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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 2654.PDF
780 FLIGHT, 18 November 1960 Straight and ve I WHO'S afraid of the aviationindustry of the six EuropeanCommon Market countries? Of a combined Franco-German threat toBritain's aviation exports? Well, I was—until the Germansstarted to toy with the idea of building a Caravelle competitor, in the shape ofthe Hamburger HFB.314 (pages 805 and 813). I seem to remember recording theBritish industry's warm approval of this duplication of Common Market effort. The latest news is that the WestGerman Minister of Economics says his government is ready to negotiateabout financial support for the HFB.314. Herr Ludwig Erhard was answering aquestion in the German Parliament, ask- ing him to comment on reports that theGovernment would refuse such financial aid because the aircraft might competewith the Caravelle, "which might upset the French." I believe that the French were ratherupset when we went ahead with a Cara- velle competitor (D.H.121) instead ofco-operating with them. I can imagine that a German decision to build theHFB.314 would upset them even more. Anyway, I would be the last to suggestthat a united European Common Market industry avoids wasteful duplication.The more they duplicate themselves out of the market, the better it will be for us.* * * How about duplication at home? Areour two big aircraft groups overlapping anywhere? Not yet, at any rate in termsof production. But a British Aircraft Corporation team has been in Australiaselling TAA and Ansett on a common fleet of VC1 Is and BAC-107s. No doubtHawker Siddeley Group salesmen have been there, too, persuading the Austra-lians to buy a common fleet of Trident Mk 2s and Avro 771s instead. If this ishappening in Australia, it is possibly happening in other markets. Can ourindustry as a whole afford such inter- necine competition, if that is what this M • • • One of the little crosses Flight has to bear is this sort of letter: — "Dear Sir,Our attention has been drawn to the fact that, in your recent description of theScruggs SA.421 Speedliner, reference was made to the fitment of the Haddock goofle No IX in the Life Goes On series: two D.H.82 Tiger Moths (or is it the D.H.164 Twin Tiger Moth?) joined together so that, like a tram, it can be driven from either end or, like Janus, it looks both ways at once. For further information enrol as a student aircraft engineer at the Airwork Service Training school at Perth. They teach you to fly, too, though not on this switch Type 2000E/WA-1B. We wouldpoint out that GOOFLE SWITCH is a Regis-tered Trade Name of this Company, and as such should at all times be spelt witha capital G. We would also point out that the Goofle Switch specified for the ScruggsSA.421 is not Type 2000E/WA-1B, but Type 2000E/WA-1C.An early correction in your columns would oblige. Yours etc, Haddock Engineering(East Smithfield) Ltd." You can imagine, then, how refresh- ing it was to receive a letter like the one we printed last week (page 740) from Mr Guy Smith of Bristol Siddeley. • Did you see the topical TV pro-gramme "Near Miss" last Friday even- ing? It was very well done, I thought.Several million potential air passengers were shown, without frightening themyet without any trace of complacency, how urgently the dangers of collision inthe air are being tackled in this country. If I have any criticism it is that no oneis really too disturbed about this coun- try's air traffic control system. It is whatgoes on in other countries that worries people, and we heard nothing of this. But I especially congratulate the BBCfor mentioning the fact that the Ministry of Aviation refused to allow an air trafficcontrol officer to take pan in the pro- gramme, "because he is a Civil Servant."Perhaps the MoA thought that a repre- sentative of the A few weeks ago a profession most Flight staff member qualified to speakreported how pas- on OUT air traffic sengers at Copen- Control might givehagen airport, the impression daunted by the long that all is not forwalking distances, the best in the best pried their baggage of aU ATC Worlds, into push-chairs pro- y .vided for the kiddies. *°V ^l naVe Now proper scooters 2°Hce(* £at */have been laid on— Guild of AlT Traf- what fun it will be fie Control Offi-for the grown-ups cers has remained as quiet as a mouse on the subject of theQueen's near miss. Why? Because someone in the Ministry has told themto pipe down. I hope sincerely that the BBC and the Press in general keepsneedling away at the disturbing lack of public accountability so prevalent inhigh places. Contempt of the public interest has,of course, reached its zenith in the Air Minister's refusal to publish the reportof the Anglo-German commission of inquiry into the Queen's near miss—onthe grounds that there is no precedent for publishing reports of military in-quiries. Fiddlesticks to that. And fiddle- sticks to the Air Ministry S-Man* who,in reply to a perfectly justified Press inquiry, said: — "It is not practical [to paint RAFComets with fluorescent paint]. / cannot give the reason, but if you consider thatthey are more often used as military transports you might guess." Could coy evasion go further? Everysingle USAF transport—two or three thousand of them—is painted withfluorescent paint in the interests of safety. Why not all RAF transports? * Secrecy Man. -; • "The days are long since gone" saysMr C. J. Stevens, president of the British Independent Air Transport Association,"'when the air transport problems of this country were looked at in terms of theindependents versus the corporations." I must say that the growing lovey-dovey relationship between the indepen- dents and the corporations makes mefeel mildly embarrassed. If British air transport had a nanny, she would saywith a sniff: "Tut tut. What has hap- pened to the old independent spirit thatkept BOAC and BEA on their toes, and which stimulated and invigoratedBritain's air transport? Have the in- dependents gone soft?" ROGER BACON
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