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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0231.PDF
MAKCB S, 1917. AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT. The Royal Flying Corps. IN his speech introducing the Army Estimates in theHouse of Commons on March 1st, Mr. Forster, Financial Secretary to the War Office, made the following referenceto the work of the Royal Flying Corps:— As far as the Royal Flying Corps is concerned, the supply ofpersonnel, both officers and men, has been maintained, although the provision of skilled mechanics in sufficientquantities has presented difficulties, which I think have been ~ overcome. The importance of this cannot be overstated,for while, of course, troops of all kinds contribute their quota to the success of the whole Army, none do more valuable » or more conspicuous work than the Royal Flying Corps in allthe theatres of war. We all recognise their intrepid daring and indifference to danger, which is only equalled by the skillwith which they carry our their perilous duty, and the value of their work both to the Army in the field and to the safetyof our people at home. The training of officers in flying has been very largely expanded, and the main difficulty that wehave had to face in this connection has been that of providing suitable aerodromes and buildings. It may interest theHouse to know that we are establishing new flying schools in Canada and in Egypt, and I should like to take this oppor-tunity of acknowledging the valuable services of the large number of colonial pilots in the Flying Corps. There hasbeen some difficulty and delay in obtaining the necessary aircraft and their appurtenances, in spite of the assistancewhich has been given to us by the Ministry of Munitions, but I hope these difficulties have now been overcome. Theformation of the Air Board, with extended powers, and the entrusting of the practical business of the supply of aircraftboth for the Navy and Army to the Ministry of Munitions will, it is hoped, give the Air Services that priority which theirimportance demands. The policy of instituting an Air Board has for some time had the firm support of the ArmyCouncil, and although the new arrangement has been in force only for a week or two its influence is already having effect.It must be remembered, however, that whatever the efforts of the Air Board and the Ministry of Munitions, they cannotbe expected to show at once a greatly increased output. Anti-aircraft stations have been installed at various points,and though the actual buildings are only a few huts and offices in each case, there is much work involved in connectionwith electrical connections and other accessories, which is not always a matter of easy arrangement in isolated country 1 districts. I am not going to boast about what might happen in the event of renewed Zeppelin raids, but we have profitedto the full by the experience that we have gained. The Government Aircraft Insurance Scheme. MR. RAFFAN, in the House of Commons on February 27th, asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether premiums have been reduced 50 per cent, on all new aircraft policies taken out under the Government scheme on and after Feb- ruary 17th and on all renewals falling due after that date ; whether a number of renewal premiums have been paid on the old terms on recent dates but prior to 17th February ; " and if so, whether, to obviate the sense of injustice which Fogs. IN his lecture before the Aeronautical Society of GreatBritain on February 28th, Major G. I. Taylor, who is attached to the R.F.C. for meteorological duties, dealt with manyinteresting questions in connection with fogs. Fogs, he said, are due either to precipitation of water inthe air or to a condition of the atmosphere which prevents smoke from being dispersed from the air close to the roofsof a town. Two conditions are necessary for the formation of a smoke fog • the wind velocity must be very small and theair near the ground must be relatively cold compared with the air higher up for a period sufficiently long to collectenough smoke to form a fog. Fogs which consist of small drops of water are formedwhen air containing water vapour is cooled. On land they occur only in very light winds, but at sea they may occur ina wind of nearly gale force. This because a high wind pre- vents the temperature of the ground from going down atnight, whereas it has very little effect on the temperature of the sea. It might be expected that fog would be produced on a clearstill night when the temperature of the air has fallen below the dew point found in the evening after the wind had dieddown. This is a mistake. The cooling effect of the ground spreads upwards by means of vertical currents. Directly would otherwise be felt, some rebate will be allowed in allsuch cases ? Mr. Roberts : My right hon. friend has asked me to answerthis question. For the present a rebate of 50 per cent, is being given on all new insurances or renewals effected underthe Government aircraft insurance scheme on and after February 17th. This is in effect a reduction in rate, and assuch must take effect as from one particular date. From the nature of the case, it is not possible to extend this reductionto insurances or renewals effected before that date. Sir J. Harmood-Banner asked the Chancellor of the Ex-chequer, whether persons paying enemy aircraft insurance immediately before February 12th at the original rate willbe entitled to a rebate in respect of the reduction of 50 per cent, which came into force on February 12th ? Mr. Roberts : My right hon. friend has asked me toanswer this question. Persons who have paid premium under the Government aircraft insurance scheme prior toFebruary 17th will not be entitled to a rebate except in cases in which the premium was paid in advance in respect of arenewal which did not fall due before February^ 7 th. R.F.C. Photographs and the Press. MR. TYSON WILSON, on February 28th, asked the Under-secretary of State for War whether he is aware that men attached to the Royal Flying Corps have been allowed toengage in photographing public functions, such as the recent Royal visit to the City, in opposition to the professionalPress photographers ; whether the act of contributing to the Press is a violation of the regulations ; whether thepractice referred to had the sanction of the War Office ; and whether he will take steps to prevent this competition withmen who are dependent upon the work for their livelihood ? Mr. Macpherson : I think my hon, friend is under a mis-apprehension. Certain photographs of the recent Royal visit were taken by the Royal Flying Corps for official purposes.None of these photographs were sent to the Press, and the last part of the question does not, therefore, arise. Royal Flying Corps (Medical Examination). MR. WATT, on March 5th, asked the Parliamentary representative of the Air Board whether his attention has been called to the inconvenience and expense entailed on candidates in Scotland for service in the Air Department, in that they have to come to London to be interviewed and medically examined, which practice puts Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom situated far from London at a disadvantage as compared with the Home Counties ; and will he make or suggest some arrangement whereby the examining medical man will go to such candidates at stated intervals ? Mr. Macpherson : A special medical examination is neces- sary for candidates for the Royal Flying Corps in view of the special circumstances of that arm. This has been held hitherto before a candidate was accepted ; but it has now been decided to accept candidates passed fit for general service and to hold the special medical examination during their cadet course. Candidates will, therefore, be interviewed in other places than London. the ground gets to the dew point of the air above it, dew iscondensed on the ground and the air in currents rising off the ground is drier than the surrounding air. Fog is reallydue to a mixture between cold, comparatively dry air rising off the ground and the warmer, moister air above. Adiagram is given which shows that it is to be expected that fog will not appear till the ground has cooled a long waybelow the dew point of the air above. To forecast whether a fog will appear on an aerodromeduring the night, it is necessary to find the dew point by observation with wet and dry bulb thermometers. Theamount by which the temperature must fall below the dew point before fog can be produced is found next; and onemust then forecast whether the temperature of the air will fall far enough to allow the fog to form, and if so, how longit will be before it does so. These operations are simplified by using a diagram from which the forecast can be read offat once. This can be used to predict almost with certainty thatfog will not appear on certain nights, and that it will not appear for several hours after the observations are takenon certain other nights ; but it will predict several fogs which will not materialise. It might be of some use to Flight-Commanders in deciding how long they may tell their night patrols to stay up. 231
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