FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1307.PDF
FLIGHT, 7 September 1961 Correspondence 77ie Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the viewsexpressed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses of writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Pooling Agreements WHETHER Mr Henry Marking [Correspondence, August 17]takes Roger Bacon seriously or not, he should not overlook the impression created by "Straight and Level's" investigation(ten months before the recent ATLB hearings) into the degree to which BEA's pooling agreements are subject to Ministerial scrutiny.The results were at variance with what BEA had to say to the Board and to British United Airways, and as a result Mr Marking'sremarks were cross-checked with the Ministry. To imply that this involved some sort of collusion betweenBUA and Roger Bacon, as Mr Marking suggests in his letter ("a contemporaneous enquiry very similar to that sent by RogerBacon"), does less than justice to the impartiality of Flight's col- umnist, the barbs of whose writings have, on occasion, been aimedat Corporations and independents alike. I should have thought that BUA's suspicions of pooling agree-ments in the broad context of British civil aviation had been made amply clear in the arguments so recently advanced in ThereseHouse. On this score, at least, BUA and Roger Bacon are at one. London Wl F. A. LAKER,Executive Director, British United Airways Fokker Fixation ? YOUR interesting note (Straight and Level, August 10) concern-ing the "aerobatibility" of a three-engined Fokker aircraft ofthe 1920s, which incidentally was not the first of its class to be "stunted," recalls to mind a story current at the time. It was toldto me by a representative of Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd (as it was then) at Croydon Aerodrome, circa 1925, and concerns anengineer who was the Armstrong Siddeley representative, super- vising the installations of the Lynx engines in the new "Fokker"at the Amsterdam works. The test flight, I was told, was in the hands of Anthony Fokkerhimself. The engineer was a passenger occupying one of the stan- dard wicker chairs provided for such people in the cabin.After the normal flying tests, Mr Fokker passed a note back to his passenger stating "I am going to try a loop." The latter shook hishead, waved and indicated with lavish gesticulations that he must not do so, as the seats had no belts. The reply came from thecockpit: "Well, hold tight to the seat." Grabbing the undersides of the seat at each side, the engineer somewhat fearfully awaited theworst. With his usual superb handling Mr Fokker completed the loopand soon afterwards landed. The engineer wasted no time in getting up and making for thedoor. As he did so, in haste, he knocked against the back of the chair, which responded by falling over. It was not fixed to the floorand never had been. Glasgow SW2 E. D. AYRE ATLB Policy YOUR very interesting reports on the 21st hearing of the AirTransport Licensing Board leave one with two impressions:the first is the lack of any clear direction from the Government on the policy to be adopted by the Board, and the second is thedifficulty of introducing more competition without running the risk of higher costs. It is generally recognized that high traffic-density is essentialfor low-cost operation, and a dilution of traffic on routes of all but the highest density will increase costs. Existing evidence showsthat the best arrangement for both airlines and public is to have two competing carriers on a route, if there is sufficient trafficto justify more than one. The addition of third and fourth carriers does not necessarily benefit the travelling public. How, then, canthe independents be allowed into the market without being the third carrier? The Corporations' attitude is that they should develop new routesor stay out of business, but in Europe this would only extend the "hub and spokes" network which is reducing the route density ofthe existing main-line routes, and would put off still longer the day when fares can be substantially reduced. If it is really the Government's policy to allow the independentssome share in British civil aviation then they must decide now what that share shall be, and some of the Corporations' existingroute licences should be taken away from them and given to the 409 independents. In this way no wasteful competition would takeplace and no problems of bilateral agreements arise. The transfer of licences could be done gradually so that normal traffic growthwould ensure that nobody actually lost any business, and by announcing a five- or ten-year transfer programme all concernedcould plan ahead. The best way of splitting up European operations would be togive the independents definite areas on which they could concen- trate. In this way there would be no temptation for airlines toopen new routes until there was an economic case for them. The Corporations would have to be compensated for the loss of theirsales and station organizations, and for goodwill, since whatever policy is adopted they are bound to suffer some initial financial lossfor reasons which they cannot be expected to have foreseen. It is difficult to see how this policy could be implemented by theATLB without an extension of their existing powers, although there is still time for the regulations to be amended. This might,in the long run, prove to be the best way to "further the develop- ment of British civil aviation." And it might be in the publicinterest too! London Wl A. SOLOMON Sabena Accident IN your issue of July 27 in the article (page 133) "1961 Half-yearAccident Record," you list an accident which occurred on February 15 to a Sabena aircraft as "Crashed on finals; runawayautopilot." My parent corporation, the Bendix Corporation, and the BoeingCorporation are most disturbed by this statement, which is, to the best of their belief, untrue.Failure of the autopilot was investigated as a matter of routine, but no conclusion has been drawn that the accident can be attri-buted to such failure. London Wl. E. G. MONK,Managing Director, Bendix Ltd Avuncular Connection WHILST it is a lamentable fact that this country and the RoyalAir Force have been left at the post as far as spaceflightis concerned, we can at least claim a personal interest in the second American manned space-shot. I note from your issue of August 17 that Virgil Grissom servedin Korea with the 334th F-I Sqn. You will no doubt be aware that this squadron was originally No 71 (Eagle) Sqn, Royal Air Force,until it was redesignated No 334 Sqn in the 4th Fighter Group, USAF, atDebden. Having operated with this squadron both when it was in theRAF and in the USAF, I sincerely hope that someone in the Air Historical Branch of Air Ministry will record that we have at leasta "quasi-avuncular" connection with astronautics. Indeed this is the nearest we are ever likely to get. London SW1 P. R. W. WICKHAM,Gp Capt, RAF (Ret), Managing Director, Airmotive Supply (London) Ltd "P.P.O." on the Pillory MANY people must have been surprised not to have seen repliesin Flight to the amusing howlers made by "P.P.O." in his"Private View" column. The reason can only be that he writes so much rubbish that no one has yet taken him seriously. However,as he now seems troubled, may I venture the following free trans- lation, paragraph by paragraph, of his contribution in theAugust 24 issue from air traffic language (which, it seems, is Greek to him) into P.P.L. language? This. I hope, will assisthim in following any imminent prosecution. 1 have left the first words of each of his paragraphs untranslated. "In most forms of sport or pleasure ..." There are facets whichthe participants never really understand and, like children faced with a difficult problem, they tend to hit out at those who lookafter them. "The same applies to flying." Do you realize, gentle reader,that when they take off for a cross-country flight in what they fondly think is good weather over the whole of Southern Englandthey seldom think of checking to see if their guess is right ? "For failing to do this . . ." They get annoyed if someone whosejob it is to pick up the pieces—and there are many scattered over England and the surrounding sea—brings the law on them. Theydon't realize that the present weather at their destination will be history when they get there and they hope with touching faiththat it will not change. Some of them even go so far as to cause annoyance to as many airfields that they can think of en route,when one telephone call to the parent Meteorological Office would do and also save them much time and expense. "Or suppose that if. .." Having sent a little message to their
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
