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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1069.PDF
FLIGHT International, 5 July 1962 21 © Straiq ht and FOR all the world like Harold Lloyd in one of his famous skyscraper episodes of silent-film days, British air transport is teetering crazily over the abyss of monopolism and a sickening fall is in prospect. Its progress towards a satis factory modus vivendi between independents and corporations, since the Civil Aviation Licensing Act of two years ago, has been nothing if not erratic—a Chaplinesque sequence of adventure and misadventure ihat has more in common with the pathos and humour of The Gold Rush than with a consistent and responsible civil aviation policy. Is there really no place for the indepen dent—the eternal Little Fellow of air transport—in British civil aviation ? Ques- tioned on the BOAC-Cunard tie-up the Minister said that such mergers between public and private enterprise "may well appear to serve a very useful purpose." Useful not least, I suspect, because mono polism is really a form of lazy thinking, especially for politicians and civil servants who are not deeply versed in air transport. After all, it is so much easier to keep on repeating fine resounding phrases like "air- sea integration" and "strengthening the British civil aviation effort" than to work out in detail, as the French, the Canadians and the Australians have done, a satisfactory way of life allowing full scope to indepen dent ambitions without unduly harming the State airlines. • It had been a difficult day. Lulled by the roar of passing 707s and far too much Vieux Clichi '47 at lunch with Julian Washbrain I fell to musing. 1 had lately been to the Montague Motor Did someone misread his altimeter? Not at all—see the other pictures Museum. They had 300,000 visitors last year, to see old cars, a Spitfire, a Glasgow tram, and the ruined abbey. In my dream I found myself at an aerodrome (it might well have been Croydon), one of a happy, iced-lolly-sucking crowd. I saw all the machines from the Shuttleworth Trust, the National Aeronautical Collection, the Imperial War Museum, each dusted, labelled and described, and all on public display. There were collections of early aviation photographs, ballooning prints, The two photographic systems used by Aero Stills Ltd (item in col 3) pioneers' correspondence, a cinema, library and bookshop, all devoted to aviation. The aerodrome also seemed to be some sort of popular flying centre, for from the public enclosure I watched a formation practice by some of the Tiger Club. Admis sion, I seem to remember, was free to staff of the Ministry of Planes and their families. My telephone shattered the idyll. It was, predictably, Julian Washbrain, who had just remembered what it was he intended to tell me over lunch. • Do you ever hear of someone dreaming up an absolutely marvellous idea and kick yourself for not having thought of it first ? I do; just as I did when I heard the other day about a Kensington company called Aero Stills Ltd, who describe their activities as "balloon and camera mast photography." Managing Director Mr John G. Barrand tells me that there are two methods by which pictures are obtained. The first, invented by Conrad Nockolds, utilizes a balloon, and the second entails mounting a camera on top of a 100ft telescopic mast carried by a Land-Rover. The company found that most of their pictures were taken from heights below 100ft, and as balloons can be a trifle unsteady in a wind, Mr Brian Kemp, one of the four directors, thought up the mast idea. Patent rights have been applied for. • I quote the Sunday Telegraph: "Later Mr Macmillan went for a short ride on a Cushion Craft ... as the craft rose nine inches from the water, inventor Kenneth Gray explained: "It's all a matter of inflation and deflation." Said Mr Macmillan: "It's like that in my job too." ROGER BACON
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