CRITICISED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 282, 29 November 1938, Page 11

CRITICISED.

AIR DEPARTMENT.

THE CIVIL BRANCH.

ALLEGED INEFFICIENCY.

COMPUINT BT CMTB

lßr Te, -*'"Pfc-Own Correspondent.)

NEW PLYMOUTH, this d «v

Complaints that the civil branch of ">«■ Air Department w ils not attending '•• th., interest* of aero an ~ ••nrouraglng them in their work Mere in-dr at a meeting o f the X cw Plymouth ;; n ° \]: i a ] ;, c z? m *i c aftcr ■ *** ' ,'. hc . '"• "Urging that inanv of the ■ iibVj dilH.-i.lt p. Wl .,e duo to the c-~ ■t.r,n« and to the attitude of the I'ppnrtment. nc

It was explained that the report had br-en forwarded to the Department on l-o put before- the committee «t the rJSvST' m #o far "" n * l * hi,d >-S

(harges of inefficiency were made ■'«"£. the club has ,h, 'plane,, only «;»•• of thorn are in the air, one with • temporary fortillcatc of ainvort mo-. Another of the 'pianos U „„„,''. «mng repair work, the fourth is the .cuw.n. winch has been hrld up at \ Hlmgton since the beginning )< tnber awaiting a solution of the d.-,i.| lock between the New Zealand an,l th, Aiiiprlwii floverniucnts, and the lifth is fi I >_»«•!■ Mot!, which has been awuitin"•l'""'" nt Hobsonvillc ~.i r|v £ The lack of 'plane, „«« lr(l in decreased intercut aniony .Members mi.] a. serious linancial loos to thu club!'

•The club has done everything in its power to further the interests of civil •mat ion, train pilots lln <l retain the interest of old member* by increasing the fleet a n<l varying tj.e tvpes of plunee. but it ha* been defeated in its '•ima by conditions over which it has no control," stated the report. " Unsympathetic Treatment." "There is a strong feeling among pilot Minn -era a ,,d prominent citizens that tlie Air Department has treated the club m a most unsympathetic manner, and J'"*, by insisting on petty details and mi necessary Departmental delays, contributed towards the very difficult position in which the club is now placed. l'lloU realise that for safety of aircraft wry strict inspection and control is neceasary by the Air Department, but consider that in the light of recent experiences it is a case of a doctor killing his pntient to prevent disease." i'he president, Mr. C. Hannan, said the Department seemed to have a wronjr on the activities of dubs, and did not seem to appreciate the work they wrre doing. If the civil branch should do anything it should encourage clubs, but it was not doing that. The Depart nifnt had been given an opportunity of replying to the charge* made by the pilots, but had not done so.

A Member: There is no reply. Mr. R. Boon aaid the Department did not seem to have a proper grip of its illiiiis, and mixed up 'planes, an it had i<ma with two damaged Hawke's Bhv I'luiiei, one of which the New Plymouth ■Inb purchased. The officers at Wei .ington did not seem to know what was filing on at New Plymouth. Mr. H. W. Lightband said it wm the n- illation* which were quite out of ouch with modern requirements and out of datt. \