FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1948
1948 - 2074.PDF
678 FLIGHT DECEMBER gra, 1948 Is there, then, no way out? Is there no way in which civil aviation can be made into a paying proposition? Frankly, we believe the answer is No, if we are honest about the matter and willing to bear in mind all those costs and expenses which have to be paid before aircraft can fly regularly on our routes. That is not to say, of course, that no attempt should be made to improve matters, and to aim at making the losses, open and hidden, as small as possible. The Remedy MR. EDWARDS suggested several ways in whichgreater economy might be achieved, the mostfundamental of which was the greater use of variants of a basically good aircraft instead of being for- ever chasing after something just a little better. The cold, hard fact is that this country cannot afford the production of a multiplicity of new prototypes. Not that it is suggested that we should abandon all long-term planning. It is obviously wise to look ahead so as to bring in something very advanced in a few years' time. A case in point is the de Havilland D.H.106. But just how much can be achieved with a basically good design is indicated by another de Havilland machine, the Mos- quito, which had appeared in many roles before the war ended and excelled in them all. There will not be general agreement with such a policy. Many operators will demur, especially those who are so fond of claiming that they could make flying pay if only they could get the right aircraft at the right time and at the right price. The fact is that the operators, at any rate the three Corporations, should be prepared to sacri- fice something in operational economy for the lower first cost that would result from the use of a variant of an existing type. CONTENTS Outlook Manning the R.A.F. Here and There - - . - Civil Aviation News - - - - Two Important Years - Schiphol Helicopter Problems Development of the Mamba - Development of a New Aircraft - Correspondence Service Aviation Forthcoming Events page 703 677 679 682 684 687 689 694 696 709 702 704 The old controversial subject of conversions from military to civil types was raised again and brought into focus by Mr. Edwards, who said that civil aircraft should be derived from basic military types, the original speci-. fication being laid down by the Director of Requirements at the Air Ministry, who should be advised by civil operators. With recent experience of conversions and stop-gap aircraft in mind, that suggestion may well seem to some a retrograde step. Much will, however, depend upon the actual aircraft types involved. The Royal Air Force never had sufficient transports of the right kind during the war. It is to be expected that, apart from any jet bombers it will have in future, it will need large numbers of transports, and already we have one good ex- ample of what can be done : the Handley Page Hastings and Hermes. It is to be assumed that B.O.A.C. will have to pay considerably less for the Hermes, owing to its community of components with the Hastings, than if that machine had to be a§B»|med and built as an en- tirely new type. And the Hermes certainly does not look like being an inferior type of civil transport. GETTING THEIR SEA LEGS : De Haviliand Sea Vampires have lately operated for the first time in a Naval exercise. They are seen aboard H.M.S. Illustrious, from which they were flown by officers of the Carrier Trials Unit. As a culmination of the exercises now under way (during the early stages of which Fairey Barracudas delivered a torpedo attack) R.A.F. bombers will simulate the dropping of an atom bomb on Naval units, and short-range strike aircraft will go into action. B 10
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
