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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2058.PDF
Official Organ al the Royal Aero Club First Aeronautical Weakly in the World Founded in 1909 THURSDAY JULY 16, 1964 Number 2888 Volume 86 Editor-in-Chief MAURICE A. SMITH OFC Editor H. F. KING MBE Technical Editor W. T. GUNSTON Air Transport Editor J. M. RAMSDEN Production Editor ROY CA8EY >$•'•••• Managing Director H. N. PRIAULX MBE In this issue World News 80 Air Commerce 82 Instant Air Transport 88 Straight and Level 93 Sport and Business 94 Letters 95 Asian Helicopter System 98 Towards Safer Take-ofFs 100 France's Aircraft Industry 101 Spaceflisrht and Missiles 116 Service Aviation 119 Industry International 12O Iliffe Transport Publications Ltd., DorsetHouse, Stamford Street, London, SE1; telephone Waterloo 3333 (Telex 25137).Telegrams Flightpres London Telex. Annual subscriptions: Home £4 15a.Overseas £6 5s. Canada and USA (15.00. Second Class Mail privileges authorizedat New York, NY. Branch Offices: Coventry, 8-10 Corpora-tion Street; telephone Coventry 25210. Birmingham, King Edward House, NewStreet, Birmingham 2; telephone Mid- land 7101. Manchester, 260 Deansgate,Manchester 3; telephone Blackfriars 4412 or Deansgate 3595. Glasgow, 123 HopeStreet, Glasgow C2; telephone Central 1265-6. Bristol, 11 Marsh Street, Bristol1; telephone Bristol 21491/2. New York, NY: Thomas Skinner & Co(Publishers) Ltd, 111 Broadway 6; telephone Digby 9-1197.© Iliffe Transport Publications Ltd, 1964. Permission to reproduce illustra-tions and letterpress can be granted only under written agreement. Brief extractsor comments may be made with due acknowledgement. France in Focus AS we note in the special review beginning on page 101, the Frenchaerospace industry is at the moment undergoing a readjustment of the kind all too familiar in Europe. The enormous technological effort and research required for development of modern weapon systems is increasingly being followed by small orders for the resulting product. While the design effort is increasingly tending to exceed the capability of one country alone, production only occupies resources for a relatively short time, causing a succession of peaks and valleys of activity. The tendency towards international co-operation in design and production, while necessary and logical, tends to spread production even more thinly. As never before, the times call for competent management, bold decisions and sound judgment. Pushing with determination into the frontiers of technology; backing at an early stage the development of aircraft which promise and achieve success in world-wide markets; thrusting into space at an enviable pace; and spreading the available work evenly between the various companies—all this the French have been able to do with marked success. The Caravelle, Concord, Alouette, Breguet 941, Diamant, Mirage III, IIIV and IV, Mystere 20 and 30, Nord 262—even the little Jodel developments and the Horizon—have established for France a respected and profitable position in the aviation world. Although Britain's industry can hardly look back on such a rewarding adjustment to modern conditions we believe that Farnborough 1964 will be permeated by a new resolve. Fraternal Finance THIS week we salute not only France's industry but the French tax-payer also, and hope that his sang is as froid as that of his British colleagues. According to the July 9 issue of The Times, which is not a newspaper given to sensationalism, Mr Julian Amery sounded "disinterested" when on July 8 he told the Commons—almost as an aside—that the UK share of the Concord's cost had gone up from about £85m to "something like £140m." We are sure that he was far from disinterested: our only surprise is that he should affect disinterest rather than show his concern. While he is trying to put out VC10 financial fires, just around the corner a conflagra- tion which looks like assuming truly alarming proportions is being kindled at his own command. For it would be foolish indeed to imagine that the bill for the Concord, shared 50/50 by Britain and France, will be pegged at £280m. So astro- nomical are the costs of development that Hon Members' gasps of Oh! would scarcely have been louder if Mr Amery's estimate had been £99m or even £199m higher. What is Sir Giles Guthrie going to say about the cost of operating Con- cords ? Let there be no mistake: this cost increase will put up the price and this in turn must be reflected in operating costs. Are we still to believe, even if we believed it before, that the Concord's seat-mile-cost will be "competi- tive" with that of the cheapest subsonic jets in 1971? There are other questions. Why, for example, should "relatively small" modifications to improve range cost as much as the original estimate for the entire pro- gramme ?
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