FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0277.PDF
MAY 1909- THE NEW BRITISH FLIGHT OFFICE. PARTIAL SATISFACTION IN AERONAUTIC CIRCLES. OPINIONS very naturally differ a good deal concerning the probable efficacy or otherwise of the recent step taken by the Government for affording official encourage- ment to aeronautic progress in this country. As yet so little is known concerning the precise powers, scope, and resources of the newly-appointed Committee, and of those departments to whom they are to act in an MR. EDWARD P. FROST, President of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain :— " England, which should lead the way, as she has done for a century past, in modern science and mechanics, now being lament- ably behind other nations in aeronautics generally, has adopted a scheme which should help materially military aeronautics, at any rate. "The scope for activity on the part of the Special Committee should be towards the development of aeronautics generally, in order that every encouragement should be given to individual effort, for where there is the largest brain power and ingenuity there is often insufficient funds to develop inventions. Hence the need of judicious State assistance, and it may be hoped that ample funds are available to enable this great nation to regain and retain a sub- stantial lead." Col. J. D. FULLERTON, R. E., Hon. Secretary, Aeronautical Society of Great Britain :— " The Government Programme.—The general idea seems to be to establish a sort of central experimental and investigation depart- ment in London, and to carry out outdoor experiments at the military and naval depots at Aldershot and Portsmouth. Such an organisation will do well enough for the present, but it is obvious that the National Physical Laboratory, which already has a large amount of scientific work to do, cannot possibly carry on the difficult and complicated work of aeronautical investigation indefinitely. " An experimental dep6t entirely under the control of what may be called the 'Air Forces' (as opposed to the 'Land' and 'Sea' Forces), will in the near future be an absolute necessity, and the sooner this is realised, the better for the country. " As regards the actual work done at the laboratory, I think this should be considered confidential, and that the results obtained should not be communicated to the world at large. Work of this kind, if properly carried out, is very expensive, and it is not desirable that foreign nations should get the benefit of the money expended by us on this subject. " Scope of the Committee's Activity.—On this point, nothing appears so far to be settled ; but naturally the work would be more or less of the following nature :— " 1. Experimental work, testing the effect of the air on bodies, surfaces, &c. Experiments with propelling apparatus, &c. "2. Theoretical work, on the motion of bodies, &c, principles of stability, and so on. (This would, of course, be done in conjunc- tion with the experimental work.) '' 3. Design of models and full-sized machines of moderate weight in conjunction with the officers in command of the aero- nautical dep6ts. "Lines for the Committee to Work Upon.—It is somewhat difficult to give an opinion on this point. The members of the Committee are all very busy men, with a great deal of work of their own to do, and the method of procedure will really depend upon what time they can spare for the Committee's work. " Speaking generally, the best course would be to— " 1. Thoroughly study the present position of aeronautical science. " 2. Arrange and generally supervise the work to be done at the 2 National Physical Laboratory. " 3. Visit the military and naval depots, examine the work in progress, &c. I attach great importance to this, as it is most desirable that the officers who are actually doing the work should have ample opportunity of personally ex- plaining their requirements to the members of the Com- mittte. "As regards the composition of the Committee, Lord Rayleigh and Dr. Shaw are both members of the Council of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, and are therefore well acquainted with aeronautical progress. Mr. Lanchester has written a very useful book on the subject, but the rest of the members, as lar as I am aware, have no aeronautical experience. These latter gentlemen are, however, all well-known scientists, and will no doubt do their advisory capacity, that much depends upon indi- vidual ideas as to exactly what is intended. The whole question is of such burning importance to the prospects of the movement that the follow- ing opinions, which have been sent us by leading men in the aeronautic world, are of no small amount of interest:— best to carry out the objects for which the Committee has beenappointed. "Nature of the Earlier Investigations.—The first and fore- most thing to be done is1 to design and construct the testing apparatus and the buildings necessary for housing it. This may seem to be a simple matter, but, as a matter of fact, this all- important work is very difficult, and requires an immense amount of time, care and forethought. " The next most important thing is to carry out the tests of the bodies and surfaces likely to be used in aeronautical work, and when this is completed the question of equilibrium should be thoroughly gone into. " The above are the matters requiring immediate attention, but a host of other questions, such as the design of propellers, the best kinds of motors, &c., are awaiting investigation, and should be gone into as soon as time and funds are available. " Funds.—No information is at present available as to the amount of money to be granted for the use of the Committee, but it is quite clear that if good work is to be done ample funds must be placed at Lord Rayleigh's disposal. " Few people are aware how very expensive experimental work of this kind is, and it is not too much to say that the chief reasons why Great Britain is behind other countries in aeronautical matters are that money has not been available for effective experimental work, and that those who have endeavoured to develop the scientific side of the question have never received that support from their countrymen to which they were entitled. " It is, of course, difficult to estimate the sum which should be allowed for the use of the Committee, but probably the following will be required for the present year:— ~ :' A» National Physical Laboratory 20,000 Military Depot, Aldershot 20,000 Naval Depot, Portsmouth 20,000 Total 60,000 " In connection with this, it may be pointed out that Prof. Langley's experiments (which are generally considered to be the standard) cost ;£ 10,000, and that though they were of what might be called an elementary nature, he considered that he required at least another ^10,000 to complete them. " Concluding Remarks.—In conclusion, I should like to draw your attention to two most important questions which should be thoroughly investigated by the Committee. They are : — "1. The formation of ' Air Forces' on the lines of the present ' Land ' and ' Sea' Forces. " In my opinion this should be taken in hand as early as possible, as it is quite out of the question for the work of a fighting force to be properly done if the fast-moving 'Air Forces' are to be tied down to the slow-moving ' Land ' and ' Sea ' Forces. " 2. Whether it is really desirable to construct any ' lighter-than- air' machines. "I am strongly opposed to the construction of such machines. They are heavy and cumbersome, very difficult to manage in even moderately bad wt-ather, and for their size, carry a very small amount of useful weight. Their speed, also, except in light winds, is indifferent; they are very costly, and, taking everything into con- sideration, such machines are not, in my opinion, worth the heavy expenditure which their construction and housing involves." The Hon. C. S. ROLLS, Committee, Aero Club of the United Kingdom :— " I should describe it as an invaluable move in the right direction. I have for some years past ventured to urge the Aero Club to establish a laboratory and to appoint a sub-committee to investigate inventions and carry out experiments. " In view of the perfection to which the Wright aeroplane has been brought, it would, I think, be a waste of time for the Committee to 279
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
