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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0260.PDF
machines. He pointed out that in many ways the disappearance of our Air Force was far more serious than the disappearance of our armies, and stated as his belief that nothing less than a one-Power standard would content public opinion. Lord Birken- head also made the significant admission that, although he had done something to mitigate the effect of the Geddes recommendations in relation to the Air Force, he would have gone still further had he been more fully informed. MAY 17, 1923 At last the long-expected Air Ministry Helicopter ^>T^ze f°r helicopters has been announced. Prizes The conditions will be found on another page of this issue of FLIGHT. It will be seen that the tests are divided up into sections, and that prizes of varying amounts are offered for various single or combinations of performances. Thus for test (a) a competitor may get £5,000 for climbing to 2,000 ft. and descend again without damage. The other tests, or combinations of tests,Lord Salisbury, in replying, said that undoubtedly are more difficult, and are accordingly to be awarded the air strength of any Power, friendly or otherwise, proportionately larger prizes. If we are to have must react upon ourselves. The present Govern- helicopter prizes at all, the regulations adopted are probably as good as could be expected, but to us it seems very doubtful whether any useful purpose will be served by spending money in this direction. There is this consolation, however, that the tests ment had lost no time, and no greater haste could have been made in the provision of air strength, working on the ordinary rules which prevailed in times of peace. It would be premature, he said, to say what final conclusion* the Committee which was are pretty stiff, and that it is not likely that any' ' " *•••••• -. - - i—- **-- competitor will run off with more than a very few thousands at the most. We can well believe that, as a matter of fact, the Air Ministry itself is not a great believer in the helicopter, but with so much activity going on abroad, and a certain modicum of success being attained, the Air Ministry probably felt that the country could not afford to disregard giving encouragement to any possible avenue of development, even one which does not appear very promising. Nevertheless, we could have wished to see the £50,000 devoted to research in other directions, and ,mridentally it looks as if the Brennan experiments cannot have enquiring into the subject had come to, but the Government had reached the conclusion that a con- siderable increase in the Air Force would be neces- sary. Personally we have not the slightest doubt that when that time comes the wholehearted support of a great majority in the House will be forthcoming, and consequently we are looking forward with much greater confidence to the future than we have done for several years. Real When it Was first announced that the Air Minister in Bonar Law's Govern- Air Minister nient was to be Sir Samuel Hoare, there been very successful, otherwise it would appear that • there was no necessity for offering prizes. As it is stated that the Brennan machine will not compete, it may be assumed that if it were capable of fulfilling the conditions the raison d'etre of the Air Ministry's offer would disappear, and the only logical conclusion to which one can come is that the Brennan cannot and has little prospect of reaching 2,000 ft. and descend safely, let alone fulfil the much more exacting requirements of the other tests. However, as we have already said, there is probably no great danger of anyone running off with the money. -, were those who were not without misgivings. Sir Samuel was an unknown quantity as far as air matters were concerned, and naturally there was some speculation as to the wisdom of the choice, and all were agreed that it was a case of wait and see. And the Prime Minister's choice has been most bountifully justified. Sir Samuel had not been in office long before it became apparent that he was doing everything possible to master the very intricate subject of the air, and since then Sir Samuel has been steadily gaining the confidence, not to say admiration, of all interested in aviation. His most recent step—that of going for an air tour of the European airways during the Whitsuntide recess—will further cement the confidence of the nation and of the aviation community in our present Air Minister, and the feeling will be further strengthened by the fact that Sir Samuel is to be accompanied by Lady Hoare. Another member of the party will be our very energetic and determined Director of Civil Aviation, General Sir Sefton Brancker, who makes use of the air regularly for his lightning trips. In fact, only by so doing has he been able to create that popular impression that he can be in two places at once. As a further proof of the way in which he enters into the problems of the air, mention may be made of the speech which Sir Samuel Hoare broadcasted this week from the London Broadcasting Station. Using this very up-to-date means of appealing to the country, Sir Samuel called attention to the very important question of the defence of London against air attack, and explained in very lucid terms the principles involved. Such a real " live " Air Minister is of inestimable value to the country and Empire, and it is to be hoped that Sir Samuel will see his way to remain in office for a very much longer term than have his predecessors. The The vital value of D.H. aeroplanes,"AIRCO" n°t only to this country, but to the and Allies generally during the War is Compensa- ^oo weji realised to need pointing outon to those connected with aviation. The general public, however, cannot be expected to know details, and, consequently, we think it is a very timely open letter which Mr. Holt Thomas has addressed to the country, stating the seemingly unfair treatment which the shareholders of the Aircraft Manufacturing Co. have received from the Government. As Mr. Holt Thomas points out, the Government gave a definite undertaking that com- pensation should be paid, and makes the incontro- vertible point that if the British Government had decided to make a present of the designs to the United States Government, then it should be at the cost of the British Government, and not at the cost of the shareholders of the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. The company is powerless, and has no legal appeal against the inadequate award, but we do think that in all fairness it behoves the Govern- ment to reconsider the position and to see that the shareholders are not penalised for coming forward and putting their money into a firm whose work was of the very greatest national benefit. 260
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