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WE publish in this issue another of the articles which have appeared from time to time in AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING on the organization of the maintenance and repair of aeroplanes, the principal examples of which it is perhaps interesting to recall here. The subject was dealt with at some length in the course of an exhaustive series entitled ‘Air‐Line Engineering Management’ by MR IVOR LUSTY which, although they date back to 1942 and 1943, are still looked upon as something in the nature of a ‘classic’ by those qualified to know and remain available in our reprint form.

This collection of papers forms a sequel to Volume I which was reviewed in AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, Vol. XVI, October 1944, p. 297. Again we have a set of contributions of remarkable interest and variety which is well worth careful study by all aeronautical engineers who have to do with experimental stress analysis.

THE section whose efficiency should be least affected by the requirements of over‐suitability is the well‐established factory for the repair and overhaul of replaceable units, and this consideration adds much weight to arguments expressing the desirability of such unit parts for aircraft. The losses due to over‐suitability in this work can be considerably reduced by budgetary control, good planning and adequate spares, and at the same time the losses in other departments due to over‐suitability within themselves may be reduced by the reduction of the work required from them, and by far the most productive efforts to this end are those directed to the pursuance of the practices of absolute interchangeability of units. There is at the present time a movement towards this ideal, but the movement is slow and much remains to be done. In specifications and aircraft designs this ideal should be sought, and it will not be reached until every unit subject to wear and tear is a quickly detachable, easily replaceable unit, and absolute interchangeability is not achieved until the carrying out of such a replacement entails no more work on the aircraft than is required by the simple detachment and replacement of the unit.

PROBABLY the most outstanding in‐dustrial tendency of recent years is the mechanization of production. In quantity production, machines have replaced men.

VII.—MORALE WHEN an undertaking is nationally sponsored and, in part or in whole, Government financed; and when competition between itself and similar undertakings is non‐existent or remote, an atmosphere of security tends to creep in. In all except the most forceful personalities such security is apt to breed complacency.

THE production and marketing of aerial communication and transportation is, as yet, a young industry. It has at its call the experiences of past years of similar and allied undertakings, which form a background or framework upon which to build its structure, but for the remainder there is, technically, no help but self‐help. Financial assistance there may be from the government of the country served, but the technical problems peculiar to maintaining and operating an air line await for their solution the technical skill of, the air lines' personnel.

IV. SCHEDULING IT has been illustrated in Section III that over‐suitability in the engineering department is an inevitability if efficient working of an airline is sought after, for the cost of a certain degree of over‐suitability can be more than offset by the corresponding gain from improved flying operations. But even so, this over‐suitability is still a liability, so if means arc available to reduce the cost, these should be explored and exploited.

VI.—OUT‐STATIONS IT has already been pointed out that the engineering maintenance department is a minor factor to the major factor of flying operations and, therefore, for maximum overall efficiency it may be necessary to run the engineering side of the work on a basis of over‐suitability. Admitting this state, it becomes expedient to arrange the work so that as little as possible is done by the more inefficient, i.e. the more over‐suitable, sections. Inefficiencies of the kind which will occur in the organization envisaged are caused principally by the necessity for rendering good service under conditions of peak load, and this entails the availability of labour and equipment in excess of normal requirements. This is particularly so at stations on the routes where aircraft stop for traffic and carry on according to a published schedule. The work done at such stations is principally refuelling, re‐oiling and perhaps some attention to cabin conditions. The personnel, however, must be prepared, and able, to attend to any complaint made by the pilot, or to do a daily inspection overnight with whatever preventative maintenance that may entail. In the case of larger aircraft, assistance may be rendered by the flight mechanic, though this assistance should not be counted upon to too great an extent, as the mechanic's flight duties may be heavy on that day or the next, and his alacrity should not be compromised by work which may demand his mental or physical labours during what should be his rest period.

THERE are at work, in any industrial enterprise, economic laws, which when removed from their environment and exposed as pure principals are so immediately evident that elucidation is almost superfluous. However, it is only by a clear appreciation of these things in their pure form that they can be logically manipulated when applied, so to this end some explanations will be given here.

MOST readers will be aware that a novel servicing system was introduced by British European Airways nearly a year ago. In fact, there was some opposition to it at first that resulted in a strike in November 1948. However, this trouble was overcome and the scheme has now been in operation long enough for its first effects to be judged and for it to have become sufficiently stable for the system to be described in some detail.