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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 1478.PDF
ESSE as that governing the movement of steamships, except, of course, that the practice of ages of ship travel is missing in the case of aircraft, 5. The development of aviation is progressing so rapidly at this time that it is difficult even for those in dose touch with it to keep up with its progress. During the past two months the Atlantic has been crossed four times by aircraft; first, by a seaplane of the American Navy ; second, by an airplane of Great Britain, and finally, by an airship of Great Britain which has twice demonstrated its ability to fly between England and America. All of this has been accomplished without the loss of a single life. Airships are now building in England which will be able to carry from five to ten tons of mail, in addition to the necessary fuel and crew, and cross the Atlantic from London to New York, in one half the time made by the fastest steamships. Who can say such transportation facilities will not greatly serve civilisation, and be of immeasurable value to our own country if properly developed and used ? 6. Already lines of aerial transportation are being used in England and France in a small way for commercial purposes, but the distances in these countries are so short that relatively little advantage can be gained, so such ventures will develop slowly. A daily service from London to Paris has been in operation for some time, and promises to be quite serviceable as soon as it can be relieved of its war-time military supervision. Other lines now in operation are from Paris to Lille and Brussels, and from Paris to various points in Alsace-Lorraine and German occupied territory. Among other plans English private interests are projecting airplane lines from Cairo to the Cape and Cairo to Bombay, and French interests are planning to run a line to Algeria and Morocco. These lines will carry mall, passengers and express, and it is expected that they will materially shorten the time between European centres and their far distant terminals. The United States-Post Office Department has carried mail by airplane from New York to Washington for over a year with a record of nearly roo per cent, delivery at each end every day. It is now inaugurating a line from New York to Chicago which will shorten the mail time between these two points to about one half. It is also projecting a two-day service from New York to San Francisco. England is already desirous of organising with the United States a trans-Altantic airship line for mail service Which would give a five-day mail service from London to San Francisco. Such a service is entirely possible at this time, and its inauguration depends only upon adequate encourage ment and financial support. 7. The risks involved in these ventures, due to unknown conditions of the atmosphere, imperfections of equipment, etc., are still so great as to make them impracticable from the point of view of private enterprise, undertaken for a profit. It left entirely to such private enterprise, aerial transportation will develop slowly and with many losses and backward steps, as did the steamship, the railroad, and the automobile, each of which, however, has ultimately become a vital factor in our civilisation. 8. One of the striking features of our investigation in Europe was the unanimous belief that the use of aircraft in warfare and for national defence would continue to increase and that in the next war, whenever it might come, aircraft would be a far more vital factor even than it has been in this War. One of the greatest military authorities in Europe stated that in his opinion the first battle of the next great war would be in the air, and would very nearly decide which side would win, in that the side winning in the air would immediately have access to all of its enemy's sources of supply and production, and would quickly cripple them by air raids upon an enormous scale. The opinion was everywhere expressed that the development of aircraft for pur poses of national defence must continue, and that sufficient flying and pro duction facilities and personnel must be maintained at all times to ensure an adequate supply in case of need. Due to the complicated and delicate nature of such equipment, to its rapid depreciation in use, and to its constant obso lescence, the expense involved in such a programme would be very great, in fact, almost prohibitive in peace times. 9. The existence of an aerial transportation industry with a great com mercial air fleet and of a strong production industry would greatly decrease the need for strictly military equipment and resources, in that practically all of the aircraft and landing field facilities and personnel, and the manu facturing and maintenance facilities and personnel employed by such com mercial activities, would be available as a reserve in time of war. It is evident, therefore, that the most economical way to develop a strong air service for national defence is to encourage, by every means possible, the use of aircraft for commercial purposes, and thereby build up a commercial fleet at relatively small expense to the Government, which would effectively supplement its strictly military equipment in time of need. America's experience during the war has proven conclusively that aircraft facilities and personnel, and particularly production facilities and technical personnel, cannot be obtained upon short notice, but only by long and continued experience and at great expense. 10. America's production industry reached large proportions during the War, but since the signing of the Armistice it has shrunken to a very small volume. Unless immediate attention is given to its conservation it will practically disappear, and a considerable portion of the great sums expended in its development will have been spent fruitlessly. This industry does not require a large volume of business to keep it alive and healthy, but it does require_ a steady and dependable demand, otherwise private capital and enterprise will not long remain interested. Recommendations. Upon the basis of these conclusions, we offer the following plan for stimulating the development of commercial aviation as an aid to national defence, and as a response to the demand that is already developing for improved commercial trans portation through the use of aircraft. A. The Civil Aviation Division of the National Air Service should establish, with the advice of the Army and Navy and the Divisions of Military and Naval Aeronautics, a series of flying routes throughout the United States and its possessions and to contiguous foreign countries, which will be of military and commercial value. It should also prepare and publish maps and descriptions of each of these routes suitable for the use of fliers. B. There should be provided at national expense certain flying fields in strategic locations and suitable for military purposes, and encouragement should be given to the various States and Municipalities to provide flying fields upon all flying routes at points found desirable, thus eliminating the necessity for private ownership of flying fields except for strictly private use. Hangars should be provided at each flying field by the Governmental authority owning the field (that is, Federal, State or Municipal), or, where such fields are used constantly by private interests, they should be permitted to provide their own hangars immediately adjacent to and opening upon such flying fields. The operation and use of such flying fields should be con trolled by Federal Law, so as to obtain uniformity throughout the nation and conformity with international regulations. C. All flying routes and flying fields should be equipped at national expense with signalling and communication systems, including wireless telegraphy, wireless telephony and searchlights, to thoroughly safeguard and guide aircraft in flight. The Government's attitude in this matter should be the same as that maintained towards shipping in its lighthouse and coast patrol service. The operation of signalling and communication equipment should be controlled by Federal law for the reasons indicated under item " B." D. A meteorological service should be developed to provide fliers and other aviation interests with accurate weather reports and other atmospheric data necessary to govern their activities intelligently. The value of this service to com mercial aviation cannot be over-estimated, as it will go far towards establishing reliability and safety of service, just as weather reports are of immeasurable value to ocean and lake transportation. E. Training facilities should be provided at various localities throughout the country, either at Government expense or by private enterprise under Government regulation, with guarantees from the Government of a sufficient number of students to cover expenses. Such guarantees could be given by the Government without undue expense if it used such schools for the preliminary training of its military personnel. Such a plan would encourage private enterprise to provide facilities for the training of the personnel needed for commercial requirements, which personnel in turn should become a permanent reserve for military requirements in time of need. There should be established at least one school for the teaching of aerodynamics and other branches of the science of aeronautics, as recommended under the heading " Organisation." Encouragement should be offered to uni versities throughout the country to establish departments of aeronautical science. F. The Government should encourage the development of new design and aeronautical technique for commercial purposes along the lines recommended under the heading " Technical Department." G. The Department of Aeronautics should maintain the closest possible relations with all civilised nations in deter mining and applying the rules and regulations which will govern the international use of aircraft, and there should be developed, as rapidly as is consistent with proper con sideration, a body of Federal law governing the use and air worthiness of aircraft for commercial purposes which will safeguard life and property and promote the commercial usage of aerial transportation. In order that commercial aviation may be helped and not hindered by such legal restrictions, it is of vital importance that aerial transportation be recognised at once as an element of inter-State commerce and be made subject to one bod - of Federal law applying uniformly throughout all of the United States. It will thereby avoid the complications of individual State control which have proven to be such a handicap to railroad and automobile operation. H. Insurance of aircraft and its personnel against all kinds of hazards and risks involved should be encouraged in every way. The cost of such insurance should be kept as low as is consistent with the risks involved. I. Encouragement should be given to the organisation of private enterprises for carrying on aerial transportation. This encouragement might well be in the form of payment for the carrying of mail and expressage, and of guarantees as to the volume of such business. Compensation might be paid to such enterprises for keeping their facilities available for use in time of war. Guarantees of this kind, coupled with opportunity to insure against loss by accident, should make privately operated transportation lines a commercial possibility, but if it is found that private enterprise does not respond to such encouragement, then the Government should undertake certain transportation ventures on its own account, and should continue to operate such lines until they are proven commercially successful. Ultimately they should be sold to private enterprises on such terms as would permit of successful operation, as it is not believed that commercial aviation will ever be successfully developed entirely under Government control. J. The remaining aircraft production industry should be conserved and kept in a healthy condition by a well-defined and continuing programme of production for military purposes I480
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