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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0058.PDF
FEBRUARY 1, 1923 the impression that we disagree among ourselves, and do not appear at all clear as to what we can or cannot do. The papers to be read this year do not appear likely to produce this form of discussion. We are glad to find that a very serious omission in last year's programme is to be repaired this year. We refer to the subject of seaplanes. * Mr. C. R. Fairey, Chairman of the S.B.A.C. and Managing Director of the Fairey Aviation Co., is reading a paper on this subject, and as Mr. Fairey has had extensive experience of seaplane design, construction and operation, dating back to the early days of flying, when he was associated with Messrs. Short Brothers, he is well qualified to speak upon this subject. Commander Burney will read a paper on " A Self- supporting Airship Service," and will, no doubt, place before the public details of his scheme in its latest form. Now that it is definitely known that the Admiralty are favourably disposed, and that it is mainly a question of Treasury red tape (the excuse apparently being that it is against the accepted practice for a Government Department to have direct dealings with a commercial organisation), it may be hoped that the long-delayed scheme will go through, and that after three years' " We will, we won't, we will," a service will come into being. With regard to. the reported attitude of the Treasury, we are entirely at variance with it, and not only so, but we fail to see why " direct dealings " should be worse in the case of airships than they are in the case of subsidised liners. Yet steamship lines are being subsidised, and nobody thinks any- thing of it. Then why not airships ? Colonel Alec Ogilvie's paper on gliders deals with a subject which is very much to the fore at the moment, and is, therefore, to be welcomed, more especially as it treats the subject from the point of view of the value of gliding to aeronautical progress, rather than from the sporting point of view. General Sir Sefton Brancker will deal with " The Position of Air Transport Today," and Air Vice- Marshal Sir W. G. H. Salmond with " The Progress of Research and Experiment." All the papers should provide very valuable material, and doubtless, the ensuing discussions will also add to our knowledge of and interest in aviation matters. The announcement that an agreement Prague- haS been reached between the British Budapest an<^ Czecho-Slovak Governments for the establishment of a regular air service over the London-Cologne-Prague-Budapest route will be welcomed by all who believe that only over long distances can air services be made full use of and come within measurable distance of paying their way. Not only so, but the line contemplated is on the direct route to the East, and once the present unsettled state of Europe is a thing of the past, there is little doubt that the overland route will prove the quickest. At present, it would appear that Germany will have to be consulted in the matter, but there is every reason to hope and believe that no very great difficulty need be expected from this source. Already on the London-Prague section the saving in time will be tremendous—something like 9 hours as against 36 hours by ordinary train and steamer service. Thus, the London morning newspapers should reach Prague by about 6 p.m., while in the case of passengers and goods, a similar saving in time will be possible. The Duke of Sutherland on Air Problems SPEAKING on the subject of " Air Problems " at a dinner at the Authors' Club, on January 29, the Duke of Sutherland, Under-Secretary of State for Air, who was the guest of honour, showed that he has a thorough grasp of the essential problems with which aviation is faced, and incidentally he proved himself no mean judge of psychology by stating that "it is far better for the world at large to view the flight of man through spectacles of romance and excitement, rather than through the prosaic vision of an aeroplane constructor or air transport company director.'' Concerning air transport, His Grace emphasised the fact that a line running from Glas- gow to Prague, via London and Paris, would pay very much better than a line running from London to Paris only. Referring to civil and military aviation, the Duke of Sutherland said we should never lose sight of the fact that these two are not in any way opposed to one another, but that civil aviation is to military aviation what the mercantile marine is to the Navy. Touching upon the manner in which France encourages aviation, His Grace mentioned that France is spending very much more on both military and civil aviation than are we, and that the immediate result is that the French have very many more fighting squadrons and more commercial air lines than we have. He thought that no doubt they felt that, as Britain had always been considered mistress of the seas, it would not be a bad plan for France to become " Mistress of the Air." In conclusion, the Under-Secretary of State for Air said that in order to ensure progress the essential thing undoubtedly was to retain a separate Air Ministry, independent of either the Army or Navy, but working amicably and openly with both for the achievement of the supreme task—the adequate defence of our great Empire. The Third Air Conference Programme THE following is an outline of the programme of the third Air Conference, which will be opened by the Lord Mayor in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall, London, on February 6. On the preceding day, February 5, a visit will be made to the London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon, so that members of the Conference can see in advance the organisation of a fully-equipped civil aerodrome and the methods adopted in operating British commercial air services. The Conference will be divided into four sessions, each of which will be presided over by the following chairmen respectively :— Lieut.-Col. the Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt., C.M.G., M.P., Secretary of State for Air ; the Duke of Sutherland, Under- secretary of State for Air ; Sir Henry P. Maybury, K.C.M.G., C.B., Director-General of Roads, Ministry of Transport ; and Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary, Overseas Trade Department. At the first session on the 6th, which is primarily concerned with air transport, papers will be read by Ma] .-Gen. Sir W. S. Brancker, K.C.B., A.F.C., on " The Position of Air Trans- port Today," and by Commander C. D. Burney, C.M.G., M.P., on " A Self-supporting Airship Service." The second session, which takes place on the first afternoon, will be devoted to addresses, which are mainly of a technical nature, the speakers being Air Vice-Marshal Sir W. G. H. Salmond, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O., Air Member for Supply and Research on the Air Council, on " The Progress of Research and Experiment " ; Colonel Alec Ogilvie, C.B.E., on " Gliders and their Value to Aeronautical Progress " ; and Mr. C. R. Fairey, M.B.E., Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, on " Seaplanes." The two sessions on the second day have been allocated to a consideration of the papers read on the previous day, when interesting views and suggestions are expected to be put forward. The night-flying tests on the London-Paris route, which will be carried out by the Air Ministry for about a month, will commence from Croydon aerodrome on February 5, and representatives to the Conference are also being given an opportunity to witness the departure of the first machine, which is timed to take place at 6.30 p.m. 58
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