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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0716.PDF
NOVEMBER 13, 1909. THE ORGANISATION OF FLIGHT MEETINGS. THERE are lessons to be learned from the flight meetings that have just taken place in England which are of a character that might well be borne in mind by others who contemplate similar organisations in the future. The first point is the ground, and in this there is, of course, not often much latitude of choice, for it is unlikely that there will be more than one suitable spot in sufficient proximity to a town. For reasons associated with dealing with an immense traffic, such as may be anticipated in the event of fine weather, it is essential that the ground should be completely accessible by the ordinary means of locomotion, and on this score a race course would be more likely to be well served than other open spaces which have not previously figured as public resorts. Those who have not experienced the difficulties of transporting a hundred thousand people or so away from a place which each individual of the crowd is anxious to leave simultaneously, can have no proper appreciation of the importance of this point, but the scenes at Juvisy, in France, on a memorable Sunday a few weeks ago, when the traffic arrangements broke down, was a sufficiently striking object lesson of the serious nature of this side of the question. Organisers of flight meetings naturally want them to be a success from start to finish, and such being the case they should set to work with the idea that they are going to be successful and make their plans on an adequate basis from the first. The ground itself should be as large as possible, and the whole of it should be visible from any point in the field. As to what is the minimum size with which it is any use hoping that the leading pilots will be satisfied, it is perhaps difficult to come to an exact conclusion, but both Farman and Paulhan informed us that they con- sidered a circuit of three kilometres absolutely the smallest possible course. Much depends on the shape of the ground as to what sort of course can be marked out on it, but sharp angles must be avoided, at the same time that it is undesirable to curtail any long straight stretch which happens to be available. The surface of the ground ought to be as smooth as possible, and obstructions must necessarily be removed. In doing so, however, it is of still greater importance to ensure that the work is carried out thoroughly and conscientiously, for a ditch merely hidden by a superficial covering is infinitely more dangerous than when left exposed. If there are any doubtful patches which it is impossible to repair, their presence should be emphasised by every possible means, and every pilot informed of them. The laying out of the course and the arrangements of the grand stands and sheds is governed by two factors, one of which is the prevailing wind, and the other the preferred direction of flight. It may be assumed that the prevailing wind is south-west, and it happens that the French pilots, who at present are most to be considered, prefer to make their circuits in an anti-clockwise direction, that is to say, they would rather turn to the left when rounding a mark than turn to the right. This is, of course, a mere prejudice, resulting from custom. There is an advantage in so placing the sheds that they face along the starting straight and in the direction of flight. This enables the machines to be driven away from the hangars direct on to the course, and ensures that all attempts at flight take place in full sight of the grand stands. There is a tendency, if the sheds are placed in some out of the way part of the field, for lots of interesting little proceedings to go on in comparative obscurity, whereas they ought to be contributing to the interest of the spectators. It would be advantageous if a reasonable length, say not less than 100 yards, of prepared cinder-track were laid down for starting, and on the whole, it would probably be better to have such a track sufficiently wide and large to give a starting run in any direction, so that the machines could always head the wind, than to have a narrower track of greater length. The sheds and grand stands represent a considerable expense, but both must be the best of their kind. It is possible, in connection with the sheds as with the stands, to contract for their erection and removal at a figure which is considerably below the purchase cost. Those put up at Blackpool—for a sum, we believe, of .£60 apiece—were admirable except in respect to the roofing, which was made of some kind of fabric. This is liable to become torn in high winds, and moreover it is not thoroughly waterproof. Corrugated iron would probably afford the most satisfactory material for this work, and ought not to add materally to the expense of the shed if certain latitude were allowed the contractor so that he could use standard sizes. The canvas curtains used in lieu of doors appear to be reasonably satisfactory in con- junction with tent-pegs and other arrangements for lacing them firmly in place. They should be more securely fastened to the rings on which they are hung, however, as in some cases it was observed that they came unhooked. It is an excellent scheme to provide, as was done at Blackpool, a roped-off space in front of each shed, which remains the " private property " of the competitor. On the subject of the organisation of the meeting itself, all that can be said is to draw attention to the necessity of maintaining public interest by some sort of continuous performance. Most of the prize money might advantageously be divided up into equal sums allotted to each day of the meeting, and we would strongly advocate special attention being given to the nature of the prizes for which beginners are eligible. We would suggest that a beginner be considered as a pilot who has not previously officially flown a certain specified distance of, say fifty yards. For each day of the meeting there might be allotted a series of prizes, ofsa y £l° each, to be awarded to each and every beginner who makes a flight of fifty yards on that day. At the end of a week these competitors would stand to win a matter of jQ6o apiece; on the other hand, if they prefer to work in their sheds, they would win nothing, and, indeed, we are not sure that they ought not to forfeit something, at any rate for not being ready on the first day. This scheme of prize giving might be extended to include progressive flights of say a hundred yards and two hundred yards, with proportionate increments in the value of the prize. Some such arrangement as this ought to be a very effective means of keeping competitors constantly in the field and on the move, and that, in our opinion, is the great thing to be done if organisers of these meetings want to make them a success. Bad weather goes, of course, a long way towards ruining everything, but one flight like Latham's is worth a lot, and might be encouraged by special prizes for flights in high winds and rain. Beyond this, the only alternative is to provide some sort of side-show in the form of kite-flying or miniature balloon competitions. 718
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