FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0860.PDF
\f"l /GHTl NOVEMBER S, I9IS. THE "ARRIVAL" OF THE AEROPLANE.* By ALGERNON E. BERRIMAN, M.I.A.E., A.F.Ae.S. Introduction. IN the title of my paper I u e ihe word "arrival" in the sense in which one says of a man and bis carter, " He has arrived." The aeroplane has "arrived" in the present war, which has provided just the netting that was needed tn convince the publie of it« real worth. Previously, aeroplanes were to the public just wordtriul inventions, something to be quizzed, like caged animals that are fami iar enough—at the Zoo. Today, thi- same class of machine has become one of our national insti'utions—an accented, respected fact destined to pass muster henceforth amorg the commonplace wonders in the service of roan. For the moment it is employed as an engine of destruction, but ultimately we may hope for a fiial tii/e wherein it may minister more truly to his welfare. Since the beginning of the war, the aeroplane has played such an important part as to have become an outstanding feature of the conflict. The presence of this new " Fourh Arm," as it has been called, has unquestionably revolutionised some i / the more important conditions of warfare, although it has not yet revolutionised the mode of warfare itself. Cavalry, infantry, and artillery continue their appointed work, and although the reconnaissance work of air craft is, perhaps, more closely related to the duties of cavalry than to either of ihe other arms, such an additional useful function as the directii n of artillery fire will alone serve to place aircraft in an entiiely new category. Although the war is directly responsible for the present wide spread recopn tion of the aeroplane's part as a military arm, and as a reliable vehicle, the foundatior s of the successful behaviour that have routed this general esteem have been the work of a long period of most painstaking labour. The science of it* design, and the art of its use, have not been born in this hour of necessity. When I say that the British Government, at the outbreak of the war, was in a position to - invite tenders from engineering firms generally for the construction of aeroplanes to Government designs, for which fully detailed drawings ai.d specifications were in readiness, I consider that I am paying the highest possible tribute to the enthusiasm and dogged determination of those latter-day pioneers who are really responsible for the " arrival " ol the aeroplane in the present war. More than this they Could not accomplish, for the engineering of its construction in sufficient quantities to meet the country's real needs, as now demonstrated, is susceptible only of a financial solution, such as a national purse can alone provide. Today those purse-strings are thoroughly loosened for the first time. So recently as 1913 the Navy League organised a campaign for influencing public opinion in favour of an estimate of at least ,£1,000,000 s eriing for aeronautics in the forthcoming National Budget. No-withstanding all efforts—and the campaign received the unsch-du cd, but none the less welcome, stimulus of a scare causid by the reported visit of a strange air hip to our shores—the public at Urge remained stolidly apathetic, and raised no murmur when Parliament at last voted only half the anticipated sum. For them the aeroplane had not yet "arrived"—and this, as I say, was within almost a twelvemonth of the outbreak of the war. For the two previous years, the- figures for the national expendi ture on aeronautics were only ^'308,000 and ,£131,000. I have no knowledge whatever as to the total national expenditure to date this year, nor can anyone foretell the amoun that it will attain ; but it is certain that several contractors are now working upon the execution of contracts, each of which represents a figure in the order of those just mentioned. When, theiefore, it is realised that the aggregate of the nation's expenditure has hardly represented more than a decent amount of business for one or two large firms, it is possible to appreciate the brave 'pirit in which those earlier workers maintained this diminutive aeronautical industry. Manufacture as Distinct from Design. The fact that the British Government was in a position, at the out break of the war, 10 invite tenders for aeroplanes of official design, and that many non-aeronautical firms, notabl) among those in the automobile industry, contracted to build these machines, affords a good illustralii n of the line that can and, in my 1 pinion, should be drawn between manufacture and design. This division of industry does not always commend itself to the inventive genius, and instances are not few in the field of engineers g where good workers have confused their opportunities by lack e>f this pero p ion. Engineering, in the commercial serse, is fundamer tally a financial problem, being primarily concerned with the uninterrupted employ- * Apaper presented at a mectirg of ihe International Engineering Congress, 1015, in San Francisco, CM., September ;oth-25tb, 1915. , Chief Engineer of the Daimler Co., Coventry, England, ment of the invested capital represented by the buildings and machinery belonging to the firm. One design of article is better than another according to the degree to which its greater popula'ity commands a greater amount of profitable business. From a manufaourer's stand point, it is a matter of indifference whether the design is an aeroplane or a motor car, so long as the existing organisation and machinery are capable of producing it. In this connection, however, I may say at once that it is not advisable to try to build aeroplanes in a motor-car factory that is also fully engaged on its proper work, without planning for exten sions both to buildings and machinery, as the very size of an aero plane, to say noihing of the multiplicity of its details, preludes the possibility of its being sandwiched in as a mere "addition to schedule " in some already full works'programme. Moreover, the requirements, both in material and labour, are sufficiently uncommon to monopolise much of the time of the managing staff. For the construction of aeroplane engines, however, the normal capacity of a well-equipped automobile factory should already be adequate, except in so far as the capacity of the machine shop will inevitably represent the narrow neck of the bottle when it becomes a question of a high rate of output. Also, it is important to recognise the fact that the building of aeroplane engines contributes no industry to several other departments that are necessary to the construction of a complete motor-car. These are, of course, purely economical considerations and do not affect the potential utility of a properly equipped motor car factory for the purpose of building aeronautical engines in emergency. As an example, I might mention that the famous Gnome rotary motor, hitherto built only in France, was reproduced and running in England within eight weeks from the outbreak of the war. There were neither drawings nor specifications, but a sample engine was dismantled and measured, and the drawings were completed in one week. In the Gnome engine every part is finished all over, and the cost of the machining labour is therefore disproportionately high. Indeed, there is so much work for the heavy capstan type of lathe as to monopolise this section of the machine shop, and, there fore, to cause some general disorganisation, unless due precautions are taken. The problems relating to the building of aeroplanes to existing designs are purely those common to manufacturing engineering generally, and the path to a successful issue is not neces-arily affected by lack of expert knowledge of the problems underlying design. Provided the drawings are accurate and the specifications exact, the product ensues as a matter of course upon the setting in motion of any organisation that has the capacity to produce it. It Should hardly be nece-sary to emphasise the need for sy-tem and care in handling outside designs of this character, particularly when they are subjtct to frequent alteration, but such precautions apper tain to the province of general business ability, and are needed in every walk of life. From the little I have already said about the constructional side of aeronautical engineering, it should readily be apparent that the problem of supply can be trusted to find its own solution if the time ever comes for the aeroplane to take a permanent place among the accessories of civil life. For the moment, it is purely an instrument of war, but its already phenomenal success in this field of operations ensures the permanence of its military importance and the continuity of its development in time of peace. None can foresee the outcome of this regime, but it seems to me impossible to believe otherwise than that aircraft will ultimately attain to a wider sphere of employment than is indicated by their purely military use. The Non- Military Aeroplane of War. Notwithstanding the fact that the aeroplane of today is essentially military in its importance, it would be misleading to suppose that it is equally military in its design.t t For a comprehensive discussion of the military requirements in aeroplane design, see the following papers read before the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, and published in the " AERONAUTICAL JOURNAL " and " FLIGHT " as follows: "The Military Aeroplane," Col. J. E. Capper, "FLIGHT," December 16th, ion. " The Military Aeroplane," Major Radcliffe, " FLIGHT," December 13rd, 1911. " Military Airships," Lieut. C. M. Waterlow, " FLIGHT," March 9th, rora. "The Design of a Military Scouting Aeroplane," Brig.-Gen. D. Henderson, Vol. XVI, No. 63, July, 1913. "Aeroplanes in the Light of the Military Trials," A. E. Herri man, " FLIGHT," November 23rd, 1012. "Air Targets for Artillery and Rifle Practice," Brig.-Gen. F. G. Stone, Vol. XVII, No. 65, January, 1913. "Military Aviation," Major F. H. Sykes, " FLIGHT," March 8th, igrj. *' The Coming Airship," Capt. C. M. Waterlow, "FLIGHT," December 6th, " Further Developments of Military Aviation,' " FLIGHT," February 14th, 1914. Lieut. Col. F. H. Sykes 860
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
