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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1068.PDF
20 FLIGHT International, 5 July 1962 operators observe the same safety standards because they all work under the same legislation. It was always my view, before the 1960 Act, that stricter enforcement could do more than extra legislation. One cannot hope to cover by an Act of Parliament all the contin gencies which may arise whilst flying an aeroplane. The fallacy of this "we are all covered by the same regulations" argument is illustrated by the legislative provision for pilots' route competency. The requirement is that the commander of an aircraft must have satisfied the UK operator, within the previous 12 months, that he has adequate knowledge of the route to be taken. Can anyone seriously argue that some operators are not more easily satisfied than others? Lord Douglas commented "there is all the difference between studying a route in the Air Pilot and actually going down to see for yourself." The Minister's White Paper said that route competence does not necessarily require a pilot to fly the route but that use is made of simulators and films as well as manuals. By whom ? Are we to assumed that all companies have simulators and films of all the conditions which may arise on all the routes along which the pilot of a chartered aircraft may need to fly? MR R. E. HARDINGHAM: ". . . it is when there is too big a jump forward that mistakes are made." In this aspect of the problem, as in others, 1 do not think the question should be posed as between State corporations and limited liability companies, or even between large as against small operators. But 1 do think there can be companies, probably the smaller, whose resources are so strained that their interpretation of re quirements is less punctilious than it might be. It is not difficult to visualize a situation in which a less well-endowed operator, with a very tight schedule of charters at the height of the holiday season, decides that the only available pilot is competent to fly the route —the alternative being twenty-four hours' delay and embarrassing hotel bills for a plane-load of passengers. Mr Laker stated that safety legislation was making it impossible for the smaller firms to compete. If those smaller firms are trying to do a job that is too big for them, then it is all to the good that they do not compete. There has been too much cut-price competi tion in some fields of operation. A licensing system which works properly will ensure that those concerns that do operate are able to fly at rates which provide a margin for operational decisions which come down on the side of safety rather than false economy. I know some of the attendant snags in this philosophy. It may be said that if the charter rates aren't cut to the bone then some British travel agents will go to the Continental operators. If this is so, then in the general interest of safety and orderly development, the Minister should do more about it. A low fare-structure made possible by efficient operators is one thing and is highly desirable. But competition which is construed to "let every Tom, Dick and Harry muscle in" (to quote Lord Douglas), and which leads to the kind of rate-cutting of which we had evidence last year, can do no good for civil aviation. The question about the comfort of modern aircraft probably gave rise to the most controversy. Indeed, more than one reader waxed quite indignant—either for or against the suggestion that modern jets were less comfortable than the Stratocruiser and flying- boats. "I thought you were progressive," said one erstwhile friend whom I have watched get near the top of one corporation, "until I read that nonsense about the flying-boats." But for raising the issue I was thanked with equal warmth by an aircraft executive who had just flown back from Malta, bulging into the gangway over the side of the too narrow seat and with a "left arm blue with bruises" as fellow passengers unavoidably bumped into him en route to the toilet. Lord Brabazon declared that the air passenger now had a less comfortable seat than a man on a London bus—"not a very dis- MR WALTER TYE: ". . . the feasibility of reducing landing speeds is dependent upon the designer's ingenuity." tinguished achievement" for aviation. Sir Miles Thomas said, "when I see these enormous jets with six people abreast in the economy class, I wonder if that is not the kind of treatment that is cutting down the rate of traffic growth." This thought should not be too readily dismissed. Of course it is a fact which we all accept that flying in a pressurized aircraft, above the weather and with less vibration, gives a far smoother ride than anything offered a decade ago, but that isn't the whole story. Mr Laker reeled off all the advantages of reclining seats, piped music, and individual air louvres, lights and windows, but he also spoke of another very relevant factor. He referred to what he described as "a sense of mental discomfort." Admittedly he went on to claim that this sense could be mitigated by suitable decor, but it remains true that one spoke of a sense of relaxation on the flying-boats or on, say the Monarch Stratocruiser services and never this feeling of "mental discomfort." I still beg leave to suggest that all the additional skill and know- how acquired over the past ten years ought to have made it possible to retain, at least, the same sense of comfort. I was told that it was a matter of cost and that fares would be higher if the standard of comfort was increased. What I still cannot understand is why some of the extra power now available should not be used to lift extra capacity even if that meant sacrificing a little speed. I was challenged to put this possibility of sacrificing speed to a "businessman passenger" to whom, it was said, time was money. So I put the point to Sir Miles Thomas and I quote again the answer he gave: "It is now becoming axiomatic, even with young executives, that a man who has just flown three or four thousand miles should have at least one night's static rest before he can operate at maximum business efficiency ... a little more comfort in the air . . . would be well worth the extra hour or two." There are just two other thoughts relevant to this aspect of avia tion which I offer for consideration. Firstly, when we rejoice ai cutting another hour off an intercontinental flight, might we not reflect that there are still hundreds of thousands of people who, each year, choose to take days by sea when they could travel in hours by air? Secondly, has there really been adequate market research into what the customer really wants as between speed, comfort and cost? FORTHCOMING EVENTS July 5 Air-Britain: " Work of the ETPS," by Group Capt R. A. Watts. July 7 RNAS Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire: At Home. July 8 Northampton Aero Club: At Home, Sywelt. July 11 Kronfeld Club: Film Evening. July 11-28 RAF "Calvacade of Flying," Royal Tournament. Earls Court, London. July 13 British Interplanetary Society: "The Apollo Programme," by a NASA speaker. July 13-15 Sixth a" Annunzio Trophy and International Rally Pescara. July 14 RNAS Brawdy. Pembrokeshire: At Home. July 18 Kronfeld Club: "Aircraft Braking." July 20-21 RAeC: Business Aircraft andTouring Competition July 20-22 Belgian-German Rally. Antwerp-Duisburg. July 21-22 Tour of Dolomites, Trento. July 21 RNAS Lossiemouth, Morayshire: At Home. July 25 Kronfeld Club: Film Evening. July 28 RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall: At Home. Sept 3-9 SB AC Flying Display and Exhibition, Farn- borough. Sept 15 RAF "At Home" Day.
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