Business By Dove
Fox's Glacier Mints Ltd. prove the value of private air travel in seven years of experience

An interesting example of the use of a private aircraft for business travel is afforded by the well-known confectionery firm of Fox's Glacier Mints Ltd., of Leicester. who despite the smallness of the British Isles and the intense system of public transport have found during seven years of operation that the executive aircraft has become indispensable. The Directors and executives of the Company appreciate the ability to go anywhere at any time in comfort and with privacy for undisturbed work which they can seldom hope to achieve in their own offices.

The executive Dove belonging to Fox's Glacier Mints Ltd., preparing to take off from Leicester East airfield. Fox's Dove flies some 300 hours a year on Journeys linking the firm's factories and representatives in North and South Ireland, in the U.K. and on the Continent. In this photograph can be seen Mr.lan Fox, Director, with his secretary about to enter the aircraft with Mr. G. Notan the Company's Sales Manager in the background by the car.

With headquarters in Leicester, almost in the centre of England. the Company have other factories situated in Belfast and Dublin. There are some half-dozen depots throughout the United Kingdom. the principal ones being in London. Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow. Representatives are located in many other towns and the Company has numerous business connections on the Continent, particularly in France. Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

Essentially a family business, Fox's Glacier Mints place great store on maintaining close personal touch with each of the Company's factories, .depots and representatives and all are visited regularly by one or other of the Directors. This close personal interest is in a large measure responsible for the firm's long standing reputation which they jealously guard. In the circumstances the Company's executive aircraft have come to be considered as a vital part of the organisation.

It was in 1950 that the first private aircraft, a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, was acquired by Fox's. The same aircraft, G-AIDL, is still in service to-day: it forms a useful stand-by for emergencies when the more recently acquired Dove G-AMFU is otherwise engaged. The operation of these aircraft is under the direction of Captain R. J. Downes, the Company's pilot , but another .member of the executive staff, Squadron-Leader Hart, also flies the aircraft as often as his other duties will permit. The aircraft are looked after by Mr. H. Saker, the Company's engineer and are maintained by him according to the" public-use" Certificate of Airworthiness in preference to the less stringent private aircraft maintenance schedules. Credit for the unusually high serviceability which has been achieved by Fox's Dove must be shared between the skilful and conscientious work of Mr. Saker and the inherent reliability of the Dove and its de Havilland engines and propellers.

No pains are spared to ensure regular and reliable operations. The Dove's radio equipment is comprehensive, comprising V.H.F., with a stand-by set, a radio compass, I.L.S., and a Decca navigator. The Decca - one of the first to be installed in an executive aircraft has proved invaluable and has greatly increased the scope of operations; landings can be regularly achieved at airfields having no radio aids, with visibility down to half a mile and with ceilings of 300 feet. Operations are seldom interrupted by the weather, and there was in fact only one occasion in the whole of 1956 when a flight had to be called off for this reason. The aircraft are based at Leicester East airfield, about 4 miles E.S.E. of the centre of the city. The Company occupy a hangar which also houses an efficient workshop and a well chosen spares stock. Besides the normal maintenance work on the airframe and engines the renewal of Certificates of Airworthiness is undertaken on the premises by the Company's engineer. Only for major tasks. such as the recent conversion of the Dove from a Series 1 to a Series 6, is the aircraft returned to the makers.

Mr. Eric Fox and his co-director, Mr. Bruce Fox (left), in front of the Dove. On the right is Captain R. J. Downes, the Company's chief pilot and the manager of the Company's fleet . The Dove, which has recently been converted to Series 6 standard, with Gipsy Queen 70 Mk. 2 engines, was first acquired by Fox 's in July, 1954.

The interior of the Dove G-AMFU conforms closely to-the standard Executive model. It is fitted with four large adjustable armchairs, in facing pairs, with two additional chairs. Aft is the toilet compartment, with washbasin with running water and shelves suitable for light luggage. Besides the rear luggage locker, which takes 34 cubic feet (0,96 m3 ) , and can carry up to 500 lb., (227 kg.) of luggage, there is a front locker 22 cubic feet (0,62 m3 ,for 300 lb. (136 kg.).

Utilisation, increasing steadily, is now something above 300 hours a year. On an average at least two trips are made to Belfast every week, and the Directors believe they co uld not operate their Belfast factory with anything like its present efficiency without the Dove's mobility. Frequent visits are also made to Dublin. On these water crossings the saving of time and fatigue is great. Regular use is made of the Dove for visits to London. Although the distance from Leicester is only some 100 miles and the train service is good, the use of the Dove shows a definite and valuable saving it is a regular practice to be airborne from Leicester at 9 a.m., to be in London by 10.30 a.m, for a morning's work, and to be back in Leicester for lunch.

Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow are among the more important of Fox's depots that are also visited regularly by air and frequent flights are, made to Continental agents, including such journeys as Leicester to Zurich and back in a day.

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The Fox organisation keep a careful record of operating cost and find that this tallies fairly closely with the estimates based on the accumulated experience of other Dove operators. But from their experience the Directors of Fox's Glacier Mints are not inclined to weigh the benefit of executive air travel against a yardstick of cost: their time is valuable and not easily assessed in terms of money. Still more it is difficult to put a price on the convenience of going and coming just when they please, with the degree of comfort which travel in the Dove provides.