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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0157.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 January 1953 155 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of''Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; tne names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Failure by the Flying Clubs ? HHHHHHHHKHHHHHi TTHE article by Capt. R. E. Gillman, "Have the Flying Clubs -•- Failed," m the January^th issue of Flight interested me very greatly, because the policy which he so enthusiastically advocates has been pursued by the Popular Flying Association ever since its foundation as the Ultra Light Aircraft Association in 1946, and the Association's affiliated Groups have amply proved the possibilities of such schemes. Experience has shown that normal light aircraft can be operated at less than £2 per hour. There are, however, one or two points that the article raises which are worthy of closer attention. The first is the misappre hension that qualified instructors are readily available to give their services just for the sake of flying. Unfortunately this is not the case, and one of the biggest problems facing the Groups today is this shortage of suitable instructors; and if Capt. Gillman knows of any of these paragons he mentions I shall be delighted to hear from him. Secondly, whilst the resuscitating of old aircraft is a fascinating and educational hobby it is not always the quickest and cheapest way of getting a group of enthusiasts airborne. Serviceable second hand light aircraft can be bought cheaply today and finance on attractive terms is available, as many of our Groups can tell. Thirdly, the properly constituted co-ownership group does qualify for petrol tax rebate, and Groups have participated in the scheme since its inception. Fourthly, there are considerable concessions in respect of main tenance to "public transport" standards which have been granted to Groups by the Minister of Civil Aviation and which greatly help toward easier and cheaper maintenance and operation. One of the Association's Groups has now completed over 1,000 hours' flying, mostly in the last two years, has had twelve Private Pilot's Licences granted to members and has another batch of six almost completely trained, all at under £2 per hour. Other Groups can show records almost as good. With Capt. Gillman, we believe in getting on with the job instead of moaning and waiting for a "hand-out," and we shall be delighted to show other enthusiasts exactly how it is done. London, W.i. MAURICE O. IMRAY. Secretary, Popular Flying Association. THE article by Capt. R. E. Gillman on the flying clubs should raise a number of eyebrows and, I hope, spur a few people into action, but I doubt whether it will do the latter. As he says, there is complete lethargy throughout the club and private flying move ment and it is difficult to arouse any genuinely active enthusiasm. Even in the Vintage Aeroplane Club, which draws its members from the entire country, the number of entries for any competitive events never amount to two figures. Also, from a membership of very nearly two hundred, it is a difficult task to form an active committee of eight! This, too, in an organization that is essentially an association of enthusiasts and in no way a normal flying club. As for advanced flying instruction being made available at clubs, this is most certainly to be encouraged, but the average member aspires to nothing greater than the ability to potter about the right way up, take the girl-friend for a trip and occasionally land at another airfield. However, this is not to say that a further interest cannot be instilled into some pupils, and an effort should be made to feed these interested parties with the appropriate fodder right from the start. This creates a completely different attitude towards this flying game, and an introduction to spirited handling at an early stage must make its mark for the remainder of that member's flying days. I am not trying to imply that each club pupil can or should be made into a budding fighter pilot, but if a member learns some thing of an aeroplane's capabilities and realizes that stoogemg round in the local area is not necessarily the be-all and end-all of the sport, he becomes interested in more advanced activities. With this in mind we make a habit here of introducing the feeling of inverted flight and unusual positions as soon as a pupil is happy enough to try it. At the end of each Sunday's activities I ask who would like fifteen minutes aerobatics in a Magister and it inevitably leads to the tossing of a coin to decide who should go—and many of the willing customers are people who have not yet flown solo. This, I hope, will lead to such pupils having greater ambitions for themselves at later stages in their training; but, m the mean time, if any otherwise-qualified pilots are anxious to learn either formation flying or aerobatics, we are more than pleased to accommo date them. > DAVID F OGEVY, Elstree, Herts. C.F.I., Elstree Flying Club. The Hook Hydrofin in America (see letter below). Hydro-skis and Hydrofin I" WAS interested to read the article about hydro-skis in Flight -•- of December 5th, and I note that you mention the Hook Hydrofin, albeit somewhat in the past tense. It seems to me that your readers would be interested in knowing that the Hydrofin was never designed or intended for use on air craft which take off from protected waters where incidence con trol of the foils is not required; also, that the Hydrofin is very much alive and very active in the States. It would appear that the respective spheres of usefulness of the hydrofoil and the hydro-ski are now becoming clear:— Hydro-ski.—Low efficiency (worse than a planing bottom) but convenient for aircraft on protected waters, because easily re tracted into the hull. Allows a good aerodynamic hull to be used on a marine aircraft. Hydrofoil.—High efficiency (better than planing bottom); can supply constant lift over rough water, thus eliminating all bumps if the incidence is suitably controlled either manually or by predictor with powerful damping. Although complete retraction is now provided it is admittedly more complex for the hydrofoil with prediction gear since air drive was ruled out. To compensate for this the passage over a rough sea that would give 6-8 g in a planing hull is accomplished on hydrofoils with \ g only, so that the perfect cross-channel dash is just around the corner. Miami, Florida. CHRISTOPHER HOOK, Atlantic Hydrofin Corporation. Approach Obstructions IT would appear from B.E.A's report on the Viking accident at Nutt's Corner that the primary cause of loss of life and injury was the disintegration of the aircraft after striking a building on the approach path—presumably close to the airfield. In view of the fact that, in emergency, an aircraft might be obliged to approach below the glide path, why are such obstruc tions allowed to be built, or to remain ? Every time I come past the east end of London Airport I wonder to myself what chance a crippled aircraft would have on the fantastic "griddle irons" which exist there to support the approach fights, let ajpne the very substantial brick building which also exists on the approach path actually within the airfield boundary. Surely the lights could be sited on either side of the path, as on some Service airfields in this country, and the building removed ? Apart from this aspect of this unfortunate accident I feel that thanks are due to Mr. Peter Masefield for his initial report which followed soon after the occurrence. London, S.E.19. H. CLIFFORD BARSON. Reproof—in Rhyme ALTHOUGH I do not normally - Find cause to write to you so formally, I must object when Admiral Slattery Is subject to such blatant Flattery. It might be taken as a slight From any other source than Flight. Belfast. D. REITH-LUCAS. [In a recent paragraph an "F" exchanged itself with an "S": our apologies to Short Brothers' chairman—and congratulations to their Mr. Keith-Lucas on his poetic talents.—ED.]
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