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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1602.PDF
366 FLIGHT, 15 September 1949 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. The names and\ addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. RAPIDE REPLACEMENT SINCE the B.E.A. Rapide replacement was first talked of, Ihave not heard a single mention of an aircraft which seems eminently suitable for the job—namely, the Merchantman. The aircraft required is to have four Gipsy Queens. Fitted with these, the Merchantman was designed for a 5,ooolb pay- load, or about 20 passengers. Carrying only 10 or 12 passen- gers—with a correspondingly generous baggage allowance—and with all that Miles flappery, it would seem to fit the 600-yard airfield case very nicely. It has already some flying time behind it (wherever it is now) and it seems to be straightforward and strong—good for humpy airfields—in the established Miles tradition. And Handley Page at Woodley could build it. Unless B.E.A. have set their heart for good on a brand new- design, the Merchantman does seem as worthy of mention as the Dove, Prince or Drover. R. GOADBY. Northwood, Middlesex. CHEAP AIR TRAVEL I AM writing in support of Mr. Keegan's realistic letter(August nth) as regard cutting out the frills of air travel in order to bring down fares to a level within the means of the man in the street. From the outset airlines seem to have been under the impres-sion that a passenger regards travelling by air as an attraction in itself, rather than as a means to an end, namely to getfrom A to B in as short a time as possible. Also, in these days of high taxation (a proportion of whichis attributable to the losses of our nationalized airlines) would- be passengers are more inclined to favour lower fares thansuper first-class luxury, and the sooner the inter-continental corporations realize that it is possible to make passengerscomfortable and satisfied without providing them with small- sized settees (in lieu of seats), cocktail bars, etc., and utilizethe space (and payload) made available by their removal in increasing the seating capacity, the sooner they will be able toreduce fares, thereby increasing load factors and perhaps at some future date emerging from the red. No doubt Mr. Geoffrey Dorman is correct when he statesthat the people of Uganda and Rhodesia find it cheaper to travel to the U.K. by air rather than by rail and sea Thatis their good fortune, but Mr. Dorman's reputation for accuracy is*tjot enhanced by his omission of the fact that thesepeople do not pay the full fare. The rest must be met by the British ta>epayer at the end of each fiscal year! Sunbury-on-Thames, POTENTIAL PASSENGER. Middlesex. BACK TO NATURE ? ALL your correspondents who have been criticizing Mr.Thomas D. Keegan's letter about high airline fares seem tooverlook—just as does Mr. Keegan himself—the basic truth of the whole matter, which is one that you, Mr. Editor, willprobably not be willing to print. In short, it is that flying is an unnatural (or, if you like,unmechanical) method of transport and will never, now or at any time in the future, become an economical proposition. Modern aircraft are fantastic masses of dangerous complica-tion, and use power out of all proportion to their load-moving ability. A railway engine of about 1,500 h.p. moves Goo ormore passengers in safety and comfort; an airliner, running on a lethal fuel, requires about three times that power to moveone-thirtieth the number! Just to keep it in the air, the air- liner needs an incredible organization of weather experts, con-trol officers, radar, radio and other communications apparatus and, for landing or taking-off by night, enough light to illu-minate a small town. And if any one of these human or mechanical brains fails for a few seconds, all sorts of seriouspossibilities loom up. Compare this with the foolproof '' ground '' organization required for operating trains and ships—always essentially simple, and only on a large scale becattse there are so many hundreds of thousands of trains and shipsto be controlled. Your readers will probably tell me that the far greater speedof aircraft more than cancels-out all my objections. Bat what virtue is tbere in speed for its own sake, the curse ofmodern so-called civilization? Most of these airline passengers only use the time gained to drink, in Paris, or New York, orwherever it is, the same drinks that they would be drinking at home if they didn't fly ate.ll; or perhaps to beat the other chapto it on a business deal—an advantage which they could take equally well by telegraph, train or ship if there were no suchthings as airlines. No, to my mind, aircraft should be reserved for their onlyreal use—as weapons of war. In war, nothing is considered too wasteful or fantastic, and none of my objections wouldapply. . 'SOUNDPROOF. - London, S.W.i. AWARDS TO INVENTORS YOUR paragraph (August 25th) on the Air Ministry schemefor awards and recognition for those in the Service who submit ideas and inventions is good news. It is a step forwardin ensuring a fair deal for Service personnel, because it has been the experience of a good many that ideas and inventionswhich they have submitted have been turned down, only to " arrive " in service at a later date. The legal position of a serviceman who proposes an inventionis still most unsatisfactory, however; when the proposer attempts to obtain recognition, the Government departmentconcerned need not deal properly with his representations—be can be told that under Head iii of its terms of reference, theKoyal Commission on Awards to Inventors may enquire into the circumstances of his case if it is referred on behalf ofthe Treasury by the department concerned. Thus, for inventions relating to aircraft, the Ministry ofSupply is responsible for receiving, investigating and using inventions, and ii it turns them down but they arrive inservice, it has the power to refuse, and does refuse, to refer such cases to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventorsto be dealt with on the evidence. A Government department thus plays the part of judge in adisagreement in which it is one of the parties! Serving an.d ex-serving personnel should have the right tobe able to take their cases before the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors which has been set up for the purpose,and the amendment of the regulations to allow this would ensure common justice, whilst also being an incentive torecruitment. I suggest the Staff Suggestions Committee of the Air Ministry Departmental Whitley Council could make a goodstart to their work by getting cracking on this. London, N.W.6. J. R. ANDERSON, (Late Flight Lieutenant, D.F.C., A.R.Ae.S.) FORTHCOMING EVENTS Sept. 15. R.Ae.S. : Fifth British Commonwealth and Empire Lecture, " Inter-City Transport Development on the Commonwealth Routes," E. H. Atkin, F.R.Ae.S. Sept. 20. Aero Golfing Society : Autumn Meeting, Richmond Golf Club, Sudbrooke Park. Sept. 21. R.Ae.S. (Reading) : " Servicing and Maintenance of R.A.F. Aeroplanes," S/L. E. A. Harrop, O.B.E., A.F.R.Ae.S. Sept. 24. Helicopter Association ; "Helicopter Economics," L. S. Wigdortehik, A.F.R.Ae.S. Evening : Annual Dinner. Sept. 24. R.N. Air Station, Yeovilton : Air Display. Sept. 28. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : " Do Scientists know Anything > " C. G. Grey. Oct. I. British Interplanetary Society : Conversazione. Oct. 5. R.Ae.S. (Luton) : Film Show. Oct. 19. R.AcS. (Reading): "Atomic Energy," A. G. Salmon, B.Sc, A.lnst.P. Oct. 19. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : "Aircraft in Future Warfare," Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby, K.B.E., C.B., M.C., D.F.C., A.F.C. Nov. 2. R.Ae.S. (Luton) : " Gas Turbine Development." Nov. 9. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge): "The Brabazon I," F. H. Pollicut, F.R.Ae.S. Nov. 19. British Interplanetary Society : Symposium, " Medical Problems of Space Travel." Nov. 23. ELAe.S. (Reading) : " British Airships," Lord Ventry. Nov. 23. R.Ae.S. (Luton) : Brains Trust. Nov. 30. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : " Radar and Aircraft," B. W. Hodlin, B.Sc. Dec. 3. British Interplanetary Society : Film Show. Dec. 7. R.Ae.S. (Reading): "Forty Years of Aviation," Sir Frederick Handley Page, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S. Dec. 7. rUAe.S. (Luton) ; "Aircraft in Future Warfare," Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby, K.BX, C.B., M.C., D.F.C., A.F.C. Dec. 9. British Interplanetary Society : Annual General Meeting. Dec. 21. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : Films by W. Courtenay, M.M., R.Ae.S. D 16
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