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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0902.PDF
I/DGHT] A BRITISl To those who take a pessimistic delight in repeating that Great Britain is going to the dogs, and is lagging bt-hind in the race 6i nations, the victory of Mr. Grahame-White in the second of the series of races for the Gordon-Bennett Trophy must have come somewhat as a shock. It seems as if the story of the development of automobilism in this country was to be written over again in its application to the newer science of flight. With all the innate conservatism of the race, the nation as a whole stands aloof, sceptical until the last of the possibilities of any thing that is new, until demonstration points unmistak ably to potentialities for the future. Then the energetic ones begin to touch the fringe—as though it would burn —and, having satisfied themselves that it is worth handling, they go for it, diffidently at first and with much misgiving, but gathering faith and enthusiasm with progress, at last the country achieves to the position that should have been hers from the start. So it was with automobilism. Others experimented commercially and kept on experimenting, while the British business world looked on with little faith in the fuiure development of the new locomotion, until at last a stage was reached at which it could no longer be neglected. Then financiers and manufacturers set seriously to work and with character istic energy built up an industry that is second to none in volume and which stands technically at the head of all. In aviation the same is happening. The practical solution of the problem of human flight ultimately came from without, even though the purely scientific work started with British investigators. For a time belief in its potentialities was utterly lacking over here and no attempt was made to regard it seriously. Until very recently it was the fashion to say that we had not an aviator who even approached first-class form, though the feats of poor Rolls and of Grahame-White, Capt. Dickson and others put it beyond all doubt that Great Britain had at last made up her mind to forge ahead. Even then, the story of international competitions was none too flattering to the national amour prapre. Our aviators were handsomely beaten wherevtr they appeared. Meetings were arranged all over the country, huge sums of money being provided by way of prizes chiefly to be annexed by flying men from across the Channel. Even in the case of the London-Manchester flight, which, more than any other event of its kind, went to make aviation history in Great Britain, a foreigner snatched the victory just when it seemed within the native grasp. That, however, is a told story, and it is in the present and the future that the Anglo-Saxon race must make amends. An admirable start is to be found in the splendid victory which has assured to the United Kingdom the holding ••f the world's most important aerial race in this country next year. Two things only we would have had other wise— apart from the very disgraceful friction between the management and the competitors over the Statue of Liberty contest, held at the same meeting. Mr. White undoubtedly put up a wonderful performance over the dangerous Long Island circuit and thoroughly deserved his win. We had rather, though, that he had not won at the expense of p >or Leblanc, who apparently fell a victim to the dangerous nature of the course, against which more than one of the -aviators, including himself, had previously protested. It was the hardest of hard luck thus to find himself put out of the running just when the race seemed a certainty for him ; NOVEMBER 5, 1910. TRIUMPH* but we must not forget that having regard to the nature of the circuit, superior skill must have counted materially in Mr. White's favour. After all, it is prima facte presum able—the speeds of Leblanc and Grahame-White being so nearly equal—that had the former been as skilful in handling his machine as his competitor he would have been able to complete the race. Hence his accident does not really detract in any tangible way from the honour of the British win. The other regrettable point is that Grahame-White won the race on a French aeroplane. That argues that although this country has come on so far as to have equally skilful and daring pilots as those of any other land, she still lags behind constructionally. This is not as it should be, for at this stage in the development of the aeroplane some native genius should surely have come forward with designs at least equal to the best of the French machines ; or at least some native manufacturing organisation should have succeeded in building an equally good version of the aeroplanes that have proved their merits. However, that will certainly come almost immediately now, and meanwhile it is well to be thankful for the greatly improved prospects of the past week. It is especially flattering to the national vanity that of the only four competitors to complete the whole distance two were representatives of this country. While Mr. Ogilvie's flight was eclipsed in spectacular interest by that of the winner, it was nevertheless a very fine performance, sound if not particularly brilliant; and the thanks of Great Britain are due to him in only slightly less degree than to Grahame-White for se worthily upholding the honour of British aviation. As to the future of the Gordon-Bennett Race, the fact of its being held in England next year must exercise a decidedly beneficial influence upon the development of the industry in this country. It is only necessary to carry one's memory back to the parallel case of the British win in the race for the Gordon-Bennett Motor Trophy in 1902, with the resultant race in Ireland in the following year. Up to that time, automobilism had progressed well enough ; a steady but rather slow expansion was the order of the day, when along came Edge's victory to stimulate interest and to drive home the conviction that motoring was one of the things that had to be reckoned with, and the public opened its eyes to the fact that here was a new industry in which such headway had been made at home that a British car and a British driver were good enough to win against the pick of the whole world. Then came the Irish year, with the endless discussion that turned about the legality of holding a road race on Irish highways, and the con sequent Act of Parliament, all of which stimulated the public interest in motoring and thus did inestimable good to the movement. Next year every prospect presents itself for a similar direction of interest towards aviation. There is the competition for the Daily Mail prize of ;£ 10,000 and now there is the Gordon-Bennett Race also to be fought out on a British course. The pick of the world's flying men will come over to compete in both events, and there is the British title to defend in the latter as well as the onus to see that this time the Daily Mail money shall remain in this country. It may confidently be trusted that by the time these two races fall due there will not only be the men but the machines to ensure all- British victories in both cases. 900
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