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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0340.PDF
IABOS APRIL 20, 1912. EDITORIAL, COMMENT. The Hard on the heels of our leader in last Go er^m t'a wee^'s 'ssue 0I" FLIGHT, in which we Aerial Defence attempted to set forth the Government's Scheme. scheme of aerial defence as we conceived it to have taken shape in the minds of the advisers of the War Office and the manner of its working, came the issue of the official White Paper in which the intentions of those who are responsible for our defences are made quite clear. Along its main lines the Govern ment's scheme follows absolutely our own exposition made for the benefit of the critics who have strained every nerve and every argument to confound Col. Seely and his advisers and, incidentally and collaterally, to mislead the public to whom their criticisms have been addressed. Let us hasten to say in this connection that we do not for a moment think that there has been deliberate malice in the criticisms to which we have referred—all that has been present, we are convinced, has been a want of proper information and an enormous excess of zeal. Now that we have before us more clearly what the Government intends to do we may hear less of the kind of thing with which the columns of certain of our lay contemporaries have been flooded of late. Criticism is an excellent thing in its way—in fact, it is inconceivable that we can have progress without it—but to be of any value at all it must !>e allied to something like accurate information of things as they are, and at least some sense of proportion. In the main, the statements contained in the White Paper under notice may be passed as satisfactory, though in certain of their details we could wish that more definite information had been afforded. The " General Principles " are excellent in their wording and in the deductions which have prompted them. Indeed, they could hardly be otherwise than they are unless the Government had been absolutely blind to the progress that has been made in aviation. But " General Principles " do not constitute a complete scheme, and it is quite possible to hold the most orthodox of views, but to carry them into practical effect in a most heterodox manner, and it is with the scheme itself rather than with the principles underlying it that the public is most concerned. In the " Outlines of the Scheme " are set forth the ways and means by which those principles are to be applied. Briefly, the Royal Flying Corps is to supply the necessary personnel for a naval and military wing, to be maintained at the expense of, and to be administered by, the Admiralty and the War Office respectively; also, it will provide personnel for a central -flying school and for a reserve on as large a scale as may be found possible. The Central School is to be maintained at the joint expense ok, the Admiralty and the War Office and after graduating. there, pilots will be detailed to the naval establishment at Eastchurch or to one of the military squadrons for a special course of further training. The duties and scope of the Royal Aircraft Factory are clearly defined and are shown to be precisely as we detailed last week. Again, emphasis is laid on the fact that it is in no sense to be a rival establishment to the private constructors, its activities being confined to the training of officers and men in higherVmecHanics; the reconstruction of aeroplanes ; repair work for the Royal Flying Corps ; tests with British and foreign engines and aeroplanes, and experimental work generally. That, we think, should finally dispose of the repeated allegations 340 which have been made to the effect that it was the Government's intention to build its own aircraft at the factory. r'hi.- So far all seems quite satisfactory and as we would have it. But when we come to that portion of the White Paper which deals with " Aid to Private Enter prise," we confess that there seems to be just that amount of ambiguity about the Government's proposals which gives rise to a feeling that even yet it is not realised how necessary it is that the industry should be generously encouraged until such time as it is able to stand on its own feet. For example, the Paper tells us that entry to either the naval or the military wing of the Royal Flying Corps " should ultimately be confined to those who have qualified at the Central Flying School." We should like to know exactly what this means. Does it convey that presently entry will only be for those who have learnt to fly at the Central School and passed through their whole aviation course there, or does it mean that officers may be initially trained at private schools, but must pass a qualifying examination at head quarters ? If the latter, then we can endorse the policy to its end, but if the former is meant then we fail to appreciate the method of encouraging private enterprise which the Government sees fit to adopt. Again, we read that " for the present" military officers and civilians . . . should first obtain their R.Ae.C. certificate, and on being accepted as members of the corps will receive the sum of We cannot see here much encouragement to either officer or civilian to enter blindly on an expensive qualifying course which may easily lead nowhere, and further, this does not necessarily imply either aid or encouragement—even " for the present"—to those who have invested capital and work in the organisation of flying schools which are as much in part of the industry as the actual building of machines. Then it is proposed that a small rent be paid to the principal aerodromes for landing rights and for the use of sheds by members of the corps engaged in cross-country flights. Why the word "small"? Surely we do not need to treat the subject from the standpoint of parsimony, even in such details as this. Let the Government look things squarely in the face, admit frankly that we have fallen woefully behind in the air-race, and realise at once that the only way to overtake things is to treat those who are willing and eager to assist with something like generosity. The one vital essential which the Paper does not touch upon is that of finance. It is obvious that the scheme here outlined is much more ambitious than that fore casted by Col Seely in his speech introducing the Army Estimates and, therefore, cannot be paid for out of the sums which the House'was asked to vote on account of aviation. From where .j^$ie money to come, has been, asked? A paper sdne'me of aerial defence may look very well but it will not help; us„rn tne* day of need, say the querists. True, but we^&ve every confidence that the needful money wiM.be forthcoming. There is that matter of the Budget surplus which may be held in the mind's eye. This, it; is known, is tentatively ear-marked for defence purposes, and what is more natural than that a portioM of it should be brought out for the service of the Royal Flying Corps and its organisation ? But whether the funds come out of this, surplus or not, they will be forthcoming.
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