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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 0948.PDF
EDITORIAL Colonel Seely's statement in Parliament At last. on Monday evening, October 30th, should fan the fires of enthusiasm in any hearts that have been growing cool towards aviation by the neglect hitherto so apparent in official quarters. It appears that the Government is at last going to make some really tangible move towards placing military aviation in England on the footing that is not only desirable but absolutely necessary if this country is to take any place at all in the movement. Also, at last, it seems that the aeroplane has definitely won over official recognition of its merits, for we fail to observe any direct reference to airships in the whole of Col. Seely's important speech. His statements we have not failed to put on record in extenso elsewhere, and as we can scarcely imagine any reader of FLIGHT failing to peruse the full text, word for word, it is unnecessary to recapitu late the very clearly expressed words of the Under- Secretary for War. Needless to add, also, that we welcome whole-heartedly this evidence of intended action on the part of the Government although, merely in a spirit of progress, we would add that we hope their ultimate actions will not stop short at the fulfilment of their present intentions. There is one little point that will not escape the attention of our readers, which is the simple explanation advanced by Col. Seely to account for the apparent hesitancy of the Government to act in this matter heretofore. It was apparentlydue to a well-meaning intention that Great Britain should possess the best of everything when it was possessed of anything at all. It is curious how simple-minded a Government can be in these matters, for you would think that ordinarily worldly experience would be sufficient to show anyone the impossibility of making a beginning at the end of things or of even finding the end of things at all. The whole essence of progress is progression, and if the aeroplane were to stay where it is to-day the British Government might be justified in thus far having kept its money in its pocket. But as it is, where France is England might have been, and, as Col. Seely admitted, France is already a long way ahead of the rest of the world. But France did not wait for the aeroplane to grow perfect; she was wise in her generation and just took her place as leader the moment that it was obvious that there was a definite direction in which to forge ahead, and to-day the British Government decides that it will do likewise, neither more nor less. The aeroplane is improved, but no one suggests that it is perfect; much more is now accomplished as a matter of course by pilots than formerly was ever attempted, but it is far less than they hope to achieve some day. So, while we decide to wait for the perfect article, we may go on kicking our heels on the platform as the trains of progress rush by. Only when we decide that the imperfect vehicle is good enough to travel by for the time being, shall we ever reach any destination whatever, or find ourselves in a position to profit by improvements as they come into the world. • -• • And now let us come to the main issue, th^fioine* wnich is> tnat tne Government, having Industry. decided that they will no longer wait for perfection, should see to it that they en courage our own industry. France has not thrived through the purchase of foreign-made goods, but through the persistent buying of the home-made article, which, NOVEMBER 4, 1911. COMMENT. we venture to suggest, was neither perfect in the first instance, nor any better than some of our engineers could have produced under similar stimulus. On the whole it seems to us that the British aeronautical industry has expanded and developed itself uncommonly well, and if the Government would only show a firm support at the back of the movement, we feel confident that it would at least keep step with any foreign enterprise. After all, it is quite impossible to do anything nowadays without money, and so long as the industry is supported by voluntary contributions, so to speak, those who fly as the wind takes them, and buy a machine or build one for themselves as pleases their fancy, there is necessarily lacking that steady under-current of constant demand which is the life blood of any commercial undertaking. The Government, when it takes up flying, flies in a professional sense on a steadily increasing scale, which automatically means a steadily increasing demand for aeroplanes in England. Thus it is, therefore, that the Government can back the industry to the interest of Britain by merely spending the money that it has got to spend, anyway, in our own market. It is all very well to acquire foreign-built machines for purposes of experi ment, but now that aviation is being taken seriously by our Government, we sincerely hope that there will be no extensive purchase of foreign-built aero planes and engines for the country's needs. If the Government prefers something that is of foreign design to anything that is original to this country they can at least have it built here, even if it be a matter of first paying royalty. The Government, we presume, is not out for cheap catering in this particular branch of its activities ; and, once that those interested in the British industry know that the support which is its due is to be accorded, the country will not long have to remain without either the best machines or the least expensive. - . During recent weeks there has not been so in the Air. mucn OI" an outcry in the columns of the dailies with regard to the dangers of flying. This is a good sign, for it indicates that newspapers and the public have regained something of a sense of pro portion in this connection, but all the same we have noted comments upon the fact that the century of aerial fatalities has been reached, some of them drawing the familiar moral. No one can regret the loss of precious lives more than we, but much as we may deplore the accidents which have attended the development of flying, we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that no progress can be made in anything without sacrifice of some sort. It is not our purpose, however, to justify or even to deplore the aerial death roll, but rather to make a lurid comparison and invite our readers to draw their own conclusions. Since the first man flew, it is claimed that one hundred aviators have lost their lives. During the year 1911 no less than 115 people have been killed and 37 seriously injured while climbing the Alps. All sorts of opprobrious terms have been used to describe the foolhardiness of the men who fly. Newspapers have inveighed against the danger of it, and hysterical old women of both sexes have let themselves go on the subject, but figures such as we have quoted pass almost without notice and absolutely without comment. And the paradox is that even those same hysterical individuals will admit that aviation has its useful side—but what can be said of mountain climbing? 950
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