THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY September 8,-1962

From the London End Aircraft Industry Boom Over

THIS year's Farnborough Air Aero-engine manufacturers have aircraft from among those designed Show is of particular interest, been looking for business during for civil uses; military planners are coming at a time when redundancy, the past few years increasingly to now primarily interested in what labour lay-offs and plant closures on the export market in civil aviation. might be called "black box" tech­ an unprecedented scale have hit the In 1955. 67 per cent of aero-engine nology. Their requirements in aircraft industry. This year's Show sales by Rolls-Royce went to the power plants, metallurgy and instru­ will be held against the back­ British Government and only 33 mentation have increasingly less ground of the decision not to hold per cent to commercial customers. relevance for the modern commer­ the Show in 1963. Thus, for the In 1961 the position was almost cial airliner. first time since 1948, the unbroken exactly reversed. This is in sharp Consolidation of Aircraft Industry sequence of annual Shows will be contrast to what is happening in broken. This in itself is an acknow­ US. In 1961, 77 per cent of the In these circumstances, drastic re­ ledgment that the great days of the sales of America's United Aircraft organisation of the large number of British aircraft industry are over. Corporation, of which Pratt and independent U K aircraft companies Whitney is the major division, became essential, and a large number The British aircraft industry has went to the U S Government, of mergers took place, both among exported, since the war, more than aircraft and aero-engine manufac­ £ 1,300 million worth of aircraft, Critical Period turing companies. There are now aero-engines and equipment, which There is no doubt at all that the two large groups — the British is approximately 10 per cent of British aircraft industry is going Aircraft Corporation, which includes total exports of the British engi­ through a very critical period in­ Bristol, , Hunting neering industry. The decline of deed. In the past, military require­ and Vickers Armstrong, and the Britain's aircraft industry is reflect­ ments had encouraged research in group which in­ ed in the export figures. Over the the aircraft industry, but of late cludes , Blackburn, de Havil- last three years, the industry's ex­ Britain has been withdrawing more land, Folland, Hawker and Whit- ports have been high £ 154.1 and more from the role she had worth Gloster. This leaves only million in 1958, a peak of £ 156 taken up in the immediate post-war two companies outside the main million in 1959, £142.3 million in period. The British aircraft in­ groups — whose 1960 and £154 million in 1961 dustry concentrated on military prospects are uncertain and Short But during the first five months of development in the Second World Bros of Belfast who are currently in this year exports are running at the War, while the Americans developed great difficulty. substantially lower annual rate of civil transport. After the War. the £ 128 million and there is little In the last fifteen months there Brahazon Committee's civil projects likelihood of an improvement until has been a further re-grouping were intended to make up lost the next generation of airliners within the British aero-engine in­ ground in airliners, while military readies the delivery stage. dustry, Rolls-Royce entered into developments also went steadily an association with English Electric Aero-Engines Export Leaders ahead. It was in 1957 when the to form Napier Aero-engines and Defence White Paper was published Aero-engines are providing an take over Napier's aero-engine acti­ that it was decided that no further increasingly important part of total vities. Bristol Siddeley have re­ research was to be carried out on cently acquired and aero exports. During the late supersonic bombers and no new Blackburn companies. 1950's, for the first time; Britain fighters weir to be designed. Re­ was asked to provide engines for search work would, however, con­ With the cancellation of Bluer large American built transport air­ tinue on civil aircraft. Streak and Blue Water, the British craft Boeing 707 and Douglas industry has now withdrawn from The reduced emphasis on military DC-8. All of Britain's new series the field of military rockets. With aircraft and missiles has been re- of rear-engined airliners, BAC the establishment of the European fleeted in plant rundowns and shut­ Launching Development Organisa­ One Eleven; de Havilland Trident downs and labour lay-offs as orders tion, it has also withdrawn from and FV-10, have Rolls-Royce engi­ placed some years ago have been advanced space rocketry. There is nes. Large numbers of British executed and few new orders have yet no sign of an independent Bri­ engines have been exported in Bri­ replaced them, This position looks tish space programme. As far as tish combat aircraft and have been like continuing for some time to military development is concerned, manufactured in quantity abroad, come. Britain's main role lies in develop­ under licence. The Bristol Siddc- The development of rocket engi­ ing vertical take-off and landing ley Orpheus turbojet engines are nes has made military and civil aircraft — a field in which she has manufactured under licence in aviation increasingly separate acti­ been particularly successful. India, Germany and Italy. Total vities. Whereas military needs The Hawker P 1154 supersonic exports of aero-engines rose from once paved the way for develop­ vertical take-off fighter is not only £ 20 million in 1955 to £ 233,7 ment of new civil airliners,, the ser­ short-listed in the NATO list, but million in 1961, vices are now content to pick their has been selected by the RAF and 1435 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY September 8, 1962 the Royal Navy. U K power-plants formance and improve its range aircraft registered,. 491 were classed' (of the Bristol Siddeley Vectored and payload capacities and help it as business and private, and 407 as thrust principle or the Rolls-Royce to satisfy the needs of a number of airline types. jet lift principle) have been select­ overseas airlines. Has the British industry been ed for virtually all the V/STOL Particular interest will also attach right to put so much effort into fighters and transport aireraft in to the Anglo-French supersonic civil projects at a time when com­ NATO. The Hawker Group is also aeroplane which is to be produced petition is intensifying and demand one of the pioneers of project-shar­ by the British Aircraft Corpoation has declined as a result of the ing in Europe and India. Many and Sud Aviation of France. The severe financial crisis afflicting the Hawker Hunters were constructed aim is to get the aircraft flying by majority of the worlds airlines? on the Continent, and the the 1967-68. This aircraft will be In the 1950's, the average annual AVRO 748 and the Tolland Gnat capable of cruising at Mach 2.2 increase in civil aviation was about are being produced under licence 11,400 m p h) powered by four 14 per cent but now rates of growth in India. large turbo-jet engines. It is anti­ are much slower. The International The civil aircraft market is going cipated that (he aircraft mile costs Civil Aviation Organisation esti- through a bad period coinciding for such a plane could be lower males that in 1.961 the world's air­ with the petering out of demand than those for the best subsonic line industry had a record operating for the Viscount and the heavy airliner because of its greater loss of $ 140 million (£ 50 million) investment by airlines in the kind annual carrying capacity which against a profit of $ 70 million of long-range jet airliner that Bri­ will enable the operators to run a IV, 25 million) in 1960 a fall in tain has been unable to supply. smaller fleet. profits of 75 million over twelve It is against this rather depress­ Business aircraft will he repre­ months. At the same time, the ing background that British manu­ sented at Farnborough by the new industry's overall load factor fell facturers are putting on a brave baby jet DH-125 and the bigger by three points 'o 56 per cent show at Farnborough. Indeed, this Beagle aircraft. Business flying is the lowest level since the War. year a record number of new Bri­ on the up-grade. This field is With too many aeroplanes chasing tish aircraft are to be on view, and dominated by the U S A. In the loo few passengers, civil airliners, these models, both in the air and U S in 1961, business living ac­ have an excess of big jet airliners on the ground, represent the big­ counted for 16,7 million flying and have, therefore, been disinclined gest challenge ever made by the hours and 82 million passengers to buy more. At the same time, industry, for a larger share of world compared with 3.5 million flying competition to the British aircraft markets. hours and 62 million passengers by industrv has continued to intensify, airlines. In the U K in July 1962. especially from the V S and French The plane on which most of Bri­ out of a total of .1,562 active civil suppliers. tain's hopes rest is the BAC One Eleven which is already well over a year ahead of any possible com­ petitor and might well become a major success, perhaps matching the Viscount in this respect. this plane is particularly suitable for shorter distances and the short distance market is a particularly big one. The company is congratu­ lating itself on the fact that two U S airlines have already ordered the plane and another order has been received from an undisclosed foreign buyer. All these orders have been placed before the air- craft has flown.

Another plane with prospects in the world market is the de Mavil- land Trident the successor to the Comet. It is claimed to be the World's fastest short-haul jet. This plane faces competition from a small jet that Boeing have produced from a sealed-down version of their large 707. Two of the Trident planes have been ordered by Kuwait Airways. Certain develop­ ments which are under way, in­ cluding wing modifications and hisrh lift devices, will improve the Trident. take-off and landing per­

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