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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0303.PDF
MARCH 6TH, 1947 FLIGHT ION NEWS P.I.C.A.O.andLA.T.A. Activities : Air and Surface Transport Figures Compared CROSSING THE BORDER:A B.O.A.C. Constellation flying from Montreal to New Yorkpassing over Lake Champlain. TWO CIVIL AVIATION DEBATESD URING February the Air Navigation Bill passed throughthe Committee stage in the Hoijse of Lords and was read for a second time in the House of Commons. The Bill wasnecessary to., give effect to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the Interim Agreement which were signed atChicago in 1944, and to bring air navigation law in this country , up to date. The more important aspects of the Bill will bereviewed in the next issue of Flight. The civil estimates for 1946-47, in which the Ministry of Civil Aviation asked for sub-stantial sums of money to cover grants to the Corporations and additional administration costs within the Ministry, were alsodiscussed, and are referred to briefly on page 195. More details of this debate will also be given next week. P.I.C.A.O. MEETINGS THE South Pacific Regional Air Navigation Meeting of-»- P.I.C.A.O. began in Melbourne on February 4th and was attended by representatives from twenty-three nations. Thesecretary-general of the meeting was the Assistant Director- General of Civil Aviation in Australia, Capt. E. C. Johnston,and it was the fifth regional meeting arranged by P.I.C.A.O. to implement uniform standards and recommended practices.The previous P.I.C.A.O. regional meetings have covered the North Atlantic, Europe-Mediterranean, the Caribbean and theMiddle East. In addition to considering the application of these standards to the South Pacific region, the conference dis-cussed the value to civil aviation of those facilities developed during the war by the Allied Governments. Dr. Edward Warner, president of the Interim Council ofP.I.C.A.O., attended the conference, and Mr. Drakeford, the Australian Minister for Civil Aviation, welcomed the delegates.The Air Traffic Control Committee recommended that where aeronautical communication channels were available a flightplan should be submitted by the pilot for transmission to the control officer at the destination airfield. In this schemeinternational aircraft would be required to make contact with the appropriate communication station within thirty minutesafter becoming airborne, and thereafter transmit hourly posi- on reports. English was recommended as the primary lan-guage for air traffic control, with the language of the State concerned as the secondary. In order to establish separation between aircraft operatingin areas of high traffic density, it was decided that all flights should be ^regarded as being made in instrument flying con-ditions, and directions to maintain the separation would be given even though it were possible for aircraft captains tomaintain separation visually. It was also agreed that the South Pacific should be divided into flight information regions,each with a traffic control centre with which aircraft would be required to maintain two-way communication. Recom-mended centres were Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Port Moresby, Suva, Manila, Singapore, Guam, Tokyo, Wake,Honolulu, Shanghai, Sourabaya, Oakland and Vancouver. A system of weather-ships similar to those for the Atlantic regionwas also suggested. At a meeting in Montreal, when a multilateral agreementdefining the rights of member nations in international civil air transport was proposed, Sir James Cotton, the Britishdelegate, criticized what he considered to be' a trend in P.I.C.A.O. to regard civil aviation as something to be dealtwith separately from other aspects of international affairs. The sub-committee was divided by four votes to three on the agree-ment of the draft, with Great Britain, the U.S. and China in the minority. PORTSMOUTH PROTESTS THE Government's decision to reject the Pakenham Com-mittee's first recommendation for a marine base at Lang- stone Harbour has caused considerable feeling at Portsmouth.The Portsmouth City Council carried practically unanimously, at a recent debate, a motion that the Council would urgewholeheartedly the establishment by the Government of an Empire air base scheme at Langstone Harbour, and wouldpledge themselves to do all in their power to support the scheme. The local branch of the Air League of the BritishEmpire arranged a mass protest meeting on February 25th, the speakers at which represented various public bodies of theCity and surrounding districts. A resolution was made which is to be forwarded to the highest authority. The resolution stated the meeting's apprehension at theGovernment's decision, and confirmed its belief that the Lang- stone scheme was aflvantageous to national prosperity, beingfinancially, meteorologically and technically superior to other alternatives, including Clifie. It called upon the Governmentto reconsider the decision and adopt Langstone Harbour as the base. The headquarters of the Air League were informed olthe decision to hold a mass meeting by a similar resolution which was passed earlier in the month, and which called uponthe headquarters to use its utmost endeavour in the attain- ment of the object. I.A.T.A. ACTIVITIES _T HE I.A.T.A. sub-committee on Aerodromes, Air Routes andGround, Aids concluded on February 21st a four-day dis- cussion on recommendations to be made to P.I.C.A.O. forhigher standards of safety at international airports. Mr. Kneisel, chairman of the committee, declared that while air-craft and equipment have experienced a revolutionary develop- ment during the war years, air routes, airports, airways andground aids have not kept pace. The discussion covered recommendations on long- and short-range navigational aids,landing facilities, airport site planning and layout, design of terminal buildings, and runways and their dimensions. Thecommittee urged also the quickest action to bring about the installation of high intensity lighting at all international air-ports. ,. Expressing the I.A.T.A. attitude to safety in terms of adoctor's prescription, Mr. Kneisel said that it was made up of one part of adequate runway lengths and clearance, one partof high intensity lighting for both day and night operations, one part of two-way radio communication, one part of goodground traffic and air traffic control, and two parts of adequate
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