65

3—H 37a

have received copies of the representations which they have made to Government concerning their financial position and requests for Government assistance. 198. The recent war showed, in at least four countries we know of—namely, the United Kingdom, India, Canada, and New Zealand—that flying clubs are a national asset. Their contribution in the early stages of the war, in providing an immediate reserve of partially trained aircrew personnel, and in some cases throughout the war, in performing a variety of services, more than repaid the subsidies they had received. New Zealand has not lagged behind the other countries in this respect. Except in time of war, when the scale of training is enormously increased, it is our opinion that a flying club organisation provides the cheapest and most appropriate form of initial training and selection of the men who will take up aviation, whether military or civil, as a career. But the justification for giving State support rests on more than cheap training. By their nature, flying clubs are widespread throughout the country, and with comparatively little assistance are able to maintain themselves in being in a far larger number of centres than could be contemplated by any national or commercial training organisation. By their widespread activities and mobilisation of local interest, they reach many who would not otherwise come in direct contact with flying and could not hope to take an active part in it. Thus the field of recruitment is widened. Not only this, but they perform direct service to the community by the maintenance of small transport units available locally for urgent charter flights, which are frequently of a humanitarian character. Such units could not possibly be maintained on so widespread a scale by a commercial or national organisation. 199. We believe that it is in the interests of the country that the flying club movement should be preserved and given a reasonable chance to develop. The flying clubs form a focus of activity for men of public spirit, and the history of the flying clubs in every country reveals the services which they have rendered to the nation. 200. Flying clubs are suitable organisations for the initial training of pilots, but their limitations should be understood. Advanced training requires more elaborate and expensive equipment, large capital, more specialised training staff, and whole time application of the trainees. Moreover, the management of a flying club, wholly suitable as it is for the proper activities of a flying club, is not, by its nature, suitable for the management of a large business. 201. An essential condition for the continued existence of a flying club is that it shall have enough work to do to use its equipment and paid staff economically, that is, at a sufficiently high factor of utilisation