WOMEN PILOTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 June 1932, Page 12

WOMEN PILOTS

DANGEROUS IN AIR? Mr R. W. D. Perkins, Conservative member for Stroud, looked carefully round the House of Commons, and, finding no women members present, made an attack on airwomen, says the ‘Daily Mail.” “I would far rather find myself flying in formation with a winged dragon than a woman pilot,” he said. Mr Perkins, an owner-flyer, was opposing a vote of £473,000 for civil aviation. Referring to the fact that a large number of women were being taught to fly at the expense of the State, he declared that it was the common knowledge of every pilot in Britain that, with certain exceptions, women were Notoriously inefficient and dangerous in the air. He then made the statement quoted above and continued: —

“These women pilots would be useless in the event of our being involved in war. It is a waste to use State money for the training of women pilots. ■‘Another type ol pilot is the old gentleman pilot. Last; Sunday I visited four or five flying clubs and :aw a laige number of old gentlemen >i 50 —GO even —having their first solo flight and getting their license. “It is indefensible to spend large sums of public money to give these old gentlemen cheap and almost free flying because they might be of some use in some future war.”

He questioned whether more than 600 pilots out of the 6000 private flyers in Britain would be of the least use in the event of war. Flo suggested that the subsidy should not be paid ’n resnect of any pilot over 40 or for any pilot who flew less than 30 or 40 hours, and that there should be no subsidy for women pilots. Colonel Moore-Brabazon, Conservative member for Wallasey, the first pilot in England, astonished the House by saying that he. was always troubled by noise and air sickness when flying.

Air Simmonds, Conservative member for Duddeston, said that members of flying clubs, whether they were men of 60 or w n men wore doing their part in promoting airmindedness. n e felt certain that the A ; r Ministry was taking the long view in aiding such clubs. The vote was agreed to. j