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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1710.PDF
FLIGHT International, 19 September 1963 521 Cranfield Society Looks at 1973 MILITARY and civil air transport in 1973, and the planning and management of resources during this decade to ensure optimum results, was the theme of this year's Cranfield Society symposium, held at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, last week end (September 14-15). Under the overall chairmanship of Sir Harold Roxbee Cox, chairman of the Board of Governors of the College, some 80 members and guests divided into seven working groups to discuss particular aspects of the subject. AH these groups, Sir Harold reported at the final session of the meeting, expressed concern at the state of the existing machinery for planning British aviation. It was felt strongly that a national authority should be created which would be "charged with the selection of objectives and their achievement on a basis of quin quennial budgeting." The present British system of annual budgeting was held to be inefficient. In the proposed authority, civil and military air trans port interests would be represented, in addition to both industry and government. In all planning, in contradistinction to what happened now, the project design people from industry should be involved at an early stage. This planning would, moreover, require the services of a forecasting unit designed to analyse data and trends in all forms of transport. The transport aeroplane was seen as a great civilizing influence, particularly if "truly low-cost aviation" could be achieved. One point that was made was that people must be able to mix, i.e., travel easily by air between countries, at the right price. "If we decided to aim for this objective we should be making something well suited to the needs of the British economy, since the manu facture of an aeroplane engages a high proportion of professional and manufacturing skills." Outstanding characteristics of the weekend, Sir Harold recalled, were "the emphases on the social and civilizing benefits which aircraft could confer on the world and on the need, if this country is going to play the part all clearly wished it to do in conferring these benefits, for planning by the right kind of body working at the highest executive level." A more detailed account of the meeting's discussions and recom mendations, including the working papers in which assumptions were defined, and also the final reports of the individual groups, is to be published by the Society within the course of the next few weeks. The working-group chairmen, all of whom were invited guests from outside the Society, comprised Mr Ivor Bowen, council- member of the Air League; Mr Peter W. Brooks, assistant managing director of Beagle Aircraft; Dr Denis A. Layne, chief of personnel services, British Aircraft Corporation; Mr A. J. Lucking, editor of Wings over Westminster; M Raymond Peladan, assistant to the director of the Institute du Transport Aerien; Mr Alan Vines, executive chairman of Fairey Engineering; and Mr K. G. Wilkinson, assistant chief engineer of British European Airways. Formed originally as an association of former students of the College of Aeronautics, the Cranfield Society has in recent years widened its interests and activities to include the study of key problems in aeronautics. The main focus of these studies is the annual symposium, of which this year's was the fifth. In the working papers which formed the starting-point for the 1963 symposium, the main theme of military and civil air transport in 1973 was divided into three areas:— (1) Requirements. How should transport requirements be evolved ? (2) Resources. How should the adequacy of resources be ensured, and on what basis should the allocation of resources to a particular project be decided ? (3) Project management. How can we improve the efficiency with which Britain manages aeronautical projects? FIRE DOWN BELOW: THE TECHNIQUE OF "WATER BOMBING J» A Canso operated by the Quebec Provincial Gov ernment releases an 8,0001b water load over a forest fire near La Tuque, Quebec. Ten of these air craft, converted for fire- feht/ng by Field Aviation, ore now in service in Canada and two more in the South of France. The conversion involves to- tolling two 400 Imp gal tanks over the aircraft C-g., and the load can °e jettisoned in less than 'sec through two dump doors each measuring snx2ft 6in. The tanks "« refilled in I6sec ™ough o "schnorkel" as ™ orcraft flies low ?f o short distance (as «fc°s l,S00ft) over any convenient water surface
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