§ 2.56 p.m.
§ LORD BRAYEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made with blind landing equipment for civil aircraft or whether any further progress is contemplated with some form of fog dispersal unit on at least one civil airfield in Great Britain.]
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, both our new major civil transport aircraft, the V.C.10 and the Trident, will be capable of "auto flare" from the outset. In simple terms, this means that instruments position the aircraft correctly in the vertical plane throughout the landing, leaving the pilot to concentrate on his lateral position with reference to the runway. This is a useful stepping-stone to full automatic landing and should improve safety. With full automatic landing, an aircraft will be controlled by instruments in the lateral plane also. A contract has been placed for the first stages of development work of this full system in the V.C.10. Similar arrangements for the Trident are under discussion with the manufacturers, and we hope for an early decision. The Government propose to limit their financial support to a 590 maximum sum and the manufacturers will also be required to make a contribution.
In parallel, further development will be undertaken of the existing ground Instrument Landing System equipment which will form part of the complete automatic landing system.
As my noble friend Lord Mills informed the noble Lord on March 28, 1961, it has been decided that no useful purpose would be served in attempting to instal FIDO at London Airport. The Government have no proposals for installation of FIDO or any other form of fog dispersal system at other airports.
§ LORD BRAYEMy Lords, as a subsidiary question may I ask the noble Lord when it is expected that some form of safety landing device will be fitted to civil aircraft? There have been very considerable labours on this matter, as your Lordships know.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, researches into automatic landing systems are well advanced in this country, and I am happy to say that my information is that they are a good deal further advanced in this country than in any other. So far as I can tell at present, it is hoped that the full automatic system will be available to civil aircraft by the latter half of the 'sixties.
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, does not the noble Lord feel that it is quite a long way to the latter half of the 'sixties, and would he not again consider over the next few years the introduction of FIDO? British European Airways want it. I suspect that the "latter half of the 'sixties" probably means the early 'seventies.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I cannot see why the noble Lord should make that assumption. I do not want to go into a very long discourse, which I could do, on the exact progress of experiments and work which is being carried out at the present time. I will simply tell him that the Blind Landing Experimental Unit in Bedford have a system on which they have successfully carried out over 10,000 landings in weather of all kinds. including the very bad weather in December of last year. It is a system which is already suitable for military purposes, though these are not quite up to the very 591 exacting standards required for civil purposes. But progress is going well. I cannot stand here and categorically say when it will be introduced, but I can see no reason to agree with the noble Lord's assumption that it means the early 'seventies.
So far as FIDO in concerned, it has not been particularly satisfactory in experiment. It would be of limited use; it is very expensive, and, furthermore, the information which the noble Lord has given the House about the support for it is in the opposite sense from what I believe the position to be.
§ LORD SHACKLETONI am sorry to return to the noble Lord. Is he saying categorically that British European Airways are not in favour and are now positively against the introduction of FIDO? In fact he said I had misinformed the House.
§ LORD CHESHAMNo, my Lords, I did not say anything of the kind. I am perfectly certain the noble Lord said what he did in the utmost good faith. What I intended to convey was that B.E.A. had withdrawn their support of it.