§ Sir H. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, before appointing Baron Oskar von Asboth as designer of helicopters, he considered the possibility of appointing a British inventor to the post; and what encouragement the Air Ministry has given in recent years to the British designers of rotating-wing aircraft?
Captain BalfourI am afraid my hon. Friend has been misinformed. No such post as that referred to exists or is contemplated. My Department has under consideration, however, the placing of a contract with a British firm for the construction of a helicopter to the design of Herr Oskar von Asboth, who has been for many years a recognised authority on helicopter design.
As for the second part of the question, of the four British companies at present interested in one form or another of rotating-wing aeroplanes, two hold, or have held, contracts from the Air Ministry for experimental aeroplanes, and proposals from all four firms are under discussion with a view to some development orders being placed.