Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 59: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION satisfactory solution of traffic control problems, likely to become more acute as the turbo-jet engine is increasingly used. The turbo-jet is only efficient at high speeds, and it is impossible to contemplate jet-propelled commercial air- craft being“‘ stacked’’ above an airfield, circling for minutes or even hours while waiting their turn to land. At present, thousands. of fiying bours a year are wasted by aircraft waiting in the air or being directed from one aerodrome to another because of weather conditions. An essential before real progress can be achieved is the development of completely safe landing sys- tems which are independent of weather, and of new methods of control so that far heavier traffic can be handled by aerodromes. There is no doubt that these systems will be introduced during the next decade, and that aero- dromes will work with the precision of railway termini, and with landings in perfect safety every few seconds. The Berlin airlift alone has pro- vided invaluable experience. The question of control at airports, which has so lagged behind the development of traffic, can be solved by the 58 co-operation of technician and organiser. The full and free development of air transport which is promised by technical discovery also calls for the elimination of much of the “‘red tape”’ which is a relic of the days when an_ inter- continental commercial flight was still something of a novelty. The nations will, in the near future, have to co-— cperate to simplify the whole business pattern which now threatens to bog civil aviation in a mass of forms and documents. The greatest need for avia- tion in the near future is that of very greatly reduced operat- ing costs,. so that flying becomes, not a luxury, but the usual method of passenger transport. There is hardly a country in the world which at the present time is not losing millions of pounds a year on its air lines, even with the present absurdly high fares. There are many reasons for this failure, but one is the great cost of developing the really large and efficient air- craft which are so essential to the establishment of civil aviation. Once these large aircraft, carrying one hundred passengers and upwards, are in full production, it should commicloolkks.com 4