Civil Flying There is no country in the world to
which civil aviation is a matter of such vital importance as it is to Britain— firstly, and mainly, owing to the need of speeding up and regularizing means of communication between the parts of the Empire ; and, secondly, because our superiority in engineering skill and aeroplane construction gives our people so splendid a chance to excel in flying. Yet Sir Philip Sassoon tells us that,our subsidy of 8513,000 for thccoming yearis only one-tenth of the corresponding American expenditure, one-quarter of the French, and half of the German and Italian ; and of this suns 86 per cent. goes to Imperial Airways. However objectionable Government subsidies to commercial concerns may he, Imperial Airways does at least provide efficient service in return. But the more immediate need is that the light aeroplane clubs should receive more assistance, and should be encouraged to increase their activities as the centres in which young men are acquiring skill in flight and the habit of flying. Air travel will be a far more important thing in the future, than it is today, and for Imperial and commercial reasons alone Britons cannot afford to be second to any people in the world in developing all its uses.
* * * *
Previous page
