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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1437.PDF
27 September 1957 527 too far from the city centre; by its very nature, super-iort-haul traffic demands that surface travelling time be kept to an absolute minimum. This is the basis upon which inter-citycentre helicopter STOL and VTOL services justify their relatively l0w cruising speed and—as there is yet no heliport or STOL basewithin the Metropolitan area—Croydon might well supplant Gatwick to become an ideal proving ground for the first experi-mental services. Aeronautical prophecy is an art too fraught with pitfalls for But to close the airport on this ground to business and lightaircraft is obviously unsound, and a short-term answer to Croydon's air traffic control problem might well be in the extension of thepresent "free-lane" system, which can be operated in considerably poorer weather than the present standards of V.M.C. (which areunlikely to survive much longer). Such a system, given co-opera- tion (and it does not seem unreasonable to demand that all exceptlocal flights should carry radio) is a practical proposition. The principle is to select routes from the airport which, because theyi,. • - ~ -------- principle is to select routes fro the airport which, because they dogmatic assertions to be made with safety. Before Croydon is follow landmarks such as railways or rivers, can safely be flown dismissed as redundant in the scheme of London's airports it in "contact" conditions and would define a path along the narrow between the London and Gatwick Control Zones.dismmight be as well to recall Mr. A. V. Cleaver's remarks in an article in Flight for March 15 that most prophets are optimistic about what can be done within five to ten years but their pessimism about the possibilities for the next ten to fifty years has verged on the ludicrous. Even if it cannot be foreseen (though to a worth- while extent it can) how Croydon will be needed five, ten or fifteen years ahead, it is still an act of irresponsibility to allow the airport to be closed (in the words of Mr. Airey Neave) for "the obvious economies which it would give in running costs, manpower, etc., [and for the] substantial value from its sale, which will balance in some part the very heavy cost of building Gatwick." The possibility of helicopter services into Croydon has not been overlooked by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation—but only as a passive result of "helicopters coming into general use for air services" when the airport is closed. The Ministry's thinking on this point is by no means clear; Croydon's residents have been promised a reduction in noise level when the aerodrome "begins to run down next year," but are subsequently threatened with equally noisy helicopter services. The M.T.C.A. is right to con- sider carefully—in spite of arguments as to "who was there first"—- the reactions of residents to the aerodrome on their doorsteps. But the Croydon Chamber of Commerce (many of whose mem- bers, in their private lives, are Croydon residents) say that com- plaints of noise come from a "vociferous minority," and they themselves are campaigning actively for the retention of the town's airport and the employment and prestige which it provides. In correspondence that has passed between the M.T.C.A. and the Chamber since the latter laid an appeal before Mr. Airey Neave, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the M.T.C.A., the Minis- try concur that "there are substantial and cogent arguments for both sides" on the decision to close Croydon airport. Briefly, the M.T.C.A. case for closing is that increased activity since the decision was made in 1953 in no way affects its suit- ability; for overall economy the land can be better used; the availability of Croydon cannot ease L.A.P.'s problems, and the airport cannot remain open because of the conflict between its air pattern and the patterns of the other London airports. For their part, the Chamber of Commerce support the retention of Croydon by declaring that business at Croydon is increasing to an extent where—even when some of the larger operators move to Gatwick—the other operators and maintenance companies will be cramped for space; an alternate to Gatwick and London is required [this is hardly valid; an additional Customs airport is what is needed]; Croydon provides the only convenient pilot-training air- field for South London; it is an active business airport and it provides an excellent base for repair and maintenance with adjacent facilities for testing. They also claim, with every justifi- cation, that air traffic control should be the servant of aviation and not its master. Even if—as is suggested here—it is accepted that the value of Croydon is as a business and charter London airport in its own right, the problem of its air traffic control seems likely to be a sticky one to solve. With the separation standards ; demanded by the accuracies and work- load on the airborne and ground aids now in use, delays occur at London Airport when aircraft from Croydon elect to fly airways, because the altitudes they are using are frozen to other traffic. The magnitude of the problem that presents itself when the integration of the traffic patterns of London, Gatwick and Croydon is considered is such that the M.T.C.A. has advanced the difficulties as a major reason for closing Croydon. Here is a problem to test the mettle of such men as the Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers. At first sight it certainly seems unlikely that Croydon aircraft will be able to con- tinue to use airways—at least until better wort-range navigation aids and radar are available—and Croydon's scheduled ser- vice operators might do well to re-examine from the point of view of regularity their Qecisions not to move to Gatwick. gap d Gwic Control . Access to the sector to the north and east of Croydon—unfor- tunately the least used—presents few difficulties, but its availability could prove valuable in keeping Croydon in use. The most critical outbound track is to the west, where the present south-east free lane could be retained and extended along the Redhill, Dorking and Guildford railway line at a maximum height of, say, 1,500ft. For further navigational aid there is a clearly-defined escarpment between Redhill and Guildford, where the lane would "cone-out" free of London Control Zone to give access to the south-west. This cone would be laid out to avoid conflict with the circuits of Farnborough and Blackbushe and, to the south, Lasham and Odiham. Also in great demand is access to the south, for flights to the south coast, Jersey and the Continent (the usual crossing for light aircraft is Dungeness - Le Touquet). The Gatwick control zone must be avoided (Gatwick aircraft might be routed to climb out over Crowborough), so a possible free-lane route is via the present S.E. free lane to the Redhill - Tonbridge railway line, along the line to Tonbridge and then in a cone to the south. A better route might be to fly to Tonbridge direct, but this lane would not be well defined. Traffic approaching London in diis sector is flying at 6,000ft and would not be a danger, but careful consideration would have to be made of the needs of West Mailing and—if it continues in operation—Biggin Hill. Visual marking of the free lanes is, at first sight, a very attractive proposition; but previous experiments have shown that when conditions were bad enough to make lights necessary, the markers could not be seen. Nevertheless, this aid should be practical pro- vided that there are sufficient markers, they are of the latest high- intensity type, and the weather minima are not too low. A free-lane system for Croydon is, at best, a short-term solution only. But it might suffice until the development of an integrated London air traffic control system—including Croydon as London's business airport—materializes. The axe over Croydon's head is suspended there with the intention of ending—come what may—an airport that in 1953 was decreed "unsuitable for development" as an alternate to London Airport. But in five years of this fast changing aviation business the White Paper of that time has become as outdated—and has been shown to be as unimaginative-—as the contemporary fore- casts of future traffic. A civil aviation growth curve that sees a doubling of traffic every five or six years is sound justification for the survival—and the active encouragement—of a businessman's London airport. For once the irrevocable step of closing-down Croydon has been taken, there can be no looking back; the airport would be lost for ever. A solution to Croydon's air traffic problem when Gatwick opens might be in an extension of the freelane system, shown in heavy lines on this map of the 1958 Airways System.
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