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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1561.PDF
SEPTEMBER IITH, 1947 FLIGHT 993 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS FORERUNNER. The Hermes Mark II which will be flown exclusively for testing purposes. M.C.A. Traffic Scheme Ready for Operation : Air Transport Meeting in S. Africa : America Decides Against Chosen Instrument HERMES II—FIRST FLIGHTA T Radlett, on August 2nd, the prototype Handley PageHermes flew for the first time, and test flying continued during the remainder of last week. It is understood that theaircraft behaved well and showed every indication of being a very promising civil transport. This aircraft, which is knownas the Mark II, will be the only one of its kind and is a proto- type for the Hermes Marks IV and V. It will be extensivelytested in the air, and pressurization, air-conditioning and sound-proofing of the fuselage will each be the subject ofspecial tests. Whereas the Mark II has a tail-wheel under- carriage, the Marks IV and V are designed with a nose-wheel.They will be 6oin longer in the fuselage forward of the wings and iooin aft of the wings. The standard production modelwill also be equipped with a scanner in the nose for search radar. Handley Page are expecting to make first deliveriesof the Mark IV to B.O.A.C. by the middle of next summer, and by the beginning of 1949 they hope to be producing at therate of four each month. Twelve Mark IV Hermes have been ordered for the Empire routes. TRAFFIC CONTROL SCHEMEO WING to manning difficulties the Ministry of Civil Aviationare still unable to put into effect an air traffic control scheme for the United Kingdom. In the March 20th issue of FlightC \ for a provisional scheme was outlined. This scheme hasbeen approved and regulations have been printed in a e to Airmen with October 1st as the effective date. TheMinistry, however, are unable to bring the scheme into opera- tion until man-power is made available by the Ministry ofLabour. Control will affect only scheduled aircraft flying in Instrument Flight Rule conditions, and all other aircraft arestill allowed to fly according to Visual Flight Rule conditions. Flight Information Regions have been formed to cover thewhole of the United Kingdom, and in the south-east and south-west of England there are two Control Areas in whichmore strict control will be attempted. Aircraft without radar aids will not be permitted to fly in the controlled areas whenInstrument Flight Rule conditions are in force. The Ministry possesses no mandatory power for enforcing the regulations,but legislation will eventually grant such powers and enable action to be taken against offenders. When eventually thescheme is put into operation there will be little more actual control than at present, but the air traffic control organizationshould have more precise information of the movement of aircraft. As well as safeguarding the movement of passenger aircraft in the air it will make all users conscious of control,so that as radar aids develop and lightweight radio sets become available, complete control will be more easily introduced andall users, including scheduled line, charter companies, private owners and the Services will have had useful experience. This attempt by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to createsome order in the air is by no means premature and is in accordance with I.A.CO. requirements. Holland already hasa similar scheme in operation, and France, Portugal and Bel- gium are developing air traffic control on the area system. SOUTH AFRICAN AIR COUNCIL TRANSPORT ON August 18th and 19th the South African Air TransportCouncil met at Victoria Falls. Representatives of South Africa, N. and S. Rhodesia, Nyasaland and East Africa terri-tories, and members of all the Government air lines concerned, B.O.A.C., South African Airways, Central African Airwaysand East African Airways, were there. The chairman was Colonel Sir Ernest Guest, Minister for Defence and Air, South-ern Rhodesia, and the British delegation was led by Sir Frederick Bowhill. There was a significant tendency in the discussions to safe-guard the interests of the various governments' '' chosen instru- ments," and it was decided that the applications received fromsome European countries to fly over South African territories would have to wait until more concrete proposals were made.It was decided to recommend that all non-scheduled operators should be more stiictly licensed and controlled than they wereat present. By the end of September all the member countries of the Council will be required to make a survey of existingequipment and make recommendations for the future needs of air transport.It was decided to provide three air-traffic control centres at Nairobi, Salisbury and Johannesburg. It was also decidedto adopt the. quadrantal height system of separation for air- craft and to create a new communications system to adviseoperators at short notice on the state of airfields and services. Salisbury (Southern Rhodesia) is to be responsible for investi-gating accidents in that country, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, but Pretoria will be responsible for South Africa,Tanganyika," Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar. It is understood that the British delegation saw the latestdevelopments at the B.O.A.C. flying-boat base at Victoria Falls. The main alighting place is a stretch of water 500 ydswide and 2,500 yds long on the Zanibesi about three miles
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