§ 56. Sir G. PENNYasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether any useful data have been obtained from the flights of the R 100 and R 101; and to what purpose these vessels will now be put?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEAs the answer is somewhat long, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir G. PENNYDo the Government intend to give Members of this House another opportunity for a flight?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEThat question will have to remain in abeyance for the present.
§ Mr. MARJORIBANKSWill the hon. Gentleman extend the invitation to the Soviet Ambassador and his suite?
Following is the answer:
The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. It is difficult within the space of a Parliamentary answer to enumerate the data established by the flights. Some information upon this subject, as well as upon that referred to in the second part of the question, regarding the future use of the airships, was given in my Noble Friend's Memorandum accompanying the Air Estimates, pages 6 and 7, as well as in my remarks upon this subject during the introduction of the Air Estimates on 18th March. To what was then said I need only add that the two airships, essentially experimental in their nature, were built with a primary regard for safety and in conformity with a stringent set of airworthiness requirements. In this respect the design has fully come up to all expectations, and both airships have attained or exceeded the performance predicted for them on the basis of model experiments. The preliminary trials are now complete, and both airships have shown themselves to be thoroughly stable 2162 and easy to control. The experience has taught us how to design a safe airship, and we have also learned that it is possible to achieve a reasonable degree of passenger comfort without undue cost in weight.