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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0446.PDF
372 FLIGHT APRIL 8TH, 1948 instances in which disaster was averted by an uncom- fortably narrow margin. The summer season is approaching, and with it there will be increased activity at the clubs, in spite of all the obstacles raised by abolition of the basic petrol ration, the high tax on fuel and the general economic stringency. As our correspondent points out, it is up to the clubs themselves to see that members obey the regulations, and his suggestion that safety committees be set up in all the clubs, and that they be given powers to suspend members who contravene the regulations, is well worth a study. There may be cases when the rules of the club would have to be amended to give such safety com- mittees the necessary powers, and it may be necessary to call extraordinary general meetings. But the effort is worth making if it results in the summer of 1948 being free from accidents due to irresponsible exuberance. Flying-Boat OperationW HEN he officially opens B.O.A.C.'s new marine base at Southampton Docks next Wednesday, the Minister of Civil Aviation may make some reference to the future of flying boats in general. The position has been under consideration for a long time, and the non-committal reply which Lord Nathan gave in the House of Lords some time ago did not deny that the three big Saunders-Roe SR/45S might be scrapped ; it merely stated that they would be considered '' on their merits," whatever that may have meant. It appears that, in spite of its present forced employ- ment of flying boats, and its lauding of them for pas- senger-getting purposes, B.O.A.C. is not very interested and does not intend to use this type of aircraft longer than necessary. Doubtless this view is due largely to the fact that on the Empire routes the corporation has to provide its own marine bases. B.S.A.A., on the CONTENTS Outlook Intercepters- ------ Here and There Civil Aviation News Hoverfly Modern Trainers Athena Advanced Trainer - The R.A.F.V.R. - Tarmac Control - ----- Speed Recording- - - - Correspondence- - Service Aviation ------ Forthcoming Events, page 395 371 373 376 378 381 382 383 389 390 392 395 396 other hand, is believed to be in favour of flying boa\* and certainly that corporation's new chief executive, Air Commodore Brackley, is not anti-flying boat. The fact that B.S.A.A. grew out of the private company formed by shipping interests may also tend to give the board a more informed appreciation of how flying boats can and should be used. Nor should it be forgotten that, in connection with trying to effect economies in the running of the three corporations, the suggestion has been made that B.S.A.A. should be given the North Atlantic as well as the South Atlantic route, an alto- gether more logical arrangement than the present. To scrap the three Saro boats would be to abandon for all time any hope of having an alternative to the large landplanes, should this later prove desirable. It is to be hoped that the Government will not repeat the mistake made after the first world war, when a large Supermarine flying boat was "discontinued" after being nearly completed. SCRAMBLE : With their Rolls-Royce Derwent V turbojets at full throttle, a section of Chster Meteor IV intercepter fighters hastily departs from Horsham St. Faith. Some account of the work of these fighters—the fastest in service with any air force—is given in the following pages.
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