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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0105.PDF
FEBRUARY 22, 1923 The writer has a firm belief in the future of civil aviation, and in the capacity of our aircraft industry to find an answer to the many problems involved. The size of commercial aircraft is so great that the cost of building machines for experimental purposes is practically impossible to private firms, apart from the cost of the large quantities of fuel required, of the maintenance parties and of the large shed accommodation and other overheads. The position is therefore somewhat of a deadlock. It is impossible to make rapid progress towards a really sound economic aircraft without a large volume of experimental work, the cost of which, if conducted with full-scale civil aircraft is so great as to be altogether beyond the capacity of the transport firms or of the industry. Colonel Ogilvie then reviewed the recent experiments in, gliding, but as these are familiar to our readers they are not repeated here. Limitations and Usefulness of Gliders.—There are possibilities in the use of gliders for purposes of training pilots, and there are certainly possibilities in the development of small sporting machines of 15 to 20 h.p., capable of horizontal flight with 5 h.p., and doing 100 miles or so to the gallon, but the real immediate value of gliders lies, as it always has done, in the opportunity they afford of technical experiment in a simple and inexpensive manner. In experiments with engine-driven aeroplanes, the horse- power xjf the engine and the efficiency of the propeller are always difficult to estimate exactly. The detail design has to be carried out with care and attention, in order to keep the percentage weight of the structure within fairly close limits, while the cost of the experimental work is almost prohibitive to private firms. On the other hand, with gliders the motive power, which is the force of gravity, is perfectly definite in amount and always reliable, and for many purposes the machine can be built in a simple, rough and ready manner as long as the external form is correct. As indicated above, there are two main technical problems in the commercial aeroplane of the day, and it is suggested that solutions of either or of both are more likely to be found by means of experimental work with gliders than by other means. The first is the increasing of aerodynamic efficiency, to enable considerably greater loads to be carried for the same power or the same load for less power. The overall efficiency, the ratio of lift to drag, or in other words the inverse of the gliding angle of the commercial aeroplane of the day is about 8 to 1 ; in some cases even less. To put the result in another way, about 60 h.p. is required to carry each individual passenger for the usual 3-hour journey at a speed which is necessary to combat the normal wind con- ditions. This is obviously a very high figure, and gives an indication of the reason for the high cost of aerial transport. The second problem for solution is the improvement of •- controllability at low flying speeds, so that in the event of an engine stoppage, the aeroplane can be landed in awkward fields with greater safety than at present. It is well known to aeronautical engineers that an aeroplane, the stalling speed of which has been tested to be, say, 50 miles per hour in good weather on a large aerodrome, is never, in the event of a forced landing, glided in at a speed of less than 60 m.p.h. This additional 20 per cent, over the stalling speed adds greatly to the difficulties of the landing and to the shock in the case of an accident, and would be entirely unnecessary if the pilot had an aeroplane over which even in gusty weather he had complete control right down to the stalling speed. This difficulty is such a commonplace among pilots that it does not occur to them to worry about it, but it is a problem to which a great deal of attention is being paid and to an attack on which the Aeronautical Research Committee is devoting a considerable amount of the resources at its dis- posal. The recent gliding competition at Itford Hill showed how much room there was for improvement in the con- trollability of the aeroplanes entered, and instilled a belief that other competitions would cheaply and quickly effect such improvement. There can be little doubt that these are only two instances out of many where we have good reason to expect substantial progress in aeronautics by means of experimental work with gliders. The writer would conclude by an appeal to business men who are interested in civil aeronautics, whether from a financial point of view or otherwise, to put up prizes and so to stimulate competition among a large number of brains towards -a solution of the problems which must be solved before commercial aviation, ultimately to be a necessary bulwark of the country, can become the practical economic proposition, which is the earnest hope of all present. THE DISCUSSION THE second day of the Air Conference, February 7, was devoted to a discussion of the papers read on the first day. The morning session had been set aside for a discussion of the papers read by Gen. Brancker and Comdr. Burney, and His Grace the Duke of Sutherland, Under-Secretary*of State for Air, presided. His Grace expressed regret that it had not been possible to find time to complete the most interesting paper on " Seaplanes," by Mr. Fairey, and said he could not help feeling that it would be a good thing another year to extend the Air Conference to three days or even four. With regard to policy. His Grace thought that the Secretary of State for Air had said all that it was possible to say at the moment, and confined himself to giving an assurance that the papers and discussions would receive the deep and interested attention of the Air Ministry. The Government fully realised that aviation had one of the strongest claims for consideration, and he looked forward to a sympathetic ]X)licy being laid down, and to a great future for the aviation industry. He then read a telegram from a former Under- secretary State of State for Air, Lord Londonderry, who very much regretted his inability to be present. The Duke of Sutherland then called on Mr. G. Holt Thomas. Mr. G. Holt Thomas expressed the hope that any criticisms which he made would be received in a friendly spirit. Referring to Comdr. Burney's paper he said he could not see how the Navy could do without airships, and that the only question was, on the commercial side, what could best be done. The difficulty was that we had no data on airship work, and could not estimate their cost, earning capacity, speed against head winds, etc., in the same way that we could those of aeroplanes, of which we had now had three years' experience. He did not want to see the aeroplane robbed of such funds as might be available. Mr. Holt Thomas congratulated Gen. Brancker on his paper and especially on the improvements in wireless, etc. He trusted, however, that the Air Conference would not become simply a record of the past, but would also deal with the future. Sir Samuel Hoare had said that he stood in the midst of experts. The Air Parliament, as His Grace had called it, was not meant to be a committee of experts, but a meeting of business men who would take a great interest in the subject. He felt that the Air Conference would not do very much good unless it passed resolutions to which the Cabinet would pay some attention. There had been three Air Conferences, three Lord Mayors had opened the Guildhall to the Conference, there had been three air demonstrations, and His Grace was the third Under-Secretary of State for Air who had sat in the chair and expressed pious hopes, but very little had been done towards establishing Imperial Air Mails. What we had to consider was what civil aviation would really do for British industry. We paid too much attention to passengers. We should see really to what utility we could put a form of transport which had now become a thoroughly practical one. The United States had taken a practical course. They said that air transport was the fastest form of transport in the world, and then they started air mail services, from New York to San Francisco. It had been said that the London-Paris route was no good. He did not agree, because that air service did things which no other form of transport could do. If it were desired to get Gen. Brancker's paper to Paris in four hours it could be done by telegraph, but it would be very little quicker than the air service, and would cost 2\d. per word, or about £500. He thought that there should be enough business houses in London and Paris to keep -the service going if it was put in the proper way. It you wanted to telegraph Gen. Brancker's paper to Australia it would cost about £7,500 by cable, and £3,750 at deferred rates. The first thing the Air Ministry put before the C.A.A.B. was a service to Baghdad. Perhaps it would not have been judicious to say this service was not a suitable one to consider. From a practical point of view it was like considering a service to Ascot races, starting half-way down and arriving 10 miles from the racecoufse. Sir Samuel Hoare had referred to the shortage of money. That was not his (Mr. Holt Thomas's) experience. Some years ago business men in London were willing to put up a million. In 24 hours a million was underwritten for the cross-Channel services. The money was not put up with the idea of making large profits, but the business men . concerned looked upon the aviation services as a national 105
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