A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
THE decision of the Dune of Edinburgh to take up flying, and his success in completing his first solo flight after ten hours' tuitiop, is very interesting, and from one point of view very satis- factory, in that it identifies the Queen's consort in so direct and personal a way not only with the air-arm of the defence forces, but with that form of transport which of all others has almost limitless potentialities in the future. But certain other considerations do enter in. The Duke is a keen polo-player, and there is not as far to fall from a polo-pony as from an aeroplane (or with an aeroplane) if anything should go wrong. In the eyes of the nation, and of the Common- wealth, the life of the Duke of Edinburgh is second only to the Queen's in value and importance. Should any unneces- sary risks at all be taken with it ? One member of the Royal Family, the Duke of Kent, it will be recalled, was killed ten years ago in an air crash. But he was not flying the machine himself, and it has to be recognised, particularly on the morrow of the worst aeroplane accident in history, that safety in the air has not yet been attained, perhaps will never be completely attainable, for pilot or passenger. King George VI won his wings, but he never, I think, flew as pilot after ascending the throne. What then of the Duke of Edinburgh ? Provided he shows himself fully proficient, as he undoubtedly will, and exercises all the scrupulous care which he knows is expected of him, he should be as safe when at the controls himself as he would be if travelling as a passenger. No one would suggest that he or the Queen herself should eschew air-travel.
Previous page
