FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0669.PDF
FUGHT International, 11 March 1965 Letters Letters for these columns are welcomed, though "Flight Inter- national" does not necessarily endorse the views expressed. Name and address should be given, not necessarily for publication in full. Brief letters will have a better chance of early publication. 375 from him that he would do ten hours' annual flying at, say, £5 per hour for three consecutive years in aircraft belonging to the club at which he learnt to fly? The present centre of attraction, it would appear, is not the would-be pilot but the private owner and club member who is already able to fly. Work, Somerset M. PATTENDEN Saving British Light Aviation SIR,—Referring to the complaints of your correspondents about the lack of suitable British light aircraft, in order to put the records straight I would like to point out that our company has been producing limited numbers of single- and two-seat light aircraft for several years. One of these aircraft has been recently approved by the Air Registration Board for a full British C of A, and the other is in the process of being approved. Furthermore, we have a small but skilled team of craftsmen who will continue to develop and produce light aircraft in the future. It is very fashionable among economists to say that to develop an export product one need not have a horn* market. In the case of light aircraft nothing could be further from the truth; what is needed is a missionary enthusiasm from Government departments, landlords, local authorities and airworthiness authorities to promote light aviation in this country and remove obstacles to its development. It is very sad to note that the Ministry has failed to recog- nize this; by removing the petrol rebate it has destroyed a small but widespread stimulus to an infant industry; and in the absence of other alternatives, such as promotion of facilities, I fail to see how direct subsidies to manufacturers can help in the long run. How can we expect to sell light aircraft abroad if we do not fly them ourselves ? Foreigners who fly in to visit us will not buy British aircraft unless they see real evidence that we have our own progressive and flourishing light aircraft movement. I would like to make it clear that the light aircraft I am referring to are those which can be purchased by private individuals and clubs, have running costs comparable with those of motor cars, and can be used for sport, recreation, travel and family holidays with, perhaps, a bit of business flying thrown in. This type of aircraft, which has been the mainspring of the American and French light aircraft industry since the war, is completely separate from a military or professional specification. Croydon, Surrey D. M. J. JONES, Saks Manager, Rollasoii Aircraft & Engines Ltd SIR,—With reference to the current correspondence on "Saving British Light Aviation," one name springs to mind— F. G. Miles, who in July 1963 started again on his own. I know of no English designer of light aeroplanes who can compare with him. One of his creations, the 1928 Miles Martlet prototype, was powered with an 80 h.p. ABC Hornet flat-four air-cooled engine. I have often wondered whether the American Franklin, Lycoming and Continental air-cooled flat-fours owed their origin to the Hornet. Birmingham 14 MAURICE AUSTIN SIR,—Is Mr D. E. Bianchi (Letters, February 4) talking of saving the light aviation manufacturing industry or the sport and pastime of private flying? I would venture to suggest that the survival of the former cannot guarantee the survival of the latter, but I'm convinced that the reverse would apply. I believe that the answer lies in attracting more adventure- minded youth into the sport of club flying. Why is today's youth not taking up this sport instead of standing on street corners? Obviously, the answer is that the cost of tuition is prohibitive. To learn to fly today costs anything from £250 upwards. But surely this could be lowered ? Why not, for example, teach a pupil to fly for, say, £100 and then obtain a guarantee Nocturnal VTOL SIR,—It is of historical importance to note that the photo- graph of the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel on page 275 of the February 25 issue of Flight shows, for the first time in the history of aviation, a jet V/STOL fighter, destined for operational service, flying at night. The Kestrel took off vertically and accelerated to wing- borne flight. Shortly afterwards it returned to Dunsfold, decelerated and landed vertically. The photograph shows the aircraft just before touchdown. The only illumination, apart from the temporary lighting required to take the photograph, consisted of a few gooseneck paraffin flares. Dunsfold, Surrey j. CRAMPTON, Technical Sales Manager, Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd, Hawker Blackburn Division BEA and the Passenger SIR,—The appointment to BEA's board of a member to pay "especial attention to the interest of the domestic passenger" brings to mind a meeting of the Minister's Consultative Council (wonderful title) sitting under Alex Boyd, and with representatives of all the big interests—Sholto Douglas of BEA, Miles Thomas of BOAC, Sir Frederick Handley Page, the SBAC, the insurance companies, the Baltic Exchange, and so forth—and your humble servant, at that time repre- senting the Joint Air Transport Committee of the London Chamber of Commerce. Boyd suggested that perhaps the Council no longer served a useful purpose, and the State corporation chairmen of course agreed. "H.P." made an apt remark about the thickness of the paper used for the minutes; and when it came to my turn I pointed out that I was the only one present who represented the poor fare-paying passenger, and that as such I felt that the Council served a useful purpose—if only in allowing one voice to stick up for the user against the weight of Government-owned airlines and Government- controlled industry! We survived a few more months, but were finally buried as time-wasting. Pulborough, Sussex J. VIVIAN HOLMAN He Who Sups with the Devil . . . SIR,—I hope you will not allow yourself to be goaded into irresponsible action by the crass stupidity of the opinions expressed by Mr Moroney in your issue of February 25. There are quite enough informed commentators on the political scene, and everybody knows that only The Times is ever quoted in the House. Even Sir Roy Fedden fails to reach the pages of Hansard because he will write for The Daily Telegraph. Let Flight, therefore, stick to factual reporting and not get embroiled in the sewage of politics. Does Mr Moroney really think that the present situation has arisen in 100 days? London Wl P. TRENTHIDE SIR,—I have always looked to your magazine for accurate and unbiased reports. It would be a pity to bring Flight to the degradation of political mud-slinging. Clearly, E. H. Moroney's letter is just that—a scantily disguised attack on the Labour Government. I wonder what his reactions would be had a Tory hand swung the axe, as on so many previous occasions ? At least in this case the butchered were not conceived and nurtured by the executioner. Aircraft these days seem to have assumed an insatiable
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
