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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 2110.PDF
i36 FLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION . . . THE NEW A.T.A.C. PI reply to a question by A. Cdre. A. Harvey (Con., Maccles field) in" the House of Commons on July 24th, Mr. A. Lennox- Boyd, the Minister of Civil Aviation, announced that the recon stituted Air Transport Advisory Council would consist of Lord Terrington (chairman), Viscount Runciman, Sir John Ure Primrose, Mr. Gerard D'Erlanger and Mr. J. J. Taylor. A. Cdre. Harvey congratulated the Minister of Civil Aviation on obtaining the services of such highly-qualified gentlemen for this very important task, but his feelings were evidently not shared by Mr. Frank Beswick (Lab., Uxbridge) who asked the Minister if he did not really think the usefulness of the Council had come to an end, and that it would be better if he [the Minister] took full and sole responsibility for the damage he was about to do. Mr. Lennox-Boyd replied that all the Council members approached their tasks with the utmost optimism. The A.T.A.C., set up in 1947 by Order in Council in accordance with the Civil Aviation Act (1946), is responsible for considering any representation made to it by the public concerning the adequacy of the facilities provided by the Corporations, or con cerning charges made for such facilities, and to consider questions referred by the Minister of Civil Aviation. The Council has not the executive powers of a tribunal, but makes recommendations to the Minister, who then decides what action shall be taken. The chairman, who is appointed by the Lord Chant*llor, must be a barrister, advocate or solicitor of not less than seven years' standing. Members who are appointed by the Minister must not be less than two nor more than four in number. Of the members, at least one must be experienced in the operation of air-transport services and at least one experienced in the operation of the other transport services. No member or employee of the Corporation can be a member. The primary task of A.T.A.C. is to consider applications from independent operators wishing to fly scheduled services under Associate Agreements (the technical contraas enabling private companies to take part in activities originally reserved by Act of Parliament for the State-owned Corporations). Now that increased opportunities have been promised to the independents, the importance of this aspect of the Council's work will increase pro portionately. When he first announced the new policy, Mr. Lennox-Boyd indicated that he would prefer the A.T.A.C. to be given statutory licensing powers comparable with those of the QANTAS APPOINTMENT A VETERAN pilot of Qantas Empire Airways, Capt. L. R. Ambrose, has been appointed the company's manager in London. After learning to fly in 1927 and spending several years with the R.A.A.F., Capt. Ambrose joined Qantas in 1935 as a first officer, attaining command in 1937. Probably the most important of the many special flying assignments he received during the war was that of taking part in the historic Ceylon-Perth flights (3,500 miles non-stop) by which Qantas Catalinas restored the Com monwealth air-link during the war. Together with Capts. Tapp and Crowther, he received the Johnston Memorial Navigation Trophy for this work. Other war-time tasks performed by Capt. Ambrose included the ferrying of Catalinas from the U.S.A. to Australia for the R.A.A.F.; the establishment of Tjilatjap, in Southern Java, as a flying-boat base after the fall of Malaya; and taking troops into New Guinea by flying-boat during the Aus tralian advance there. After the war, as the company's senior pilot, Capt. Ambrose supervised the training of new pilots, opened a twice-weekly Lancastrian flight between Australia and Japan and, in 1949, made the first Sydney-Johannesburg flight by a direct crossing of the Indian Ocean. As recounted in Flight of July 18th, the result of this pioneering survey will be the inauguration, next Septem ber, of a regular Constellation service along the same route, with the same stopping points—Perth, the Cocos and Mauritius (the Constellation proving flight for this service made its departure from Sydney on schedule last Friday, under the command of Capt. K. G. Jackson). For the past three years, Capt. Ambrose has been Qantas manager in Singapore. NEW AFRICAN AIRFIELD PILOTED by W/C. A. N. Francombe, D.S.O., deputy general •*- manager of East African Airways Corporation, a Dakota recently landed on the new runway at Mtwara, Tanganyika. W/C. Francombe satisfied himself that the runway, 4,000ft long and looft wide, is suitable for the opening, in the near future, of a bi-weekly Dakota service from Nairobi. At present there are no buildings at the airfield, but construc tion by the public works department is about to begin under the supervision of the provincial engineer, Southern Province. American Civil Aeronautics Board. To confer such powers, how ever, would have involved a change in legislation—which the Government were not prepared to attempt, for the present at least. The uncompromising attitude of the Opposition towards the new policy seems to have persuaded the Minister to "play- dDwn" the idea of forming a British C.A.B.-equivalent; indeed, more recently he has tended to stress the fact that A.T.A.C. is still an advisory body, and that the final right to authorize new scheduled services by private companies will remain in Govern ment hands. There follow notes on the careers of the members of the Council:— LORD TERRINGTON, K.B.E., is aged 64, was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, and was called to the Bar in 1911. He was a Principal Assistant Secretary Of the Ministry of Labour and National Service from 1941 to 1944, and has been a member of the National Arbitration Tribunal (now the Industrial Disputes-Tribunal) since 1944, becoming chairman of the Industrial Court in 1946. On the setting-up of the A.T.A.C. in June, 1947, he was appointed chairman. Since 1949, he has been Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman of Committees, House of Lords. VISCOUNT RUNCIMAN, O.B.E., A.F.C., is 52 and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. A director of Walter Runciman and Co., Ltd., and other shipping companies, he is also president of the Institute of Naval Architects and this year became president of the Chamber of Shipping. He was director-general of B.O.A.C. from 1940 to 1943. SIR JOHN URE PRIMROSE, D.L., J.P., is 52; he was educated at Kel-vinside Academy, Glasgow, and Stanley House, Bridge of Allan, Perth shire, and has served in the Navy (1914-18) and the Army (1939-45). He is a director of several companies, and a member of both the. Aero drome Owners' Association of Great Britain (as chairman from 1939-43) and the Scottish Advisory Council for Civil Aviation. He has been a member of the A.T.A.C. since its inception in June, 1947. GERARD JOHN REGIS D'ERLANGER, C.B.E., is 46 and was educated at Eton. He is a director of several companies and is well known in aviation circles as a director of British Airways from 1935-40, the war-time commander of the Air Transport Auxiliary, 1939-45, as a member of the B.O.A.C. board from 1940-46 and as B.E.A. chairman from 1947-49. JOSEPH JOHN TAYLOR, O.B.E., who is 56, has been secretary and general manager of the Workers' Travel Association since 1948. He is the hon. treasurer of the A.R.B. and was a member of the Courtney Committee on the Tudor. BREVITIES REPRESENTATIVES of Folkestone Town Council visited the M.C.A. last week to discuss the possibility of buying Lympne Airport, offered for sale by the Ministry many months ago. * * * Douglas Aircraft Corporation has decided to move its European H.Q. from Brussels to Geneva early in September. * * * Net profit of American Airlines in the first half of 1952 was $5.im (about £i.8m), compared with 15.78m during the same period last year. r * * * Mr. A. E. Robinson, B.E.M., has joined East African Airways as engineering manager; from 1948 until recently he was with Aden Airways as chief engineer. * * * The annual conference of the Aerodrome Owners' Association will this year be based in London; members are advised to note the dates—September 24th and 25th—and to make early reserva tions for accommodation. * * * Following the resignation, last week, of Mr. John Tyzack, B.E.A.'s director of administration services, Mr. Peter Masefield (chief executive) said that no successor would be appointed: development of the organization made the post no longer necessary. * * * C.A.B. authority was recently given to Seaboard and Western Airlines to operate 72 monthly long-range flights, additional to its present operations, and not 12 as originally reported. Seaboard, who operate nine DC-4S on a non-scheduled basis, have permission to carry 40 per cent freight on the outward legs of these trips, and 100 per cent on return to the U.S. * * * Freighters of Silver City Airwavs flew both the French and Egvptian Olympic horse teams from Paris to Helsinki. Other military loads carried by S.C.A. included the bands of the Queen's Own Hussars and the Royal Marines, both recently flown to France with their instruments. Most of the other charter flights made by the company lately, have carried pigeons or racehorses.
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