FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0246.PDF
be ?stabl£shed. This might be supplemented by the pay- e^reSPeCt °f P«»d, Wd in ?he researc/estabLl °f the Hi^ler Education in Aeronautics.• °r P°st"graduate training of the kind which has been ^h V1-°Uf P^^aphs should, in our view, be organised on anHS1S>,frCi? the "^graduate tralning'. The latter, as weSh0Ul<i be Provid«d in existing organisations of Univer- partS °f the country- Post-graduate training, however, ' reqmres acoe^ to aerodromes an§ to research stations fitted- qU1^ment' and il would be- ^ think, impracticable under ??^sSid"completely for this highly specialised the SaVing throuSh the avoidance of duplication of research and f,nfcessary to the higher grades of education is obvious. It ist ^ha,tever tQe f"ture developments of air transport may be, k ?°S'S *?r which men of the ni«ner standard of training areT^ ''• and that men P°ssessing the combination of theore- t 3° • Practlcal abUity needed to profit by the highest kind ofSumber nf h mng ^ nOt numer°us. Before the War the total yearly electrfS.1 I honou!rs graduates in engineering, including civil, mechanical,IMtPrt tf? SJneermg and naval architecture, from all the Universities in the likelv tn, ,wd°m was not high, and only a fraction of the future number arelikely to devote themselves entirely to aercnautics • ost 1J°,';onnec,tlon. .h°wever, with the question both of undergraduate andSjtt1UCi"f' W? WOuld remark that the demands for the courses c°nslderal>ly on the policy of the Government for the ¥ technical appointments as may be required by the Airn % •"-?try'- 0I- whatev<* Department becomes responsible of clvl1 aviation. If technical appointments are thrown ?*Sm<Sg Spduates (as is done, for example, with the°f £e £a-vaJ and Mili'"y Services) the demands for the ^Tl^l^ wiU be greater than if the state Ilhne of «, tForcf of suc^ for the r ?.°*f3OTshlP °f Aviation supplies the nucleus of the Im^rial College the ^ crib might txT 'secured °rShlP °f the University of London and held at the ImPe^.ia\Co?eSe should become the central school for ^ 0?' a"d T- haVe' in the later sections o£ for teaching and research whereby this College should we rd to the resources which the ImperialStim ^ **«**»*»" -oTect thik"6 j of the a«"al Department of Aeronauticsfessors or lecturers qualified to provide advanced ; principle ments of the c< "'jple of design of aircraft in the engineering and other depart-ollege, (4) meteorology, instruments and navigation. si. We consider that it is of importance that the same staff should to agreat extent deal with both education and research, including much of the research directly required by the Government as well as that directed moreespecially to the advancement of the theory of flight. The expense involved in aeronautical research and the limited number of men competent to under-take it both lead to this result, which is in our view in itself desirable. We discuss this question in greater detail in Sections 49-52 of our Report. Research in Aeronautics22. The establishments which will be required to provide the facilities for the different aspects of research in aeronautics fall under five divisions :— (1) Model research ; (2) full scale research ; (3) testing and experimentalinvestigation ; (4) special investigations connected with airships and kite- balloons ; (5) navigation and meteorology. Model Research23. This includes model work in connection with aeroplanes, with seaplanes and with airships (rigid and non-rigid airships and kite-balloons). The modelresearch work under these heads is at present carried on at the National Physical Laboratory and also to some extent at the Royal Aircraft Estab-lishment. The fact that under the arrangements we propose research work at theNational Physical Laboratory and the Full Scale Research Establishments will be undertaken in co-operation with the Aeronautical Research Committeeshould remove any lack of touch which might exist between those responsible for model work and those conducting full scale investigation. The NationalPhysical Laboratory also contains facilities for research in allied sciences. Full Scale Research and Experimental Investigation. 24. This work comprises research undertaken to investigate general prin-ciples and laws, and is at present mainly represented by the experimental side of the Royal Aircraft Establishment. During the War full scale research onseaplanes was mainly conducted by the Technical Department of the Air Ministry at the Isle of Grain and at Felixstowe, that on airships by theAdmiralty at Kingsnorth and Pulham, while kite-balloons were investigated at Roehampton.The Royal Aircraft Establishment and the aerodrome attaching to it are Government property, and it appears to us that suitable provision might bemade either there or possibly at some other aerodrome near London for the full scale work which is essential to our scheme. Adequate facilities for thescheme already exist at Farnborough affeng with other facilities for production work. We therefore recommend that such portions of the establishment • Vide paragraph 24 of the Final Report of Special Committee No. 5 of theCivil Aerial Transport Committee :—" As outlined above, the specialised training of the aeronautical engineer would be a post-graduate course, andthe question arises as to the nature of the institutions at which such courses should be organised. It has already been pointed out that, whatever thedevelopment of the industry may be, the number of posts suitable for men of the highest standard of training is necessarily limited, and it is equallyobvious that men possessing the combination of theoretical aptitude and practical ability required to profit by such a training are not numerous.Before the War, the total yearly number of honours graduates in engineering, including civil, mechanical, electrical engineering, and naval architecture, etc.,from all the universities in the United Kingdom averaged abgut soo. FEBRUARY 26, 1920 as are required for our purpose should be made available for researches, underthe supervision of the organisation described in the Report. Under such an organisation the research work at the Royal Aircraft Estab-lishment should, we suggest, come under the following heads :— (a) Experimental work for the advancement of aeronautics generally.The results should have open scientific publication, and participation in the experimental work should be among the educational facilities availableat the establishment; (6) specific experimental work undertaken at the request of a Government department. The publication of the results of thework would be a matter for the Government to decide ; (c) certain specific experimental and testing work on payment for the industry. The establishment at Farnborough could not, of course, meet completelythe need for full scale research and experiment on seaplanes and on airships, much of which must continue to .be carried out elsewhere. But while thisis so, there are many problems common to all kinds of aircraft which could be dealt with at Farnborough. Special Investigations connected with Airships and Kite-balloons25. Full scale work on airships has been mainly carried on at Pulham Air Station, while kite-balloons have been dealt with at Roehampton, the modelwork, as in the case of aeroplanes and seaplanes, having been mainly done at the National Physical Laboratory. Here again arrangements must continueforiull scale work to be carried on at some station possessing suitable facilities. Arrangements could, no doubt, be made for such investigations to go on underthe supervision of the research organisation. Navigation and Meteorology26. The administration of the Meteorological Office has recently been placed under the Air Council, and we are glad to learn that the revision of thearrangements for the meteorological services which has now been carried through will be to the advantage of aviation, not only in respect of thecollection and dissemination of meteorological information, but also in the furtherance of meteorological research. The study of navigational problems, it may be remarked, has not beendeveloped by the War to the same extent as some other aspects of air tech- nology. The Increasing range of air travel serves to emphasise the needs forthe fullest development of experiment in these directions, and the intro- duction of aerial transport on a civil basis will greatly enlarge the demandupon both practical and theoretical meteorology. Tes ting and Experimental Investigation27. This class of work, as apart from that referred to in Section 24, is at present represented by Martlesham Heath. It includes the determinationof the performance of machines, tests of the efficiency of particular engines, and of minor modifications of machines and engines as affecting efficiency.This class of work may also include testing of typical machines to conformity with specification, as well as strength testing to destruction. A station ofthis character is required in view of the provisions of the Air Navigation Act. Interests concerned in Research28. We now turn to an enumeration of the different interests concerned in the conduct of aeronautical research—in varying degrees, but in all casesto a sufficient extent to require some voice in its control. They are a) the State as responsible for the maintenance of the armed forces of the Crown byland, sea, and air ; b) the aircraft industry as constructors and as operators ; c) education—and in particular the organisations providing higher educationand (d) the State as the regulating authority for civil aerial transport. Military Interests of the State 29. The scope of the State's responsibilities will be based on the futurnrequirements of national defence, and it is probable that the aerial defence of the country will not be less important than naval and military defence ofsea and land. Under present conditions, however, there is nothing to suggest any basis of expenditure on fighting aircraft either absolute or in proportionto expenditure on the Navy and Army. 30. We desire, however, to refer to one factor which seems to us of the firstimportance in the determination of the State's responsibilities as regards provision for research. In the pre-war Naval Estimates between one-thirdand one-half of the total vote was allocated to new construction, research and experimental work forming only a small incidental item. The largernaval units take a number of years to build. For that reason only a relatively small increase of effective construction can be brought about after a declara-tion of war ; and supremacy, other things being equal, would be decided by the number and quality of the units available at the outbreak of hostilities.In the case of aircraft, however, the experience of the present war has been that a given type is becoming obsolete by the time that it is in general use.This applies essentially to the fighting scout machines, in a lesser degree to other types, and least of all to airships. Regard must also be had to the high rate of wastage of aircraft under warconditions. There is, moreover, the liability of machines kept in store to become unfit for use, which makes it difficult (apart from financial considera-tions) to maintain a large peace reserve of machines. The final supremacy in the air in any future war will thus depend notmainly on the number of units available at the outbreak of hostilities, but on the adequacy of the preparation made beforehand for the rapid construc-tion of the newest and best types. 31. This preparation, so far as it might take the form of administrativearrangements for the maintenance of equipment for large emergency pro- duction, is not within the terms of our reference, but it is clear that suchpreparation must in any event imply the ordered availability of (a) general scientific knowledge accumulated by systematic research, (b) detailed infor-mation with regard to all available types, (c) a liberal construction (not necessarily by the State itself) of experimental machines. It is relevant also to observe, in connection with the organisation both ofresearch and education, that any emergency expansion of production which might be required by a future war must be directed by a body of technicalexperts who could not be improvised after the emergency had arisen. The Aircraft Industry as Constructors and as Operators.32. Economic and Imperial considerations alike emphasise the importance of securing that the aircraft industry of this country should be so organisedas to maintain a supremacy against all competitors from other countries, and it is obvious that generous provision for scientific research is necessaryfficiency of an industry so highly technical and scientific as that of aircraft construction. nfor the efficiency i ift ti aircraft constr . It is, however, improbable that individual firms of designers or constructorscould provide themselves with the research facilities which will be required. This is clear both from considerations of expense and of the insufficiency of men competent to undertake research work. The conduct of research on an : a greatcompete \. _. their scientific resources would be organised in the best way to meet com-petition in international markets. 33. The formation of an Industrial Research Association, which is underconsideration, implies a recognition of these facts. Such an organisation, which should embrace within its membership all the leading firms of aircratt - 246
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
