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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0123.PDF
Flight, February 8, 1917. First Aero Weekly in the World. v ,/ z, « ! Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER.'-'•',"' \/ :/%••"*;--*"•*•.-««*. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 424. (No. 6, Vol. EK.)] FEBRUARY 8, 1917. rWeekly, Price Id.Post Free, ljd. EditorialOffl.ee: 44, St. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegrams: Truditur, Westrand, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. United Kingdom .. 6r. bd. Abroad xis. oti. CONTENTS. Editorial Comment: * l'AGE Sowing the Seed ! .i .. .. 123 "TheComb" .. .. •• 123 The Postal Aeroplane .. .. .. .. .. .. .^' -- 124 The Growth of Bureaucracy .. .. .. .. .. •'•• •• 124 Calling up the Youngsters .. .. .. .. •• / •• ..126 The Roll of Honour 1=6 The Late Major F. W. Goodden .. .. 127 The Royal Aero Club. Official Notices 12P, Answers to Correspondents 130 Armchair Reflections. By the " Dreamer" 131 Honours for R.F.C. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ...... 132 Airisms from the Four Winds • ' .. 133 An Interesting Contact Breaker for Magnetos .. .. 136 The British Air Services 137 Air Fighting in 1917 9 Personals .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 140 Aircraft Work at the Front. Official Information 141 Some Problems in Aeroplane Construction. By Capt. V. K. Clark, Capt. T. F. Dodd, and O. E. Strahlmann 142 Side-Winds .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 145 Models 146 not be supposed that the genus is altogether extinct. On the contrary, a long period of hunger has but sharpened their appetites, and by this time they are as ravenous as wolves for the prey that they believe awaits the swallowing process when at last the coming of peace will set them free to pursue their crooked ways again. Forewarned is forearmed, and the industry at large will do well to keep an eye upon the company-promoting schemes that are already in the air and are sure to be sprung upon the public at the end of the war. We are not in any way including in this category the expansion of legitimate concerns, which have an unimpeachable record behind them, and the investment by the public in which would rather be in the way of a privilege than otherwise. It is a bird of a very different plumage to which we take objection well in advance. We do not want any repetition of the history of the early days of the motor trade in this country, when a promising industry was nearly stifled in its infancy by the operations of a gang of " financiers." The story of those early days is not one that is pleasant to look back upon. E have noticed recently, not with any great surprise, be it said, that financial journals are beginning to manifest quite a fatherly interest in the future of aviation. Certain of the City scribes have indulged in much prophecy regarding the future of the movement, some of which is more remarkable for what we should almost term poetic licence than for reasoned opinion. There must be a reason for this sudden Seed! access of affection for an industry which had not a great deal to thank financial circles for in the days of its struggling youth. That reason is not very far to seek, and when we realise what is behind the interest it is a very sordid leason indeed. The War has lifted the aircraft in- dustry from the ranks of the unestablished and has placed it upon a firm and sure foundation. It is no longer a speculative business with an indeterminate future. Therefore, the wild cat company promoter has his eyes upon it as one of the milch cows of " after the war." For the past two and a half years these gentry must have had a particularly bad time, but although we have heard little or nothing of them since the war put a stop to their operations, it must " TheComb.' Following upon our comments of lastweek, on the subject of the proper utilisation of our man-power, the moral of our remarks is very well pointed by a case which was heard by the London Appeal Tribunal the other day. The case in point was one in which a highly qualified surveyor, passed B2, had been given temporary exemption in order that he might obtain work of national importance. According to the story he told the Tribunal, he had made application to several Government departments, but none of them apparently had any use for his services. After being turned down several times, he went to the Hotel Cecil, where he succeeded in securing interviews with a private and a sergeant ! Ultimately he managed to get the ear of an officer, who consoled him with the information that if 300 jobs were open they usually had 3,000 applicants for them. And so he got no farther forward in his effort to effectively serve his country ! We do not wonder that Mr. Donald Maclean, M.P., the chairman of the Tribunal, made some rather strong remarks on the case. The worst of it is that, bad as it seems on the face of it, this is only an example of what is going on all around us. If we were able to make a selective census of all the people who are at the present moment occupying Government appointments, we should find that nine-tenths of them
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