Aviation
Seventy years on
David W. Wragg
Seventy years ago, two brothers, bicycle manufacturers from Dayton, Ohio, made the first aeroplane flights to be recognised as such, in marked contrast to the varied and comic assortment of leaps and hops Previously offered by would-be aviators. There was, particularly in France, a strong reluctance to believe in the achievements of the Wright Brothers — not because of the nightmarish prospects of aeroplane flight, as the cynics might suggest, but rather because the French had covetous eyes on this particular goal. Alas, almost five years later in August 1908, was revealed to the world, and in spite of a number of tentative European flights in the meantime, the American superiority was there for all to see.
Since _then, the aeroplane has not only reached maturity, but has passed on to a raucous old age. While over a similar timespan the steam railway also spread over the globe to become an object of convenience and pride, the attitude to the aeroplane has been much more mixed, and the ,conclusion that we have still to learn to live with it is inescapable. Orville Wright once said that "When my brother and I built and flew the first mancarrying flying machine, we thought that we Were introducing into the world an invention Which would make further wars practically impossible." This was in 1917, with the first World war at its height. But this was hardly a fair criticism of the aeroplane, since man Makes war, rather than machines, which can only add a new dimension to it. It is even doubtful whether the aeroplane added a complete new dimension to war, since airships could be, and were in fact, used for reconnaissance and bombing duties, and even the simple captive balloon was used for artillery sPotting as early as 1794!
Nor is the real problem of the aeroplane Purely environmental, even though one can Present the aeroplane as a round-the-clock, round-the-world monster, drinking scarce fuel and consuming precious land for its airports, While pumping deadly fumes into the atMosphere and keeping much of mankind from its slumbers. No, the real problem with the aeroplane is that it has now reached the stage where it is becoming less of a tool for man, and more of a master. In doing so, it has consistently managed to surpass the wildest hopes of its supporters, as regards performance, and frequently proved its detractors right financially. Concorde is a noted example, costing rather more than six times its original estimated cost.
It is probably too late in the day to decide whether or not we really want air transport, or whether the coast of Spain was the better for consisting of sleepy fishing villages which a handful of sleepy English artists and authors could retreat to, rather than having prosperity bestowed upon it with the doubtful blessings of the concrete jungle and the annual invasion of the kiss-me-quick Blackpool brigade. The Americans, sensitive as they are, might also be offended to discover that we would rather have them five days away. by sea than a little more than six hours by air.
Closer to home, any reaction against aviation might have to be short-lived. London's main airport at Heathrow provides employment for 100,000 people, of whom only half actually work within the airport boundary, while more than 400,000 are employed in the aircraft industries of Western Europe. Not to be too materialistic about it, our hardpressed balance of payments is helped by aircraft industry exports to the tune of almost £400 million a year. There is an air of commitment about all of this which is hard to escape. This is not to say that the backlash effect is unknown, but this is often remarkably unsuccessful and counter-productive. Tired of the noise of holiday charter flights from the local airport, the citizens of Luton managed to put a stop to runway extensions and to improvements to. the terminal buildings, enabling them to handle larger aircraft. This has led to difficulties for operators of such aircraft, with the result that they are making do as. far as possible with existing jets. The point is that, not only are three smaller jets required to handle the load of one big airbus, but, the advanced technology jet engines of the airbuses do in fact mean that these are the quieter aircraft anyway! In the United States, the protest movements managed virtually to close Chicago's Midway airport, putting almost all .of the traffic into the town's other airport, O'Hare. The result, property values slumped in the Midway area, and pressure to re-open the airport started. Inasmuch as the airbuses and new aircraft now planned, such as the Hawker Siddeley HS146 short-haul jet airline, are very much quieter than existing aircraft, even of smaller size, there is hope that society is re-asserting itself and putting the aeroplane in its place. It • is also behaving constructively, not putting people out of work and giving the engineers and scientists a higher goal to aim for by saying in effect "yes, but only if . . ." rather 'than just a plain "no." Against this hopeful tendency, however, the British and French Governments are spending more than £1,000 million on the Concorde airliner, and Britain alone is spending as much again on the Maplin airport and seaport project, thus building another runway-eating and too noisy aircraft, and spreading the menace of the airport to an as yet relatively 'unspoiled area. The money spent on Concorde could have given Britain a whole range of aircraft which would be quieter and need less take-off distance than existing types — and the Maplin money could well be saved in our present straits, or used to hasten the landfall of North Sea oil. The thrifty Wrights would not have applauded — and nor should we!
David W. Wragg's books about aviation include World Air Forces and the forthcoming Dictionary of Aviation and Speed in the Air.
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