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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0597.PDF
THE WORK OF S. P. LANGLEY PROFESSOR L. BAIRSTOW, Chairman of the Royal Aero- I wonder how many cold shivers are passing down our backs nautical Society, chose the above subject for his first lecture at the thought that we may be saying such things ourselves. of the season (given on October 5 at the Royal United Service Institute), in order to draw attention to a first-rate example of systematic enquiry, the type of enquiry properly called scientific. " Progress was made," Professor Bairstow said, " step by step in the face of formidable difficulties, and no attempts were made to solve the problems of mechanical Of course it is not likely, but then- "Throughout his writings," the lecturer continued, " Langley made a clear distinction between two subjects which he called ' aerodynamics' and ' aerodromics,' a distinction which still exists, but is differently described. His divisions correspond very closely with the modern flight by bursts of brilliance of the type known as the expressions ' performance' and ' control and stability, invention of genius. To my mind this, the scientific method, is most suitable for the great bulk of human endeavour, and we should accept the phenomenal leaps of some individuals as the exception rather than the rule. The influence of Langley lies in the force of example and the spirit of his work rather than in the permanence of his data. It is probably not wide of the mark to say that the experimental results of Langley are now rarely appealed to, since they have been succeeded by others of greater accuracy and more immediate applicability, and yet who can doubt that the whole course of aviation was largely determined by the efforts of this one man. Without him I think it almost certain that flying would not have been ready for the Great War, with consequences which we can imagine." The lecturer then referred to the " Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight," published in 1911, in which the first part was written by Langley himself (and covered the period 1887-1896), the second part by Charles M. Manley, Langley's chief assistant (covering the period 1897-1903), " The end of this period," Professor Bairstow said, " is significant, coinciding almost precisely with the earliest successes of the Wright brothers. The record after that date has been marred by the Hammondsport trials on the modified Langley aeroplane. I want you to leave those trials out of your account, for they have nothing to do with Langley and his methods." Regarding a quotation from Langley (' I have brought to a close the portion of the work which seemed to be specially mine—the demonstration of the practicability of mechanical flight—and for the next stage, which is the commercial and practical development of the idea, it is probable that the world may look to others. The world, indeed, will be supine if it do not realise that a new possibility has come to it, and that the great universal highway overhead is now soon to be opened '), the lecturer said :— " In that short passage is much of interest; it points out the unknown amount of work involved in a particular piece of research, and that the reward is often in internal satisfaction and not commercial return. To the scientist the financial returns are, I think, rightly, less appreciated than the successful campaign against difficulties, though he must, since he belongs to the animal kingdom, pay such attention to the former as will keep body and mind fit for the task. " I think Langley might well be satisfied with the help that he has given to others, though he might wish to reiterate his concluding paragraph to a world which has allowed 20 years to lapse without realising the value of the opening of the great universal highway. Possibly, however, he might exhibit some of the patience shown in his experimental work and see sufficiently steady, if slow, progress towards the goal he foresaw." " It appears," the lecturer said, " that the pursuit of knowledge requires some courage, and Langley impresses one as having been able to recognise home truths with detachment and humour. In one passage he says : ' It has taken me, indeed, but a few years to pass through the period when the observer hears that his alleged observation was a mistake ; and the period when he is told that if it were true it would be useless; and the period when he is told that it is undoubtedly true, but that it has always been known.' It sounds like modern history instead of 25 years ago, and both of which are now regarded as branches of aerodynamics. The scientific advisers of the Air Ministry are more and more turning to the study of ' aerodromics,' on which progress towards safety is seen to depend very largely. Its problems are very difficult at the present time, and in the absence of scientific executive direction progress will continue to be slow. " There is little present evidence of the spirit of Langley, which takes up a task so great that. ' to cover it no lifetime would have sufficed.' Team work may be continuous, but the work of an individual is necessarily limited by the length of his active years of life. If, however, the team is to be steady it must be well guided, and we have yet much to learn in the methods of doing this. Would Langley, who saw so clearly the broad future of aviation, or a non-scientific man have been the better director of research ? " The lecturer described the experiments conducted by Langley from the year 1886, his disappointments and successes. He aimed at demonstrating the possibility of mechanical flight, and to him there was no noteworthy distinction between demonstration on a model and on a man-carrying aeroplane. In May and November, 1896, flights were made with model aeroplanes fitted with a steam engine that produced 1 h.p. to i£ h.p. and weighed a little over 5 lbs. No pilot was carried. The machines were launched from a track over water. In the first flight the distance traversed was a little over 3,000 ft., at a rate of from 20 to 25 m.p.h. The lecturer then showed slides illustrating the Langley man-carrying machine, and gave some particulars of weights, areas, etc., as well as making reference to the unsuccessful attempts at free flight with the full-size machine. " The end of Langley's work," said the lecturer, " did not come from lack of spirit, for he considered it desirable to continue the experiments, but the adverse opinions expressed in Congress and elsewhere led to the suspension of operations. Later on, in 1904, ' it was found that while a number of men of means were willing to assist in the development of the aeroplane, provided arrangements were made for later commercialisation, none were ready to render the assistance from a desire to assist in the prosecution of scientific work.' " In conclusion Professor Bairstow said :— " Is not this sketch rather an indication that Boards— including Air Ministeries—cannot utilise the enthusiasm of scientists under their control ? What is wrong ? Is it the Air Ministry or the scientist, or both ? Can an administrator who has no scientific knowledge direct the work of scientists ? Has B itain ever allowed a fair trial to the executive control of scientific work by a man of science ? How often have men of science been placed on advisory bodies and their advice ignored ? I am not going to answer my own ques tions ; in one aspect the ground is political, and concerns our system of government, but in another it is a proper subject for the concern of a scientific and technical body like the Royal Aeronautical Society. " I have made my lecture rather long without covering the many interesting points in Langley's work in .more than a sketchy manner. His speculations on soaring are worth the attention of any serious investigator who is trying to account for the phenomenal success of gliders. I may not stay to deal with the subject now, for the digression, to be worth while, would be long." • <s> ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY NOTICES Forthcoming Arrangements.—October 19, 5.30 p.m., Royal United Service Institution, Mr. J. D. North, " The Metal Construction of Aeroplanes." Owing to the continuance of rebuilding operations of the Royal Society of Arts, Major A. R. Low's lecture, " A Review of Airscrew and Helicopter Theory, with Aero plane Analogies," will take place at the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall, S.W. 1, at 5.30 p.m., on Thursday, November 2. Members are reminded that they do not require tickets for lectures, and that the only announcement of them is contained in the official notices to the press, and in the preliminary notices in the Aeronautical Journal. The October number of the Aeronautical Journal contains the following : Wilbur Wright Lecture ; " Some Aspects of Aeronautical Research," by Lieut.-Col. A. Ogilvie ; " Heli copters," by John Case; "Stability Calculations in the Process of Design," by J. D. North ; " Gas Armour," by F. L. M. Boothby. W. LOCKWOOD MARSH, • Secretary 597
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