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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0967.PDF
JUNE 12TH, 1947 FLIGHT 561 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible Jor the views expressed bv correspondents. The names and addresses ol Ihe "writers, not necessarily for publication, limsl in all cases accompany tellers PLANNED LABOUR POLICY A.E.A. Claim. Share of Laurels 'T'HE article on Skyways, Limited (Flight, May 29th), in •*• which the remarkable success of this company was rightly hailed, hardly told the whole story. As long ago as August, 1944, you were carrying small space advertisements, on behalf tat this Association, which urged on the then potential civil «-<?&iation industry the necessity of a planned labour policy. 'One of these, for instance, stated "Planning civil aviation is not merely the business of the Government and the air line operators. The skilled technical workers make their contribu- tion in a planned labour policy through their own trade union, the Aeronautical Engineers' Association." I am quite certain that Captain Ashley, Skyways' managing director, would be the first to acknowledge that it was this planned labour policy which played a large part in the organi- zation of his maintenance base and therefore in the overall success of the company. Be it noted also that Skyways, whilst paying higher wages for a shorter working week than almost any other British engineering undertaking, still contrive to be profit-making. How very healthy it would be for British aviation as a whole—not excluding the Government's three Corporations—if the system Skyways have proved to-day was adopted generally and" at once. J. H. STEVENSON. Aeronautical Engineers' Association. P.F.F. BADGE Should it be Retained IT has come to my notice that the privilege of wearing theP.F.F. badge may be withdrawn under modifications now being proposed for R.A.F. Service dress uniform. Although I do not belong to the select few permitted to wear the P.F.F. badge, may I be allowed, through the media of your columns, to protest most strongly against the proposed withdrawal of this little emblem. Surely those who have earned this distinguishing badge through their courage and devotion to duty are not now going to be asked to " take it down." * Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris explains in his book, "Bomber Offensive," how he was forced, against his wishes, but at the direct command of Air Ministry, to form what he was pleased to call a Corps d'Elite, and the Path Finder Force was brought into being. Is the Air Ministry, after two years of peace, going to forget the heroic part played by the Pathfinders and regret the honour it once bestowed upon them? In my opinion these comparatively few historic badges should be cherished rather than withdrawn, for do they not mark a page in the history of our battle to final victory? I am sure that both serving and " civvy street " Pathfinders will agree that the P.F.F. badge must remain. PILOT NON PATHFINDER. ACCIDENT TERMINOLOGY ^ Press Reports Appear Misleading THIS may appear a trivial matter about which to write to i- you, but I am sure you will agree with my point of view. 1 have always abhorred the word "crash " which is so glibly applied to any accident which occurs to an aircraft, no matter how slight. This word has also found its way into the general Press to such an extent that one sees a headline such as this: "Crash 10 Killed, 8 Injured" and on reading the newspaper finds it has been a motor coach accident, or again " Crash—2 Killed," and thinking again of an aircraft crash we read on and find it was some nitwit on a motor cycle with a pillion rider who has crashed into a lamp standard or a wall, killing himself and his passenger. Previous to the adoption by the Press of aviation jargon they would have been called '' serious accidents." It is therefore to be deplored that when mishaps occur (such as a swing off the runway resulting possibly in damage to the undercarriage causing no injury to personnel, an undercarriage collapse due to a bad landing possibly, one machine colliding with another on the ground when taxying, or, maybe, into a hangar door 01 obstruction), they should be spoken of as crashes. In mv view they are not crashes but puivly accidents. General Manager, J. NEVILLE STACK. Hunting Air Travel, Ltd. LEGGING IT ROUND THE ISLAND Why One Gemini Did Not RetractI N your report of the Isle of Man race, you note the fact that both of the Miles Geminis completed part of the course with their undercarriages down. In fairness to the air- craft, I would like to point out that, in my case (Gemini No. 8), it was entirely a case of pilot trouble. The Gemini undercart is operated by electric actuators. There is a master switch for the electrical services, and this I forgot to switch on. Consequently, when I selected "up," nothing happened. I discovered the oversight at the beginning of the second lap) when I attempted to check the fuel gauges HUGH KENDALL. RE-EQUIPPING BOMBER COMMAND Where are the New Prototypes ?T HE declared aim of Bomber Command being, as reported in Flight last week, the creation of a small but very effective striking force, it comes as something of a shock that as yet not a single turbine-powered bomber is flying in Great Britain, though in America trials are under way on several promising designs. Even the Meteor IV, is seems, is not cleared to carry a bomb load. Worse still, the Lancaster, even at this date, has not been entirely superseded in Bornbcr Command by the Lincoln, and apart from the Shackleton— strictly a Coastal Command requirement—no Lincoln develop- ment is foreseen. Obviously, the Americans will have no j%t bomber squadrons for two years or so, although a production order has been placed for one four-jet type, but in the meantime the U.S.A.A.F. will be well served not only by the B-29 Superfortress (a more modern design than the Lincoln), butby its 400-m.p.h. develop- ment, the B-50. Moreover, it will not be long before at least one American squadron will be armed with bombers as large as the Brabazon I. I refer, of course, to the Consolidated Vultee B-36. Can it be that Mr. Chadwick did too good a job in designing the Lancaster, and that its all-round excellence has led to complacency in the technical requirements branch? T. I. MARKER. FORTHCOMING EVENTS. June 14th and 15th.—Royal Artillery Aero Club: Rally. Thruxton airfield. June 14th.—Inst. of Physics : Summer Meeting. " Cathode Emission." June 14th.—Air League of the British Empire : Display at Baginton airfield, Coventry. June Mth. and 15th.—Aero Club de Caen et du Calvados: Anglo-French air Rally. June 20th and 21st.—Derby Aero Club: International air rally. Burnaston Airport. June 21st to 29th.—British Gliding Association : National Gliding Contests. Bramcote airfield, Nuneaton. tune 21st. and 22nd.—Aero Club de I'Ouest de la France, International iir Rally, Angiers. lune 21st. to 23rd.—Aero Club of Namur: International air rally. June 22nd.—Swiss Aero Club: International model contests. June 25th.—S.B.A.C. Annual General Meeting. June 28th.—South Coast Flying Club : Tea patrol, Shoreham Airport. June 28th and 29th.—Luton Flying Club : Summer meeting, display and competitions. June 28th to 30th.—Aero Club of Le Puy en Velay : Rallye Lafayette. June 29th.—Auster Flying Club: Annual air rally. Rearsby airfield, Leicester. July 2nd to 23rd.—Air League of British Empire: Blackpool (Squires Gate) Flying displays with R.A.F. support on 9th, 16th and 23rd. July 4th to 20th.—Brussels International Aero Show. July 6th.—Gloucester Flying Club : At Home and flying display, Staverton airfield. July 12th to Mth.—Deauville International Air Rally. July 13th.—Royal Aero Club of Belgium : International flying meeting at Liege. July 19th to 21st.—International Air Rally at Knocke Le Zoute. July 30th to August 9th.—Aero Club of Switzerland : International gliding contest. Samaden in the Engadine. August 9tH and I Oth.—Southend flying meeting. August 30th and 31st.—Cinque Ports Flying Club: Flying meeting at Lympne airport. Sept. 3rd to 6th.—Royal Aeronautical Society : Aeronautical Congress. Sept. 9th to 12th.—S.B.A.C. Exhibition and Display.
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