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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0217.PDF
FEBRUARY 3RD, 1949 FLIGHT GLIDING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND B.A.F.O. 1947 1948 Flying hours ... 5,917 Not yet available Launches 46,715 Not yet available Gliding Certificate* "B" 604 640 "C" 341 424 Silver "C" 43 59 Gold"C" ' I I It is doubtful if the number of hours flown this year will exceed 7,000. thusiasts who, left entirely to their own devices, are putting much time and hard work into keeping its price down. Howevei, when the bulk of the results are considered, the French system, in spite of its drawbacks (which, although they appear to be inherent in human nature, can, with care, be minimized), is fully justified. Not only have the French done a lot more gliding, and soaring at all the levels of the art than we have, but many young men, who could not affordto pay for it, have been trained. At their National Champion- ships this year men in their early twenties were prominent.At the F.A I. Competition in Switzerland this year our excel- lent and tragic national team were compared by a Swiss paperto a select group of Oxford Dons. They were men who had made gliding in England before the war and had also the taskof resuscitating it unaided afterwards. The bulk of our Silver " C "s for this year are men who were at it ten years ago andhave now taken advantage of the improved equipment avail- able, at a price, to clear up arrears They had earned orcome by enough money to win the coveted badge. Unless some help is forthcoming 1 would not be surprised to see uswinning fewer silver badges this year than the last. With our genius for compromise, can we not combine ourpresent efficiency in the running of gliding clubs with a scheme which would make this king of sports available to the deserv- ing public?—JACQUES COCHEME. The Women's Royal Air Force Conditions Under Which Women Serve with the R.A.F. Outlined bv Air s: Commandant Hanbury ^ - • . AN official statement announcing the introduction, on Feb-ruary ist, of the title "Women's Royal Air Force" to" describe collectively women serving with the Royal Air Force, was published in the previous issue of Flight. The conditions now governing such service were outlined last week by Air Commandant Felicity Hanbury, Director of the W.R.A.F., and are summarized below. The Air Commandant recalled that in May, 1946, the Govern- ment announced that the women's forces would be continued on a voluntary basis as a permanent element of the Armed Forces of the Crown, and in accordance with their decision the Air Council decided that the W.A.A.F. should be incorporated in the R.A.F. and follow the pattern of that force as regards duties and trades. The institution of this regular force had to be delayed pending the necessary legislation to establish the force on a legal basis, and therefore an interim scheme of extended service was introduced to bridge the gap between the wartime and the peacetime services. Meanwhile discussions were going on to reach agreement on the legal measures re- quired and also on the conditions of service. This has now been provided by the Army and Air Force Women's Service Act, 1948, and the broad effect of this is that women may be commissioned and enlisted in the Royal Air Force and also in its reserves and auxiliary forces. Women officers and airwomen will be fully integrated into the R.A.F. and will not be organ- ized as a separate corps or body, though His Majesty has approved the title of " Women's Royal Air Force " to be used to describe the women serving in the R.A.F. Members of the W.A.A.F. do, in fact, serve side by side with men and not as members of a separate organization. It follows as a corollary that women officers should have the same powers of command as men, allowing for their non-com- batant status; officers of the W.R.A.F. will have inherent powers of command as Royal Air Force officers. "I, per- sonally, am confident that the same qualities of tact and good sense which led to their success in their former status will ensure the smooth working of this new arrangement," Air Commandant Hanbury said. Women will be subject to trial by courts martial, but will always be brought before a woman subordinate commander in the first instance- A court martial held for the trial of a woman accused will invariably include at least one woman member and a woman may be president of a court. The Air Commandant said that detention will, in time, be carried out, and that the matter was being discussed in conjunction with the Home Office. Women will be in the same position as their male fellow members of the R.A.F. both as regards their duty to salute all superior officers of the Royal Air Force, male and female, and as regards the right of women officers to be saluted by their juniors in the R.A.F., male and female—previously a matter of courtesy. Members of the W.R.A.F. will receive three-quarters of the men's pay rates but only two-thirds of the pension rates, with the hope of improvement as and when the Government decide to implement their accepted policy of equal pay for equal work. Allowances in lieu of rations or accommo- dation are to remain trie same as the rates for men. It is intended to introduce as soon as possible a scheme and then go on ior their professional and O.C.T.U. twiningas cadets. If successful they would be commissioned and if unsuccessful they would be granted their discharge if theywished to take it. Pending the introduction of this scheme, the recruit with potential officer qualifications will have herpaper marked to that effect and will be kept under observation. Matters concerning the health and moral conduct of womenwhich, by reason of their specifically feminine aspect, are not suitable for administration through normal R.A.F. channels,are dealt with by women officers. Conditions for Married Women Married women will be accepted for service provided theyhave no children under the age of 15 for whom they are legally responsible, and a married woman must also prove that herfamily circumstances are such as will not interfere with her full mobility throughout the period of her service. If an air-woman marries during her service she may be discharged if she so desires, provided her application is made within threemonths after the date of marriage. Airwomen accept obliga- tions to serve in any part of the world (they are at presentserving in the Far East, Middle East and Germany), to fly when required to, and to be subject to the Air Force Act sofar as it may be applied to women. All women now serving will be accepted in the Royal AirForce for the remaining period of their present appointment or engagement, but it is hoped that the majority will under-take periods of further service. For airwomen who prolong their service special benefits have been proposed in the formof an immediate payment of transfer grant and a period of re-engagement leave. Officers will gain by an increase in theirpresent rate of gratuity, but details of these special benefits have not been published. FORNAVIGATION AID EQUIPMENT HELICOPTERS V ~"S IR CYRIL F. ENTWHISTLE, K.C, M.C., Chairman ofDecca Record Co., Ltd., presided at the Annual General . Meeting of the company, which was held on January 20th inLondon. The Chairman spoke of the value of the Decca navi- gator system for both hydrographical and aerial survey workand announced that the R.A.F. squadron engaged on the survey of the whole of Great Britain was using the equipment.Results already obtained have proved that its use is instru- mental in effecting considerable saving, not only in the time ofoperations, but in the cost and time of translating the results of photographs taken. Particularly interesting is the development of the system forhelicopters which has been used by B.E.A. on their experi- mental postal delivery service in East Anglia. Successfulexperiments were made with the track approach system and development work is now in hand to finalize this equipment inaccordance with B.E.A.'s requirements. Sir Cyril was in no doubt as to the future of the Decca system in the helicopterfield, for he said it not only had the advantage of operating at any altitude from the moment the aircraft became airborneto the time of its return but also, due to its ease of reading, whereby young women with a good educational standard will the service of a navigator could be dispensed with. The majorbe able to ioin the W.R.A.F. with a view to training for com- technical development work of the year had been to solve the join missioned rank. trainin They would do recruit training as airwomen problem of "lane identification."
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