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Aviation History
1966
1966 - 0017.PDF
RtPOST FLIGHT International, 6 January 1966 13 rm coMMrrrH-. OF INQUIRY INTO RAn IN'DUXIKV uxist the Ctntna*"** ot THE CASE FOR THE INDUSTRY Further Chapters from the Plowden Report Continuing our series of extracts from the Plowden Report on the aircraft industry, this article covers the final three chapters of Section 3, entitled "How Britain has Fared in the Past;" and the first four chapters of Section 4, devoted to "The Case for an Aircraft Industry." The text is slightly abridged; earlier instalments appeared in our issues of December 23 and 30. The full report (Command 2853) is obtainable at 10s from HM Stationery Office CHAPTER 8 Government Policy and Results: Civil SINCE the Second World War it has been Governmentpolicy to encourage the development of civil aircraft inthis country. Promising aircraft and aero-engines have been aided by Government finance when the manufacturers could not find all the money themselves or considered the risks too great to bear on their own. Whenever possible the Armed Forces have ordered derivatives of civil types to meet their needs for military transports. Despite this, the United States continues to dominate the world civil aircraft markets. Few British aircraft have secured a substantial share of world markets. The hope of successive Governments that the industry would eventually finance its own civil programme has been disappointed. Civil aircraft projects, with only few exceptions such as the Viscount and the Dart engine, have lost money both for the manufacturers and the Government. 1945-60 The British aircraft industry did not develop or manufacture transport aircraft during the war, but relied on the United States. The Americans built large numbers of transport aircraft of types designed originally for civil use. At the end of the war they were able readily to revert to making civil versions. With these they soon dominated the field. In the United Kingdom the so-called "interim types" were introduced. These were derived from wartime combat aircraft and were not competitive with United States types; they did not sell well abroad. Following the recommendations of the Brabazon Committee, the Government contributed to the development of a range of large and medium sized civil aircraft. Several smaller air- craft were developed as private ventures. Some of the larger types were complete failures. The Brabazon, Princess, and Apollo were abandoned when their commercial prospects were seen to be poor. Among the early projects the only one to sell successfully was the privately financed Dove. The Comet was the world's first jet airliner. The early version of the air- craft met tragic accidents through metal fatigue, and the time taken to cure this trouble denied the aircraft the success it might otherwise have had through its lead over all competitors. The Viscount, the first turboprop airliner in the world, remains the one success among major types of British aircraft. The Government intended that the manufacturers should progressively assume the financing of civil aircraft. In the second half of the 1950s the companies were earning good profits from military sales and were encouraged by the success of the Viscount. There was a brief period of optimism in 1957-58 when, despite the shock of the 1957 Defence White Paper, the manufacturers embarked at their own expense on a range of new civil projects, including the Trident and VC10. and Spey engine. Within a year there was a financial crisis in the industry. Ine turboprop Britannia and the Vanguard were overtaken by competing jet aircraft from the United States and France. vickers, faced with heavy losses on the Vanguard and rising costs on the VC10, sought from the Government in 1959 a substantial subvention towards their civil aircraft programme, ine other companies were beginning to encounter similar diffi- hv * u ful1 severity of these was not felt until late 1960y ttle Ha wker Siddeley Group, and not until 1961 by Rolls- Royce, but it was already clear by the end of 1959 that, if the country was to remain a supplier of major types of civil aircraft, manufacturers would need greater financial and tech- nical resources than hitherto and the Government would have to assume an increased share in financing new projects. In response to this situation the companies in the industry were concentrated into five major groups. In 1960 the Government undertook to provide increased assistance towards promising new projects. The 1960 Policy In 1960, the Government agreed to contribute 20-25 per cent towards the launching costs of the main projects on which the industry was then engaged, the Trident, Standard VC10, and Spey 1 engine. Since then, contributions have also been made towards launching the BAC One-Eleven, Super VC10, and further developments of the Trident aircraft and Spey engine. The Government's commitment to these four projects was limited to a maximum of 50 per cent of the estimated launch- ing costs. All contracts for launching aid have provided for the Government to share in the proceeds of sales. In addition the development of the Concord supersonic air- liner has been started with France. The money needed and the risks entailed in developing this advanced project are so great that the manufacturers have not been willing to con- tribute to the development costs. At present the project, in- cluding the engine, is being financed jointly by the British and French Governments. The total British contribution towards developing and proving the aircraft is currently estimated at £140 million. Arrangements have been made for a levy on sales of the production aircraft and spares. Record of Sales The final outcome of the more recent ventures is not yet clear. But the picture as a whole since the war is not good. The industry has not produced a long-range transport aircraft which has sold successfully. Of 36 different transport aircraft types, only eight have so far had combined home and overseas sales of more than 100: the Viscount (444), the Viking and its variants (588, of which 433 were home military sales and only 67 exported), the HS.748 (103), the Bristol 170 (214), the Dove (540), the Heron (148), the Hastings (152, of which 146 were home military sales) and the Pembroke (133). Of the more recent transport aircraft, the Comet, Britannia, Vanguard. Argosy, and Belfast have not sold abroad in sufficient num- bers to cover their total launching costs. The BAC One-Eleven and the small HS.125 executive jet have started well, both with a high proportion of their sales to overseas customers. The Hawker Siddeley 748 and the Handley Page Herald have also both sold well overseas but, being broadly similar, are competing with each other as well as with a strong foreign competitor. Combined orders for the HS.748 and the Herald total 159, including 101 for export. Both main airframe groups have invested their own resources heavily in civil aircraft over the last five to ten years. How much they eventually recover will depend on the sales still to be made. From the evidence the Committee have formed the impression that, while one or two projects may still yield a good return, both groups are likely in the end to sustain losses on their current programmes as a whole. One of the main airframe groups told the Committee and the Government that if it is expected to continue developing
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