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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0043.PDF
Flight, January 23rd, 1909. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport.— OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 4. Vol. JANUARY 231*0, 1909. [Registered at the G.P.O.l [Weekly. Price Id.L as a Newspaper. J [_. Post Free, lid. UHITY. Now is essentially the time for every far-seeing English man, Scotsman, and Irishman—and, for that matter, for every enlightened Manxman also—to put his shoulder to the wheel in deadly earnest in the interests of the future aeronautic industry within the United Kingdom. Very probably there is not one reader of these lines in a thousand who does not feel that this country needs wakening up to an appreciation of the immediate pros- pects of mechanical flight; and consequently that is an axiom which may be taken for granted without further palaver. There is nevertheless a grave risk that many of those who fully admit the truth of this sweeping indictment, will yet continue to content themselves with the thought, instead of applying the corresponding moral in a practical form to themselves as individuals. And so, to one and all, this week, we would address a very urgent appeal, the exact nature of which automatically divides itself under three distinct headings. First of all we would, however, remind the reader that whatever is done, or is left undone, just now, is destined to have an extremely potent influence upon the early history of the era of flight when that record comes to be written. The handicap with which we start, the rate of subsequent progress, and the part which this country will play in competition with the rest of the world during the next few decades, depend enormously upon things which may seem to-day to have but little importance; while, similarly, the very spirit of the coming sport, and the respect in which the movement is to be held by the masses of the people, hangs primarily upon the social standing and prestige that can be won for it in the early days on which we are already entering. By the greatest of good luck, we have for aeronautics an admirable precedent of an almost precisely parallel kind from which to foresee possible contingencies. We refer, of course, to the automobile movement of the last few years ; and may, without unduly labouring the point, recall the total lack of precedent which was available to guide its early footsteps. Never before the advent of the motor car was any highly technical development brought about with the practical aid of those who hoped to derive the direct personal benefit from it; since never before was any large section of the non-engineering public brought into close contact with the actual management of any complicated type of mechanism. As matters now stand, however, the cult of aviation is to be very much on a par with that of automobilism. It will have its preliminary sporting days of races and trials ; it will have its subsequent days of keenly-contested competitions for the industry ; it will have its specially-trained leaders and followers with their own technical institutions ; and above all, it will have its social organisations to safeguard the interests of the owner and user throughout the country. Everything therefore depends, for a start, on the loyal co-operation of everyone connected with the movement, and on the power that can be placed behind a national representative body, formed (or the sole purpose of encouraging the sport and the industry, by every legitimate means, and in an absolutely independent manner. A vastly greater amount of hard spide and shovel work has to be done in the initial stage? than was ever needed to instal the motor car upon the roads, and consequently it should be the first thought of everyone who takes the least interest in the subject to insure unity of action, by eschewing, like poison, any possible cause for future internal friction within the leading aero- nautic circles. On the one hand, funds are needed for furthering the work; and these funds can only be disbursed to best advantage if one set of execu- tive expenses have to be deducted from the total money that is forthcoming. On the other hand, a capable permanent staff is necessary to conduct the work that is undertaken at the direct instigation of the entire membership, acting through its elected com- mittees ; and no guarantee can possibly be obtained against personal jealousies, leading to weakening discord between the various bodies, if more than one staff of officials (each answerable only to its own institution) is employed to do the work of the country's owners and users. Practically it may be said thai we have a clean sheet from which to make a commencement during the present year. But one reason why we have laid such emphasis on the need for unity of representation is that a certain amount of " rubbing out" is already needed. Representation, at the moment that we write, may lead to future trouble unless the risk is warded off at once; and it is in order to avoid this risk that the appeal which we issue to-day is three-fold instead of two-fold. Firstly, we would ask every reader of FLIGHT to help forward the cause either by seeking election as a member of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom, if he is a pro- spective owner, user or patron ; or by joining the Aero Club League, if he is a worker, enthusiast or well wisher. Secondly, we would ask everyone to try and induce their friends to become members of the League, thereby aiding British progress. And, finally, we appeal to members of the Aeroplane Club to throw in their lot with the Aero Club, and thus help to secure single, complete, and dignified representation for the whole aeronautic community in the United Kingdom.
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