The Annual Event

ONCE again Farnborough is over, well over by the time this issue appears, yet inevitably the mind returns to it to take stock. This year was notable for the appalling weather, which restricted the flying performance of all aircraft except the helicopters, whose agility increases year by year as machines improve and pilots gain confidence in them. By contrast their performance stood out even more this year. Otherwise the mixture was much as before. The exhibition was even larger, the engines demonstrated their increased power mainly by being even noisier than ever, and this year there were the rockets also to add to the din. Where there were a few years ago a handful of caravans we now have well populated terraces of exhibitors' enclosures. As always there was much of specialized interest in the covered exhibition. Equally perennial were the criticisms of the organization of the show. Was it really worth holding it every year? The S.B.A.C. is convinced that it is so long as it can attract the interested visitor. Would a permanent building, with decent sanitation and a site less bog‐bound in wet weather, be impossibly uneconomical? There have been rumours at various times that a permanent building would be put up, but if it is only to be used for the display week it would inevitably be costly, in maintenance as well as in first cost, and the capital expenditure would probably not be justified. The old practice of holding the function at manufacturers' airfields, perhaps in rotation, has been suggested again, but it is doubtful if the firms concerned would welcome the disruption of their activities: it was for this reason that it moved to Farnborough in the first place. What is really needed is a large area of tarmac with an associated hangar or other large building, together with the necessary runway facilities. It is worth remembering that the French have solved this problem by using one of the two airports serving Paris, and closing it to airline traffic on the flying display days, which are reduced to two, mainly as a public attraction. They have also, of course, put up a permanent building, though what purpose it serves, if any, in the two‐year interval between Salons we do not know. However, it might be worth considering whether, when we have Gatwick as well as London Airport, a similar arrangement might not be suitable over here. One point is that of transport. A site which is really well served by rail, which Farnborough is not, apart from its distance from the stations, would be very welcome, particularly to the foreign visitors who would not normally have cars with them. The coaches provided tend to be slow and of declining popularity.