Disciples of Drake

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 309, 21 March 1928, Page 13

Disciples of Drake

AIRMEN’S MAD ENTERPRISES Right to Risk Their Lives By Cable.—Press Association. — Copyright. Received 12.11 p m. LONDON, Tuesday. TO stop airmen’s initiative, whatever mad enterprises they may indulge in, would be like trying to stop Drake from sailing round the world before the seas were charted.

This opinion was expressed by Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. C. MooreBrabazon during the debate in the House of Commons on the Air Estimates. Colonel H. C. Woodcock said that Rear-Admiral M. F. Sueter ought to have official control over people wanting to fly the Atlantic. The Air Minister, he said, should insist on their having proper medical certificates and a knowledge of navigation. The machines ought to be overhauled before undertaking these flights. Lieutenant - Colonel Moore - Brabazon replied: “We had a bad week for

aviation last week. I cannot remember a worse one, but I hope that we are not going to lay down a stern rule as to what people ought or ought not to do.” People had a right, he said, to risk their lives as they liked. It would. be a retrograde step to surround them with difficulties. “We had a serious setback in the attempt on the seaplane speed record,” he said, “but it is really extraordinary that out of all the hundreds of miles flown at great speed, Lieutenant S. M. Kinkead’s was the first fatality, marking our attempts on the record.” Captain F. E. Guest said that there was apparently no civil aviation poliqy in Great Britain. Germany's civil planes last year covered 4,000,000 miles, French 3,200,000, and British only 800,000. Colonel Woodcock pointed out that the money needed to subsidise our airlines was negligible in view of the value achievable by seaplanes. The Secretary for Air, Sir Samuel Hoare in reply said .that the trouble about civil aviation was the shortage of money. From the viewpoint of reliability, economy, and administration, England was definitely ahead in civil aviation. The committee on imperial defence had urged that the minimum air force should be 52 squadrons. At present there were between 30 to 40 squadrons. There would be no rest until this minimum had been reached. He did not want to disparage the bravery and initiative of Atlantic flight attempts, but he would rather they were not attempted until the machines were better suited to the task. For this reason he foresaw the greatest difficulty in the State attempting to prevent individual flights. How could he, he asked, or any department tell when a pilot was actually about to cross? Many such flights were undertaken without his knowledge. He did not wish to dogmatise, but at present his view was that it was unwise to take any responsibility of this kind.—A. and N.Z.