FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0772.PDF
DECEMBER 4, 1909. IT must be a source of considerable gratification to everyone who is concerned in any way with the welfare of the sport, science or industry of aeronautics, that a second exhibition is to be held in London this comiHg year of grace 1910. At the present point of progress reached by all three phases of the movement, nothing is needed so much as interchange of notions, experiences and aspirations ; so that it would be difficult to imagine anything more thoroughly calculated to encourage deve- lopment of the new locomotion in Great Britain than the proposed public demonstration next March. The display given at Olympia last March was the first opportunity that had been afforded the British public in general, and Londoners in particular, of acquainting themselves with the appearance and form of that modern marvel— the aeroplane. And the opportunity was given just at the right time for the public to begin fully to realise that all the sensational successes they had read of in their newspapers had an immediate application to the ordinary affairs of life. The exploits of the Brothers Wright, Henry Farman, and others on the Continent had been regarded with considerably more than the passing interest that is customarily given to any of the more or less startling current topics of the day; but it remained for the exhibition at Olympia properly to awaken the latent enthusiasm that is possessed by every people, and to afford them a personal acquain- tanceship with the outward aspect of the machines which had performed the modern miracle of mechanical flight. The possibilities, or rather the nearness of those possibilities, were in fact brought home to everyone who visited the Show, and in some measure also to many thousands of those others who had to obtain their in- formation concerning it at second hand. Naturally the exhibition was not a success from a financial point of view; but no one, and least of all its organisers, ever expected that it could be otherwise. The whole burden of it was borne by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a body whose interests naturally embrace the welfare of this latest branch of the motor builder's business. Those who are now adopting the manufacture of aeroplanes as a commercial undertaking, and those who contemplate doing so in the future—not to mention those who have in mind the early acquisition of flying machines of their own—have, in truth, much for which to thank, the Society, since, but for their practical efforts at the beginning of this year to popularise aerial locomotion, it is quite certain that the present stage of advancement in this country would not yet have been reached. The Society promoted the March exhibition with no idea of making any direct profit from it, although at the same time the policy which it pursued was based upon the soundest possible com- mercial lines. It would be fatuous to suggest, of course, that it had no well-conceived motive which would prove of ultimate benefit to itself, or that its action was dictated solely by a patriotic desire to place Great Britain on an equality with France in respect of the design and manu- facture of flying machines. Everyone can see that, by its action in coming forward at the time when powerful influence and aid were urgently needed, the S.M.M.T. quietly and firmly secured the unquestioned right to occupy the same predominating position in the coming industry of the air that it holds as regards the British automobile trade. In confirmation of the wisdom of this step—as well from its own as from every other point of view—it is but necessary to recall the well-nigh startling developments that have taken place in the period since the holding of the first Show, and the consequent leap into popularity of an entirely new sport that is now assured. It is, therefore, upon a wise policy, rather than upon any philanthropic motives, that we and every other well- wisher of the movement must congratulate the Society, and we do it the more heartily in that the invaluable financial assistance in connection with these early shows has been forthcoming from them without any of the fuss and boasting that has unfortunately characterised the actions of some other ambitious aeronautic bodies. There has been no hypocrisy in the Society's movements or announcements, which, very possibly, is the reason why the credit for first substantially encouraging and popularising aviation in Great Britain is not always accredited to them by writers upon aeronautic topics— let alone by the great bulk of the general public. To them the credit belongs, however, and this essentially is a fitting occasion on which to refer to it once more. There has, moreover, been a conspicuous display of dignity on their part which is bound in the long run (as has been the case with the Aero Club itself), to command respect from all quarters, and to confer lasting power upon them. Valuable as last year's Show was to the movement, the proposed exhibition at Olympia next March is bound to be superior from that point of view as from every other. Then, the main aim was to consolidate the curiosity of the public while it was yet fresh, in such a manner that encouragement might be forthcoming to experimenters and to prospective builders of flying machines and their accessories, rather than to attract the sporting element in the land and induce those who could afford to indulge in a new pastime to do so without awaiting further proof of its practicability for more or less daily use. This coming year, however, the purely curious stage has virtually been passed, while simultaneously the work of constructing aeroplanes has been proceeding apace, and the pioneering amateur can almost immediately obtain delivery of the machine that he wants. Following very closely upon the heels of the Show, in fact, there will be a very general display of activity in almost every part of the kingdom, the enterprising younger generation which has the wealth at its command disporting itself very freely in the air when the elements are pro- pitious for elementary flight. Hence, a fair meed of actual business may be expected at Olympia for the first time in the annals of the new sport, not only as between those who are preparing to take a prominent part in the industry when it matures and those who can meet their immediate needs, but also as between the firms which are ready to build actual flyers, and those who intend at the very earliest date that is practicable to soar about overhead instead of adhering in the old- fashioned way to Mother Earth. It may be too much to expect that March next will witness an exhibition that will make full monetary amends for this year's loss—and this is just where the S.M.M.T. still comes so handsomely to the rescue—but the whole character of the occasion is sure to be vastly in advance of the first British flight-show. Appearances point, more- over, to the United Kingdom actually leading the whole world as regards International aeronautic exhibitions in 1910. 774
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
