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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0078.PDF
66 FLIGHT JANUARY IOTH, 1947 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS Small Aircraft and Noise : Springbok Service : A.O.A/s Future Fleet FLOATING DOCK: A close-up ofthe landing stage at the end of the pier at Hythe, the B.O.A.C. flying-boat base. Passengers are saved the inconvenience of boarding bylaunch. LACK OF IMAGINATION? t/ AN urgent Notice to Airmen has just been issued warningpilots of aircraft taking off or landing at airfields whichare bounded by roads, that they must, whilst crossing the road in flight, maintain an altitude as high as possible above thesurface of the road. This, the Notice states, is essential in order to avoid both the risk of collision between aircraft androad vehicles, and the risk of accidents to such vehicles caused by distraction oi the driver's attention. It is almost necessary to apologize for the Ministry's ignor-ance of the practical business of flying aircraft. It would appear that this Notice was issued without reference to anyof those ex-pilots who now aid the Minister in his drive for safety in the air. To many readers it will probably appear too elementary toexplain that the pilot of a large aircraft ceases to think about the boundary of the airfield probably two or three hundredyards before the aircraft actually passes over it. He is far too concerned with the runway several hundred yards ahead toworry about obstructions immediately beneath him. It is difficult, also, to imagine an airline captain keeping" as high as possible" during a blind approach just to avoid risking the neck of some motorist who, filled with morbidcuriosity and wondering if he will witness a sensational crash, fails to look where he is going.It Will be remembered that last autumn, at Weston-super- Mare, an accident occurred which resulted in the death of sevenairmen. A Boston was making a normal approach to land over a public thoroughfare, when the undercarriage struck adouble-decke'r bus on which the airmen were travelling. The usual notice was there, warning surface traffic to "beware oflow-flying aircraft." There was a hope at the time that the authorities, police and civil, might be stirred into action atthose other places where all the ingredients for a similar occur- rence existed, for the very same thing, or even worse, mighthappen any day at Northolt, and later on at ^eathrow, unless the Bath Road'is diverted. Also, the rate of climb of a heavily laden aircraft developingengine trouble during take-off is slow, slower than normal, and ihtt height at which it passes over the boundary of the airfieldmay not be wholly controllable by the pilot. The danger exists hot only to surface vehicles, for during anapproach at night the pilot is fully occupied, and the distrac- tion of motor car head lights flashing across his approach pathdoes not ease his state of mind. Better than warning pilots to take care, it would surely be safer to install a system of trafficlights on the thoroughfare, operated from the flying control tow-er, making the approaches across the road clear of trafficwhilst aircraft fly across. Also, as an aside, might not. that piece of Western Avenuealongside Northolt be a "built-up area" for traffic control purposes ? The combination of air-minded dawdlers and high-speed motorists makes it a highly lethal piece of macadam. AIRCRAFT NOISE y AN attempt is being made iu America to reduce the nuisance "to the public of the noise made by small aircraft. The Tech- nical Development Service of the C.A.A., in co-operation withthe Aircraft Owners and Pilots' Association, is conducting a, study of aircraft noises at airports. This will include the classifi-cation of the noise characteristics of each aircraft, and the data will be published. The two organizations will then make athorough examination of a representative group of the public to determine the noise level acceptable to the average com-munity. From these data the C.A.A. hopes to arrive at a ' maximum rating above which the noise of private aircraftmust not go. ' The A.U.P.A. intend to keep their members informed of "which aircraft meet the standards, and will encourage private • airport owners to exclude from airport use those types which .do not meet them. Mr. J. B. Hartranft, manager of A.O.P.A.,; has stated that the National Advisory Committee for Aero- "nautics has developed a method whereby aircraft noise can be reduced to a minimum and there is no longer any excusefor the present high level of noise. Tests have been conducted with eight-bladed airscrews, which are believed to reduce thislevel below the objectionable range. Once airscrew noise is reduced, then serious thought can be given to the work of;'reducing engine noises. It is believed that some airports in ."'. America have already excluded certain types of aircraft forthis very reason. Over here, too, there is a growing tendency for the ordinaryperson to be impatient over "unnecessary" aircraft noise. The passages of military aircraft and civil transports areaccepted as inevitable evils, but the same tolerant-attitude is certainly not extended to the owners or pilots of light air-craft. These last tend, in any case, to be more irritatingly noisy and remain for a longer period within aural range. THE SPRINGBOK ROUTE / A SURVEY party from the United Kingdom and SouthAfrica visited, a short time ago, airfields on the England- South Africa route. During the visit of Lord Knollys toSouth Africa the problems of operation were discussed between B.O.A.C. and South African Airways in the light of existing,circumstances and aircraft delivery difficulties. Agreement has been reached on the broad principle that the parallelpartnership between B.O.A.C. and South African Airways for the operation of services between the two countries shouldbe maintained, and until suitable aircraft of British design are available South African Airways will provide Skymasteraircraft. At the same time B.O.A.C. will establish a new ilying-boat service to Vaaldam, Johannesburg. These serviceswill start when South African Airways' Skymasters are available which, it is expected, will be about August or Sep-tember, and the flying-boat route will be opened when
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