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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1460.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2365 Vol. 65. FRIDAY, 21 MAY 1954 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry, Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgo.ce. Telegrams, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE: Power for Air Transport 638 Past, Present and Future 643 Transport Aircraft 1954 645 Air Commerce - - - 660 The Airliner of the Future 672 The World's Airlines - 675 Britain's Independent Operators - - - - 679 Business with Pleasure AMONG various important aspects of air transport—the subject of this special issue J\ of Flight—are two which deserve separate consideration. The first is competition, i* and its effects upon the development of civil aviation. Our own studies convince us that, without the stimulus which competition affords, the post-war airline industry would still be little more than half-way towards its present size and status. The steadily diminishing cost of air travel has, of course, been the prime factor behind its acceptance by the public as an everyday means of transport in most parts of the world. Theory might say that smaller numbers of larger airlines could carry the traffic more cheaply still. Experience has shown that small airlines with low over head costs, plus the spirit of enterprise which very often tiirives best in such organiza tions, have taken the first steps towards offering cheaper air travel. Bigger companies, sometimes reluctantly, have followed suit and have afterwards found it worthwhile to do so. Competition of this sort has normally been confined to domestic or colonial routes, but its effects have been widespread. The tourist fares policy introduced by the large international airlines, for example, had its origins in the early post-war efforts of the gallant but sometimes unruly American "non-sked" operators flying war-surplus aircraft. With the introduction of tourist fares on a global basis it is now possible to circle the world by air for less than £450. At the same time, it is clear that the community has been adequately safeguarded from the dangers of over-competition between the airlines. Not only have govern ments, by and large, played their part in encouraging an economic degree of healthy competition, but the airlines themselves have evolved, in I.A.T.A., a fair means of protecting both themselves and their passengers from the cut-throat tactics. * The Second Aspect Since the beginnings of powered flight fifty years ago men have taken to the air for the sheer satisfaction of moving in a new dimension. Part of this satisfaction comes from personal mastery of the laws of gravity and the moods of the air, and many fine books have been written on the subject. The contents of this issue, however, remind us that today the great majority of airborne travellers are not pilots but passengers. Despite the disparaging remarks so often made about airline travel—and a marked preference, even in the aviation world, to travel "B.O.A.T." whenever saving of time is not the first consideration—we contend that real satisfaction is to be derived from passive as well as active flight. Admittedly, anxiety occasionally reduces the enjoyment of air travel. This probably applies to knowledgeable people, especially pilots, whose reluctance to leave control of the aircraft in other hands is quickened by every change in sound and attitude. For the majority, however, it is possible to relax in the knowledge that scheduled airline travel is by far the safest type of flying. The visual enjoyment of flight in airliners is benefiting greatly from higher cruising altitudes and, in some cases, the use of larger windows. Even the conquerors of Everest, alone in the Himalayas, were denied some of the sights to be seen in armchair comfort on everyday journeys by airline passengers. With the help of the excellent maps usually issued by airlines to passengers, study of the landscape can be combined with the pleasant exercise of amateur navigation. When sea and land are out of sight there are usually magnificent, ever-changing cloudscapes to be admired. And while it is natural to cavil at the ground part of an airline journey, even the coach ride to the airport and transition through the formalities of departure help to foster that tingle of anticipation which is felt by all but the most blasd of travellers. In bygone years travel was the basis of practically all stories of romance and adventure. There is no reason why this should not be so today, for aviation has added the dramatic element of speed to all the traditional ingredients of travel. C
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