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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0888.PDF
AUGUST SI, 1914. Edited by V. E. Model Workers and the War. THE stupendous war which has burst upon us with the suddenness of a summer thunder-shower has already caused every thoughtful person furiously to think. The less thoughtful, if they have not already done so, will be compelled to do so ere long. It may appear at first sight that there is but little, if any, connection between the tremendous issues now at stake and model work in any form or field. This illusion must, however, be quickly dispelled if one takes the trouble to examine the matter at all closely with an unbiased mind. Warfare of every kind, no matter where carried on, has, at the present day, become such a science, that given opposing forces of anything like equal numbers and equal morale and training, well supplied with provisions, the victory must in the end go to the one the best equipped and provided with the most up-to-date and efficient weapons. If your rifles can carry 300 yards farther, your ships sail 2 knots an hour faster, or your flying machines travel 10 miles an hour quicker or climb higher and more speedily than those of your adversary, then you have him at a disadvantage. Such a com parison as the above could be extended indefinitely in any direction. It is the little things that pount in war as well as the big ; they have had a habit in the past, as they undoubtedly will do in the present case, of accumulating and becoming perhaps the preponderating factor. Into modern warfare has been pressed every possible discovery of modern science and invention which has been so fortunate as to catch the approval of those in authority. Now it is in this stage, i.e., the initial stage, where the model and model worker does or should come in. He undoubtedly does so, but not to anything like the extent that he either should or might. When aviation first burst on an astonished world and aeronautical papers and journals came, if not into being, at any rate into the public ken, such papers contained many and many accounts of aeronautical inventions in model form. Many of these time has shown to be useless, not to say even absurd. A few have become of great value ; some good ones were lost (lost, that is, so far as actual benefit to the inventor is concerned) and have been re-invented and incorporated into present-day machines, either at home or abroad. Some, possibly a fair number, were exploited (against the views of experts), and found useless. Money was lost in consequence, of course, and later on inventors found it more and more difficult to get their ideas taken up. In the mean time the model was taken up commercially and developed, as a toy. Enormous quantities were sold, some good, some indifferent and some so bad that polite language cannot designate them. This enterprise and commercial rivalry, to say nothing of the model competitions which began to be arranged, quickly led to the improve ment of the toy-model to a most remarkable extent, especially around London. It is probably not too much to say that the rubber-driven toy-model is at the present day as near perfection as human ingenuity can make it. The writer has been present at most of the principal aero-model competitions from the very first. There was an earnest ness of purpose and a full belief in the practical utility of their experiments in these earlier meetings which grew less and less as time went on. With the earlier aeromodellist " sport" was only a means to an end and not the end itself. There is a vast difference between these two aims, and at no time in the history of a nation is the contrast between them so marked as JOHNSON, M.A. in a national crisis like the present—a crisis compared to which the South African one can only be called a mere fleabite. One fact which has'been much impressed upon the writer with each suc ceeding Royal Aero Show that he has visited is the corresponding lesser amount of originality there exhibited in the model section. The first show contained some terrible freaks undoubtedly, but you will never have ideas without freaks, and it is ideas in model inven tion form that are wanted, and not dozens of so-called models as nearly alike as a couple of peas. From a true modellist's or in ventor's point of view, as soon as a thing becomes stereotyped, or even when it is seen to be approaching such a state, it is useless. As a national asset of either offence or defence, unless it is such that it can be directly used like a rifle, for instance, in war, it is useless also. At the present time everyone is anxious to do anything that he can to help, but it must not be forgotten that however urgent present help may be, no less earnest and strenuous assistance will be required in the future. As to the exact part which aircraft is or will be playing in the present war we know but little. One fact alone excepted, and that is, that it is undoubtedly doing most valuable reconnaissance work. Possibly, the aircraft of to-day are not yet sufficiently developed to play any other role—a role, i.e., of anything like a deciding factor. But, in any case, we shall learn much, very much in fact, not only as to the actualities, but also with respect to the potentialities of aircraft in aerial warfare. From a careful study of such the model worker and inventor should learn in what direction to strike out, in order to make our aircraft machines of still greater efficiency and destructiveness. The writer cannot hold the sanguine views expressed by Mr. H. G. Wells that this is the war which will end war. At the same time it does not appear an extravagant view to hold that warfare, especially aerial warfare, can be made of so terrible an aspect that no nation will dare to indulge in it, always provided, of course, that nations of approximately equal power are equally well prepared. In this preparation we must be second to none, and here as elsewhere the inventor and model worker can play his allotted part, but "sport" as sport must go, and pleasure, luxury and ease must be given up for study and scientific experiments, coupled with a deadly earnestness of purpose and a determination to pursue any matter we have in hand right through to the bitter end. We must not forget that the present crisis has arisen at a moment most opportune in many respects for this country ; next time, what right have we to expect that we should be so fortunate ? In conclusion, at the present time, let any model worker or inventor at work on any really practical design or idea for use in aerial or any other mode of warfare work at it for all he is worth. Needless to add, any assistance which lies in our power to give, will be given with the greatest pleasure and utmost secrecy. Model Aeroplanes at the Bristol Exhibition. Writing with respect to the above, Mr. R. V. Tivy (Hon. Sec, Bristol and West of England Aero Club, Model Section), says : " From a technical point of view the awards were most satisfactory, and I think they will give an impetus to the construction of really useful machines. The competition was advertised in all the papers in the South and West of England, and the experiment of making model flying a business proposition has been properly tried and has not been found successful. This was very largely due to the cancel- Photo. by Mr. J. F. R. Kitchin. A militarv scout biplane model constructed by Mr. R. T. Houst Mr. L. H. Slatter's new power-driven hydro-aeroplane model, a really excellent piece of workmanship and design. 888
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