LEAVES FROM THE INSPECTOR'S NOTEBOOK.
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Commercial Aircraft and Government. The Power-starter.
IWAS READING the other day in. a weekly contemporary a very ably composed articlebased upon special pleading on behalf of State encour agement of -commercial aircraft service. And the writer, by no means a minor authority on Such matters, freely admitted that the commercial accomplish: meats of aircraft, since the war was over, have been on a _much lower 'scale than its 'protagonists had hoped for. The writer to whom 'I have referred urged quite boldly that although this was the state of affairs with which we were faced at the Present time it was one which could and should be remedied in the near future. He then proceeded 'cp lay claim for Government financial support on a considerable scale to enable aircraft to maintain in the commercial field the supremacy which Britain undoubtedly was well on the wa-y to attain when the end of the war came. And he adds that had it not been for our being cursed with a Le parsimonious Government" all would yet be well.
He write s thus at a time when the country is burdened almost. to extinction withtaxation to pay for all sorts of wonderful post-war-barn industrial and financial activities, when the country is screaming for the,cessation of Government extravagance. He begs for further millions as being necessary to enable the country to press on with experiments and schemes for the better and wider employment of commercial aircraft, and blames the Treasury for hesitancy in.burdening the taxpayer further.
We must cultivate a balanced and equable state of. mind in this matter. We shoilld, indeed, all of us be lacking in foresight to a remarkable extent, if we were not convinced, beyond argument, of the ultimate conquest of the air for many commercial purposes, but in the present writer's opanion this does not necessarily imply that the world is yet ripe for sush developments. Writers on this subject, and they are many, are apt to lose sight of the outstanding fact that developments in aircraft have rushed clean ahead of requirements. Types have been produced and performaisces achieved utterly regardless of cost, but solely with a view to assisting in. helping to win the war. Progress under such conditions from the point of view of design and manufacture, to say nothing of emploYMent, was, of course, certain to be remarkable.
It is true, of course, that other countries find themselves in much the same position, and that we arc all now equipped with knowledge bred of the employment of prematurely developed aircraft for that one. very special purpose. But when all is said and done actual and immediate requirements so far as civilian employment is concerned are very nearly nil at the moment, as compared with our ordinary transport necessities on terra firma. That this is so is evident from the emphasis that is laid by specialists on some of the extraordinary classes of employment to which they claim aircraft could usefully be turned in these days.
Surely there is no real necessity for this "parsimonious Government" to spend extra Millions—if, indeed, they can be found, for pressing the claims of the suitability of aircraft for exploring unknown tracks of Arctic or Antaitic regions, for surveying Central Africa, for scouting for shoals of herring, or photographing unusual fauna in an unknown country. All these things, and many far more utilitarian and promising benefits to the country will come in time, but those who hope for the ultimate . widespread c28 adoption of aircraft for other than warlike purposes are not doing the subject the best of services bY pressing these remarkable claims.
Aircraft is ahead of requirements here, and it is the same with all other countries. In the writer's opinion, the saner and sounder course in this matter is to make haste slowly. Let us steadily and stolidly foster the new mode of transport, but let us dci some missionary work and conserve our millions at the moment to meet more urgent needs.
It is a rather remarkable fact that so far Very' little, if any, actaal progress has been made with the adoption of power-starters for the heavier types of commercial-motor We-hides. And' this in. spite of the fact that it might be very well argued that it is the heavier type of lorry with its bigger engine that would appear to offer the best opportunity of economically embodying an accessory of thia kind.
Writing as a commercial-vehicle enthusiast, with only 3-elative interest nowadays in the touring car, and although I shall probably be putting myself straightaway into hot water, I venture the -opinion that no power-starter installation that is at present known to us, can -as yet be unhesitatingly written down as thoroughly satisfactory in all respects. The principal difficulty is undoubtedly the necessity of employing a battery, and although thousands of touring oars are fitted with one or other of the, better known makes of power starting equipment, there is an ominous absence of anxiety on the part of their makers and inventors to press for simirar adopt-ion on the heavier engines, which are the common characteristics of commercianvelicle construction.
The economics of the question are, of course, interesting, and although most of us have from time to time read more or lesa Convincing statistical statements purporting to show that the initial nest of installation is easily wiped out by the amount of petfol saved with an engine that could be stopperl.at will with the certainty of easy, and rapid starting, and. although such claim's might also be more easily pressed new that the cost of petrol is a-gain so high, the coramereial,vehicle in its heavier and more robust types still remains starterlesa.
One in left with the inquiry unanswered as to whether the ultimate policy of builders will be to " leave it to the driver." In any case, if suitable types of starters eventually are evolved, it is not likely that manufacturers or owners either will -decide to fit them purely in order tosave the driver. trouble or fatigue. There will be no corresponding rebate forthcoming in wages paid for such laboursating facility. The only arguments that will ultimately bear weight will be the possible saving in the cost of fuel, and thereduction of idle running and consequent depreciation of the engine.
There is quite a field as yet unexplored for the inte,ntive mind in the direction of the evolution of a type of starters that shall be consistently and fully satisfactory, not only for touring cars, but for comniercial vehicles, but in the latter ease the equipment will have to be so definite in its advaatages as to show actual financial gain as the result of the high additional, initial outlay—the labour and trouble saving side of the problem is of little, if any, moment.