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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0251.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 February 1950 165 BRITISH GUIANA'S AIRLINE . . : Colonial Development and Welfare Act. In August, 1946, with the completion of a number of airstrips capable of accommodating suitable freight-carrying aircraft, plans were pushed ahead by the Governor, Sir Gordon Lethem, for the further expansion of the internal air service. In despatching Major Williams to the U.S.A. to purchase two Dakotas, Sir Gordon gave particular attention to the pro- posal for air transport of beef from cattle ianches in the Rupununi to Georgetown. These proposals have since been implemented and have gone a long way towards relieving Georgetown of its periodic beef shortages. Mr. B. C. H. Cross, Air Transport Adviser to the Colonial Office, expressed the opinion that the Colony presented an ideal testing ground for the future of cargo-carrying aircraft in the Empire, and that it seemed very likely that here for the first time in the Colonial Empire '' roads may follow the air." To-day there are more than 40 airstrips in various parts of the Colony's hinterland, including a water landing pool at Baramita, in the North-West District. And at least eleven major American, Canadian and British companies and numerous smaller enterprises and individuals are en- abled to carry on mining operations in the remotest parts of the interior, thus bringing in much-needed dollars. Jeeps, five-ton trucks, tractors with trailers, and sawmilling equip- ment have been flown by Dakotas into the interior. Early last year an air compressor weighing 6,000 ib—the payload capacity of a Dakota—was flown in one unit to the Potaro district for Anaconda Guiana Mines, Ltd. Tractors of 40 h.p. have been flown to the Rupununi and driven off the aircraft under their own power. These developments in aviation have had a most favour- able reaction on the Colony's economy in that they have provided the necessary impetus for (a) the expansion of existing and the development of new interior industries, and, as a corollary, the creation of new labour outlets; and (b) the penetration of the economic possibilities of the vast hinterland, described by Sir Gordon Lethem as a "store-house of riches." British Guiana Airways to-day is experiencing a virtual traffic boom. Passengers and freight hauled to and from the interior during the com- pany's financial year ended September, 1948, reached a record level, with passengers numbering 4,370 and freight totalling 1,216,948 lb, as compared with 2,308 passengers and 1,099,166 Ib for the previous peak year. The upswing in the airline's payload traffic was due primarily to the introduction of low passenger-freight schedules brought into effect on April 14, 1948. With the introduction of the new rates, charter flights took a downward trend but without affecting the volume of traffic hauled. Mining companies in particular found the revised schedules beneficial, and the majority have taken advantage of the weekly mail service to transport their cargo and men, whereas formerly they depended on the comparatively costly charter flights. With the expansion in internal air transport the Govern- ment appointed a Controller of Civil Aviation for the Colony. He is an ex-R.F.C. officer, Maj. Jack Nicole, formerly a senior officer in the British Guiana Police Force, and he functions under the direction of the Director of Civil Aviation in the West Indies, W/C. L. Egglesfield. This appointment is another forward step in the establishment of an internal self-contained air service in the Colony on a sound permanent footing. And Maj. Nicole's knowledge of the problems and his appreciation of the difficulties in operating a bush air service augur well for any new planned developments. In the meantime, Maj. Williams is weigh- ing the possibilities of expanding his fleet by the addition of 12,000 Ib capacity Bristol Freighters, in- anticipation of an even greater demand on his service. FRENCH-BUILT VAMPIRES LAST Friday, January 27th, the first French-built Vampire—'constructed by the S.N.C.A. Sud-Est at Marseilles—flew from Marignan. This is the first machine of a production order of undisclosed size and it is remarkable that it should, in fact, have flown within less than a year: the agreement was signed only last March: The Vampire is Goblin-powered .and was flown by a French pilot. LIGHT AIRCRAFT RADIO ^ SOME further information of interest to potential users oflight-aircraft radio has become available since publication of an article on the subject in Flight of January 19th. The equipment made by Aeronautical Radio Services, Ltd.,now consists basically of a 24-channel (not 11-channel) V.H.F. transmitter-receiver. The following services are available ina single unit: 24-channel V.H.F. transmitter and receiver; M.F. D/F. receiver, incorporating homing, omni and speech;38 and 75 mc/s marker receivers; S.B.A. tunable beacon re- ceiver; and intercommunication. In connection with the combined equipment made by theRomac Radio Corporation, it should be added that these in- stallations were developed by the Nav-Rad Research Co., andare manufactured by Romac under licence. , .. BELFAST REDUNDANCIES AN assurance of every possible Government aid to maintainthe employment level at Short Brothers and Harland, Ltd., Belfast, was given to a deputation from the company by the Minister of Supply, in London, on January 25th. The deputation, consisting of members of the works' Joint Production Consultative and Advisory Committee, expressed concern at the number of redundancies caused by the falling- og of orders from the Ministry. Some 650 employees had already been dispensed with, and the company could not assure the workers that that was the end. The deputation asked the Minister for more work which would make the reinstatement of the discharged workers possible, and for a development of the aircraft industry in Ulster to make it self-supporting in all branches of design and production. In reply to the representative, Mr. Strauss said that no final conclusions has been reached on Shorts' programme. While he could give no specific undertaking, he gave an assurance that he was approaching the problem with a strong desire to help in every way. ' ~ " The Ministry is anxious to do whatever it can to ensureas much work as possible for Short and Harland," he said. "It is a first-class firm in which the government is taking aclose interest, because of the special considerations arising out of the transfer from Rochester." v - .. • MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM CADETS of a South-East Lancashire A.T.C. Squadron—No. 1855 (Royton)—have added to their reputation by becoming the first squadron to have their own motorizedmountain rescue team. Supervised by their Commanding Officer, S/L. .Robert Kenworthy, the scheme has proved asuccess owing to the enthusiasm of the cadets themselves. Of the unit's strength of 130 cadets, 15 of them have beenchosen for the rescue team, the average age being 17. The team was recently called out to scour the moors above Oldfiamfor a missing R.A.F. Mosquito, and also on the occasion oi the B.E.A. Dakota crash at Greenfield. It is hoped that inthe near future the squadron may gain official recognition as a sub-unit of a regular R.A.F. Mountain Rescue Team. " Well, gentlemen—there she is —my answer to the flying wing— the flying tail."
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