GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY PROVIDED

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 49, 26 February 1921, Page 5

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY PROVIDED

AIRSHIP OF COMMERCE.

, err.ox ouii own correspondent.) * LONDON, 12th January. Civil aviation is to be aided by Governrflent grants to the pioneering companies engaged in passenger, mail, or gpods services. The Air Ministry announces that Cabinet has approved fif a sum being set aside for this purpose, subject to Parliamentary sanction. During the financial year'l92l -22 payments •under the grant will be limited to £60,000, and -will be made only to British companies working on approved aerial'routes. They will be calculated on the basis of 2$ per cent, of total gross revenue of each company earned by carrying passengers, mails, or goods on and after Ist January, ft2l. CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT. Payments will be'allotted on the return for each »three months treated separately, if the company can show that on at least forty-five days in each three months flights have been completed in both directions by aircraft of British manufacture, fitted with British-made engines, within a fixed maximum period of time allowed for each journey. Routes at present' approved are London-Paris, London-Brussels, London-Amsterdam. Extensions and additional routes, such as England-Scandinavia—on which flying boats or amphibian machines, or a mixed service of sea and land aircraft, may be demonstrated—may be -approved from time to time, if satisfactory proposals ar§ received by the Air Council.

GOVERNMENT CONTROL. -

Relative to tho proposed subsidy, Mr. Handley Page considers it good, inasmuch as it shows that,the powers4hat-be are convinced that there is something in civil aviation that is worth keeping alive; and in these days of financial stringency it is good to get even a small provisional grant, for it is a real recognition of the value of civil aviation to the conn try. But, ho further said, "the danger of any "subsidy is that progress always tends to be retarded under Government control, as there is a tendency to lean too much on Government support, with a consequent weakening of initiative. However, if this subsidy is administered on tho broadest possible lines with the least possible number of returns required from the industry, tlwft the progress should indeed be great."

A NEW BRITISH AIRSHIP.

A great airship is nearing completion at the works of Messrs. W. Benrdmore and Co., near Glasgow, and in • a few weeks it will be launched. Shortly 'afterwards it ia to ■ make a. flight. to the .Middle East to demonstrate the practicability' of the airship for commercial purposes. Once this is done some en; thusia-sts may decide to take over the surplus airshios and plant that are no longer necessary for war purposes. The airship is to accommodate SO passengers and several tons of, cargo. There are six engines, giving a total of nearly 2000 h,p. The length is 672 ft, and with its gas capacity of more than 2,000,000 cubic feet, it has a useful lift of 32 tons. The intention is-,to take the airship on a flight to Egypt, hut it is hardly likely that this journey will be immediately carried out, because the arrangements for moorings out in Egypt are not yet ready, and they provide an important part in the tests that are to. be undertaken. It is expected, therefore, that in the first instance the airship will go as far as Malta and then return.

INTER-UNIVERSITY RACE,

It has been suggested by the Royal Aero Club that steps should be taken to t hold an * inter-Uni-versity aeroplane race between. Oxford and 1 Cambridge. A contest of this kind would, no doubt, do a great deal to encourage and populariso the private ownership and hire of aeroplanes, and it is hoped that'the club will not only be able to arrange a race, but that the event will stimulate rivalry between the two tJniversities to such an extent that it may become an annual fixture. In addition to the Aerial \Derby round London, the Aero Club's draft pre* gramme makes provision for a. circuits ofrßritain race. It is proposed that it shall be for seaplanes or amphibians, and that the course shall come down the Caledonian Canal. England is expected to be ona of the stsiges in the Round-the-World Derby, originated by the American* Aero Club.

AIR MINISTRY COMPETITIONS—

JUDGES' CONCLUSIONS,

During August and September competitions were held ■under the aegis of the Air Ministry to ascertain the best types of aeroplanes and amphibians which would be saie, comfortable and economical for air travel, and,' in the case of amphibians, capable of alighting on the water and rising from it, as well as land. In their conclusions the "Judges' Committee find that one effect of' the roles \^as to encourage the production of aircraft having an ample reserve of power. To obtain this xvithoiit sacrificing economy or useful load entails the use of an engine of high power fov its weight, abut normally run well below its maximum power. The advantage thus attained in regard to safety is clearly shown in the greatly-increased ability to rise out of a confined space, while the reduced normal strain on tho engine largely assists in producing a reliable machine. In spite of the higher first cost of such an aircraft it is almost certainly a-better commercial proposition than a machine with the same normal performance and little or no reserve of drawer.' As regards landing in a confined space, the pilot's view and the controllability of the machine are two very important factors, and there is some tendency to place upon them insufficient' weight. Tfio run on the ground, after such landings, can be rednced if, suitable wheel brakes are fitted, and very promising designs were exhibited by some competitors. The umphibians also displayed' a marked \ advance toward safety in another direction, O.rpable of alighting on' and rising from any practicable site on land or water, they have a great advantage over other forms of heavier-than-air craft, while the low position -of the hull very largely reduces any risk of injury in the event of a minor accident on tho ground. This type of aircraft is considered to have a. high ■ potential value for commercial purposes, ax its use will, in many ca*es, shorten the distance

to be Sown and also enable passengers to be landed- on a river in the heart of a city instead of on an aerodrome some considerable distance outside". In 9 regard to twin-engined machines, further information was gained as to til© conditions determining their ablltly to fly on one engine, and it was clearly shown that, given adeguata attention to certain details of design, a*'twin-engined machine can fly on one engine, thereby increasing its reliability arid safety. The judges find that aircraft designed for commercial use show a. marked advance in comfort over these originally desigued for war purposes and afterwards modified to suit civil requirements. Seating accommodation, heating, and ventilation arrangements • have reached a very fair standard of comfort, but the silencing of engines has not yet had sufficient attention-.

The rules of the competition permitted the use of secondary equipment of foreign manufacture, hut it is satisfactory to know that the items of foreign equipment utilised by competitors:-were insignificant in number, and practically were confined to petrol gauges, in which connection it was' remarked that no really suitably gauge showing the Quantity of petrol in the tank was fitted on any competing machine.

The m.-ignetos fitted were all .of British design and construction. While there is little doubt that when a few mechanical, details have been improved the British magneto will be the best in the world, the results of the competitions show that the British magneto manufacturers are now abreast of any of their foreign rivals: