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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0023.PDF
JANUARY 2, 1919 ampton, where express rail services are lacking. Attention is drawn to Ap pendix E, outlining a scheme for an experimental air-mail between London and Glasgow. Mr. Murray, criticising this memorandum at the meeting of the Special Committee on October 12th, considered that a load of 100 lbs. of mails per machine, and not 1,000 lbs., was all that could be hoped for, at any rate, in the early stages of such a service. No definite figures have been arrived at so far, as to the financial aspects of an air-mail service. In Appendix E, just referred to, Mr. Holt-Thomas's estimate of 4s. id. a mile for overhead charges and running costs for an air-mail service between London and Paris (as outlined in his lecture before the Aeronautical Society on May 30th, 1917) was adopted in the absence of other data. So far as a service in the United Kingdom is concerned, assuming the correctness of Mr. Murray's view that only a very limited volume of express mails would be available (having regard to the excellence of existing methods of communica tion), then it would become necessary to charge some high fee, such as is. or more per letter, if there is to be any hope of an air-mail service proving remuner ative. The Committee, however, are sanguine enough to hope that Mr. Murray's estimate may be somewhat too conservative, and the matter is being considered in greater detail. In view of the great advantages anticipated in suitable instances, the Special Committee definitely recommend the institution of experimental mail services without waiting for the end of the War, if this is consistent with naval and military interests, but Mr. Murray desires to record his opinion that the out-of-pocket cost, if any, of such experimental services should be borne, not by the vote for the G.P.O., but by that of the Depart ment most immediately concerned, presumably the Air Ministry. II. The possibility of little-known or unexpected inventions modifying the lines of present development. The Special Committee concur in the following conclusions drawn up by Lord Montagu, Mr. Lanchester and Mr. Wells on this branch of their enquiry. " It is considered that, whilst there may be considerable development in the appliances for flying at present known and available, namely, the aeroplane and the airship or dirigible balloon, and in the engines they use, these developments afford no prospect of more than a quantitative modi fication of existing conditions. " So far as the aeroplane is concerned, there is every probability of con siderable improvement. Such things as an increased use of folding wings, a device already used by the R.N.A.S., minimising the storage capacity required and improving braking mechanism—under which head we may include reversible engines and propellers, and other forms of brakes— diminishing the amount of space needed for landing, may be anticipated. Iteyond this, it is thought that an all-round improvement in efficiency and weight-saving may be expected. These improvements will probably only slightly modify the general outline of the problem. The helicopter has been considered, as well as possible combinations of airship and aeroplane. The latter alone seems to involve the remotest possibility of affecting pre sent practice to any serious extent. " On the question of fuel, every effort should be made by State aid or State encouragement to widen the basis of fuel production as much as possible, and to prevent the enormous interests in connection with automobilism, both on land and in the air, being dependent upon fuel of any one given kind, especially if that be derived from overseas or foreign sources of supply. Attention is called to the fact that fuel supply for aircraft cannot be con sidered apart from the fuel supply of motor vehicles of other kinds, i.e., private cars, 'buses, lorries, etc. Whereas on the fuel question, as in the case of the machines themselves, there is no sign at present of any revolu tionary development, the fact must be recognised that it may at any time become possible by chemical discovery to produce volatile hydro-carbon fuels in great quantities at comparatively small cost. While it cannot be definitely asserted that undiscovered methods of synthetic production exist, it is known that in the matter of chemical discovery the possibility is always there, and it is not possible to say, when speaking of fuel, that the future can be forecast with any degree of certainty." In addition to these conclusions the Special Committee are of opinion that the following lines of invention are of great importance to commercial aeronautics, viz., the gyroscope and its incidental uses, the turbine system applied to combustion engines, and directional wireless. III. The Rules that will be required for aerial traffic regulation, routes, and zones, signalling and lighting of routes and landing places, night flying, wireless communication, dissemination of meteorological information, safety appliances and prohibited areas, illustrated by one or more actual routes assumed to be in use by an organised aircraft service. Rules of the Air. With regard to rules for aerial traffic regulation, viewed from the point of view of domestic control, the Special Committee approve of the existing code of rules drawn up by the Royal Aero Club. These rules are appended as Appendix F to this report. These rules are aimed mainly at preventing collisions in the air, and some additions will be necessary to deal with problems arising from the ascent from and descent to aerodromes. The Special Com mittee will report further on such additions when they have had the oppor tunity of considering certain military and naval regulations to be applied in the case of existing aerodromes. With regard to traffic regulations from the international point of view, the Special Committee are proposing to report to Special Committee No. 1, particularly as to certain proposed regulations contained in the 3rd Annex to the Draft Convention of Paris of 1910, which will require revision in the light of the recent developments of aeronautics generally. The Special Committee do not at present make any recommendation as to different altitudinal zones for different types of aircraft, although they recognise that in the future some regulation on this subject may become necessary. Air Routes GeneraUv. In considering the planning and definition of particular air routes, certain general considerations arise. In the case of a commercial aerial service the route will generally begin or end at some large town or centre of population, but its course may vary in accordance with the needs of intermediate towns in a popluated country and in accordance with the factors of prevailing winds and landing facilities in the case either of long journeys over undeveloped countries or of long journeys over the sea. In the two latter instances the necessity for a planned and defined route is sufficiently obvious, for in the case of a flight over, e.g., Africa, the provision of landing facilities on a liberal scale is impracticable, and in the case of a flight from America to Europe prevailing winds will play a large part in fixing outward and homeward tracks. In the United Kingdom, or at any rate in England, present and future military requirements will involve the creation of a large number of landing grounds, but where mails have to be delivered, the provision of definitely marked routes is necessary for the sake of economy, speed, reliability, and safety of navigation. Landing Grounds on Air Routes. As to the provision of alighting grounds, the Special Committee have not felt justified in committing themselves to a definite recommendation tbat landing places are required at fixed distances along aerial routes. What it is thought will happen, in the ordinary course of development, will be for main aerodromes to be established in the neighbourhood of the large centres of m HTl population, aud then for these main aerodromes to be connected by the institution of subsidiary aerodromes near smaller centres of population; while purely emergency landing grounds along the various routes will be placed, not so much with the idea of their being at regular intervals, but rather with a view to providing safe alighting points in localities where the nature 01 the country might render dangerous an involuntary descent. To illustrate the problems which may arise as to aerial routes, the Com mittee desire to draw attention to certain conclusions which may be drawn from reports obtained from their members as to certain specified routes arbitrarily chosen. These reports were submitted to the Committee bv the following members:— (a) London — Edinburgh — Glasgow — Dublin —London .. Maj.-Gen. Ruck. (6) London to the Riviera Mr. Holt-Thomas. (c) London to South Africa Lord Montagu. (a) The Atlantic Route Comdr. Porte. («) London—Norway—Sweden—Russia .. Maj.-Gen. Ruck. In drawing up these reports it has not been possible to work out in detail the precise provision that will be required on each for signalling and lighting and for other matters mentioned in heading III (quoted abfve) of the terms of reference to the Special Committee. Decisions as to what is required in these respects on particular routes can only be arrived at by actual experi ment, and the Special Committee have therefore confined themselves to such general propositions as can be affirmed with some measure of confidence in the light of existing knowledge. London—Edinburgh—Glasgow—Dublin—London, As to (a) it appears that, so far as the existence of landing grounds is con cerned, the most attractive route northward at the present tune would follow the line of the Great Northern and North-Eastern Railways, via Berwick. In so far as the route to Edinburgh is viewed in the light of direct transit, regardless of intermediate stops, this line offers the greatest advantages on the score of time-saving ; but when the possibilities are considered of linking up important centres of population, a route to the westward covering, «.g., Bedford, Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Leeds may be preferable. As against this route it should be mentioned that in some condi tions of weather pilots prefer to proceed along the coast as far as possible. The creation in the future of further landing facilities may considerably modify conclusions as to the best route to Edinburgh from the commercial point of view, and the possibility of planning a route generally to the west ward of the East Coast line must not be lost sight of. The route from Edinburgh to Dublin might pass Glasgow and Belfast, via Kilmarnock, Ayr, Stranraer, Belfast, Portadown, Dundalk, and Drogheda. On this section the route is more or less undeveloped as far as landing grounds are concerned. From Dublin to London the route might follow the track of the mail steamers to Holyhead, and thence the line of the present London and North western Railway, via Chester and Crewe, assuming it to be a part of what would ultimately become a West Coast route to Scotland, via Manchester and Liverpool. At present there are objections to a West Coast route to Scotland, owing to the mountainous nature of the country north of Carlisle and the absence of landing grounds. In fact, the most direct line from Nortli Wales to London would turn off near St. Asaph and go straight to Birming ham. Landing facilities from the military point of view already exist on this route from Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, through Birmingham, Coventry Rugby, and Aylesbury. London to the Riviera. As to (b), the route from London to the Riviera, this does not call (or much comment, except that it will probably follow the line of Paris, Dijon, Lyons, and Marseilles, showing a saving of time from London to Marseilles of some thing like 17 hours. An alternative route would be to fly from Avignon direct to Cannes, leaving Marseilles and Toulon on the right, thus effecting a considerable saving in distance. London to South Africa. As to (c) the routes from London to South Africa, Lord Montagu furnished particulars of an Eastern route, via Marseilles, Naples, Crete, Egypt, and the Valley of the Nile, and Northern Rhodesia, and a Western route, via Bordeaux, Gibraltar, and the Sahara, Lagos, Angola, and Rhodesia. The total distance of the Eastern route is some 7,800 miles, aad the Western route some 7,210 miles. On a theoretical basis of a speed of 80 miles per hour and continuous flying for 24 hours per day, the time taken by the Eastern route would be 4 days ij hours, and by the Western route 3 days 18 hours. Lord Montagu pointed out in his report that meteorological conditions, generally speaking, favoured the use of the Eastern route from the United Kingdom to South Africa and the use of the Western route on the return journey from South Africa to the United Kingdom. Whichever route may in the future be found to be the better, or whether it may be found desirable to operate both, the Committee can at this stage only recommend that a practical experiment should be instituted on either or both routes at as early a date as possible. The Eastern route would appear to be commercially the more important, and would pass mainly over British territory. It would be easy to exaggerate the importance of this latter cosideratior. in connec tion with future commercial aerial traffic generally, but for the purposes of conducting an experiment there are obvious advantages in having to deal with territory unfer the jurisdiction of His Majesty rather than with foreign territory. The Atlantic Route. As to (a*), the Atlantic route, Comdr. Porte pointed out in his report that for some time to come a direct route from Ireland to Newfoundland and vice versa will be found impracticable. He suggested that the only possible solution of the Trans-Atlantic route at the present time and for many years to come, would be to use the so-called *' Azores " route, employing San Miguel, the principal island of the Azores, as a landing station. To avoid the great distance of a direct flight from the United Kingdon to San Miguel he recommended a route from London via Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon, the distance from Lisbon to Sau Miguel being 775 miles. From San Miguel to Newfound land is 1,346 miles, although this distance could be reduced to 1,045 miles by calling at Flores, another of the Azores group. The use of Newfoundland as a terminus presents great difficulty owing to continual fog on the banks and around Newfoundland itself.* The effect of this fog is to make a journey westward to Newfoundland liable to the danger and uncertainty involved in having to come down to land through the fog. The same diffi culty does not occur in the eastward journey from Newfoundland, in that the pilot can lay bis course by the compass and would within a comparatively short period find himself outside the log area, Comdr. Porte's conclusion is that, at any rate in the immediate future, it would be preferable to fix upon New York as the Western terminus of the Atlantic route. The distance from San Miguel to Long Island is roughly 2,250 nautical miles, and Comdr. Porte suggests that for the purpose of dividing this long distance into reasonable stages, it would be necessary to design and arrange for " Sea Stations," in the shape of long ships of, say, 600 ft., with a clear upper deck of 400 ft., fitted with wireless and the necessary signalling •See the heading " Aerial Routes" in the final report of this Specia Committee. 23
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