O. os a Newspaper October 24th, 1946 Thursdays, One Shilling. Outlook Helicopter Development ALTHOUGH the very admjrable lecture given f\ recently by Group Captain Liptrot to the Heli- copter Association dealt with history rather than with the present and future, it served to focus attention on the fact that progress in this country is somewhat slow. It is true that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued specifications of and invited tenders for three classes of helicopter, but the official demands are in- clined to be somewhat "stiff," particularly in the case of the twin-engined 12-seater, of which a rather stringent single-engine performance is asked. A reassuring feature is that the Helicopter Association of Great Britain has now, it seems, been "recog- nized" by the Ministry and is being consulted. Since all the people in this country who have had experience of rotating-wing aircraft are members of the Association, that is a sensible arrangement. But one may well ask what is to happen while these new types are being de- veloped. It will be some years before they can be sufficiently far advanced to be put into service, and in the meantime we shall have no opportunity to get operational experience. During the war, it may be remembered, it was offi- cially announced that we had ordered a number of Sikorsky helicopters. They were intended for anti- submarine work, but th - war picture changed and the Navy lost interest and, presumably, cancelled the order. The R.A.F. and the Army might have made good use of these helicopters, but apparently were never consulted. It might not be a bad idea if the Ministry of Civil Aviation were to order a few from America with which our people could experiment and gain experience while waiting for the British helicopters to materialize. The cost would not be ruinous, especially when compared with that of the American fixed-wing aircraft which the Government has deemed it necessaiy to order. As it is, we have in this country only a handful of old R.4S on which our pilots can keep their hands in, and, apart from the fact that this type is obsolete, the machines are wear- ing out. It is somewhat disquieting to reflect that by the time the new British helicopters are ready we shall have had no operational experience. For This Relief . . .A LTHOUGH some people already knew that the Ministry of Civil Aviation,, following the inevit- ' able outcry, had decided to reduce landing fees tor light aircraft, the announcement of the fact and of the new figures still come as a pleasant surprise. Not only has the somewhat unfair differentiation between grass and runway airfields been waived for aircraft up to a weight of 6,000 lb, but the new figures are reason- ably low in relation to the present cost of things. They make a very real concession to owners of true private aircraft, while leaving the types which might be used for charter or large-scale business communication work still subject to the comparatively high fees presumably necessary towards paying for airfield overheads. It had already been unofficially announced that land- ing fees did not apply to club aircraft at their own bases unless these aircraft were being used for commer- cial purposes, and there is now only one individual who may still consider himself to have been forgotten. This is the club member who keeps his own aircraft at a State-owned airfield and who may wish to make a large number of practice circuits. Here, however, it is prob- able that the owner concerned may, with the help of sensible consideration by the authorities, be able to « arrange for his aircraft to be treated as one belonging to the club concerned. In this case a lot will depend on the attitude, officiously letter-of-the-law or otherwise, taken by the local airfield manager—or whoever may be deputed to collect the necessary fees.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
