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Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0005.PDF
FLIGHT International, I January 1977 Lords rebuff common market aerospace plans BBITAIN'S House of Lords is firmly opposed to centralised control of European aerospace from the Euro pean Commission in Brussels. This emerged from a December 20 debate which arose from the recent report of the House's committee on the EEC Action Plan for the European Aero space Sector, published in October 1975. Curiously few speakers took note of the recent distinct softening in Commission attitude on centralisa tion which was reflected in an article by EEC aerospace director Christopher Layton in the London Times of December 20. The Lords' committee report (see World News, Flight, October 23) on The high-time HS.I25 in North America, this aircraft is operated by the Quebec Department of Transportation and recently flew the millionth hour recorded by the type h- :j#--^ m Lord Carr called the EEC proposals "centralisation run mad . . . the very worst kind of inward-looking approach," he did agree with the Commission's assessment that "the situation is potentially a dangerous one for these vital industries." It was Lord Beswick, chairman of the British Aerospace organising committee, who sounded the moderate note. "Having had some responsibility during the past year for planning a centralisation exercise for the United Kingdom," he said, "I can see even more clearly how easy it could be to build up a central bureaucracy. But that danger for Britain must and will be avoided. While pitfalls and prob lems of centralisation can be avoided or overcome in a national exercise, I believe it to be sheer folly to imagine that we can impose a centralised management control upon the aero- m&?-M ^LiJiL4Jt? r~^»j«B^*v»«%*r»* v» i i«**rW SENSOR Top opinion in the British Aero space Organising Committee is that the House of Lords, or at least part of it, is beginning to realise that enough is enough in its challenge to the nationalisation legislation. There is now a feeling that there is a need to end the industrial uncer tainty and growing cynicism, with many jobs at stake. One side or the other is going to have to concede the technical point about ship- repairing "hybridity." While what ever happens the Lords cannot defeat the Bill, they can still mortally delay it. Progress with a new European 100-seater airliner, before realistic talks including VFW-Fokker can begin, depends on agreement between the two sectors of British Aerospace, BAC and HSA, over the One-Eleven 475 and the HS.146. As market de mand for the One-Eleven stirs again, so does BAC confidence in the potential for development of this type. Boeing believes that Britannia Air ways' 737 utilisation is amongst the highest, if not the highest, in the world airline industry. Britannia's first 737, G-AVRL, is the highest-time example of the type, with 26,400hr since delivery. Britannia achieved 19hr utilisation on Boeing 737 G-AXNA on August 14, and on the 30th of the same month achieved 14hr 42min average utili sation of its 14-aircraft fleet. BAC feels as much as ever that a One-Eleven development, still coded X-Eleven, would meet the ASMR requirement with no more modifica tions than now appear likely to be required by the Mercure. A meeting on December 17 left the British with the impression that the Dutch have high confidence in the poten tial of the F.28. the Action Plan had found scant sup port for centralisation among the industrial or Government witnesses from whom it took evidence. Lord Kings Norton, opening last week's de bate, called centralisation an awe- inspiring conception. Lord Carr, capped this, dismissing the notion as "not only awe-inspiring, but down right terrifying." Most of the speakers feared that the EEC Commission would superimpose a group of non expert civil servants upon the exist ing national control bodies and on existing programmes for industrial and regulatory co-operation. The threat of a surrender of sovereignty was obviously not far from the speakers' minds. But though FLYING WIRES Our Telex number changes with effect from January 1. Cables should be addressed to Flight Inter national at 25137 BISPRES G. space industries of nine countries, and still retain a credible competitive manufacturing industry in Europe." He wanted to dismiss the "chimera of centralised management," prefer ring "sophisticated collaboration, the right permutations of partnership". This approach, he said, "would generate opportunities which we should never enjoy under a centra lised bureaucracy." Lord Beswick spoke in favour of a European sales credit institution and shared research resources. He sug gested a unified European airworthi ness authority based on the British Air Registration Board, "with the careful inclusion of selected profes sionals from other organisations in Europe. . .". He thought that if the combined political weight of the EEC were applied to Jaguar sales it would produce "dramatic growth in Euro pean aerospace." The Lords went on to say that EEC Commission control of industry and air transport would impose the voting power of several EEC countries—all lacking significant aircraft industries —on the major aviation interests of Britain, France and the Netherlands. It was also pointed out that the Com mission has no jurisdiction over military production, though such activities were essential to a well- rounded industry. HS.125 reaches one million hours THE HAWKER SIDDELEY HS.125 passed the one million flying hour mark during November, an event marked by a reception in Montreal on December 14. The millionth hour was flown by C-FPQG, an early HS.125 Series 1A of the Quebec Department of Transportation. The North American high-time HS.125, C-FPQG has flown over lO.OOOhr and made more than 12,500 landings. Its roles vary from VIP flights to casualty evacuation from remote areas of Canada.
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