The Ministry of Civil Aviation, I gather, has been in
earnest cogitation on a name for the helicopter landing-grounds which are expected to multiply in this country fairly rapidly., It is a subject on which I have already said something in this column— my own preference being very distinctly for " hoverport." That, however, is ruled out on the ground that " port ' must be reserved for international termini. (In actual practice it is not so reserved.) At a small gathering of experts in aviation and alleged experts in etymology, chosen for their equally alleged ingenuity of mind, convened by the Minister of Civil Aviation this week, progress was achieved by a series of eliminations— beginning with a veto on anything embodying " helico " or " pter." The final result was that a majority was content with " airstop " and a minority wasn't. SO "airstop" it seems likely to be. Somehow or other I don't see that taking on very
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