FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0742.PDF
there is a flight in progress by certain R.A.F. machines in Africa, which machines are fitted with American engines of another type. We have on more than one occasion criticised the policy of " showing the flag " with a foreign engine, and have received the " explana- tion " that the Air Ministry regard this flight as part of the R.A.F. training. Very well, let us accept it as such. But if that is so, why publish broadcast official announcements about it ? At other times the Air Ministry is most anxious that service flights should not be given publicity. Why, then, make an excep- tion in this case ? Discretion and commonsense do not appear to be commodities in which the Air Ministry deals to any great extent, but, at any rate, it might be expected to be impartial, and not to advertise a foreign aero engine on the one hand and at the same time give another foreign engine preferen- tial treatment. «• •» • The example set by Manchester citizens ManJhJster! and others recently< on the occasion of * the Air Minister's visit to the Lan- cashire Aero Club last week, is one which, it is to be hoped, will be followed by other large cities in which are situated Light 'Plane Clubs. By the generosity of Sir Charles Wakefield, Sir William Letts, Mr. George Parnall, and the Motor and Brewery interests in Manchester, the Lancashire Aero Club is now promised another three aeroplanes for use by its members, bringing the total number of machines available up to seven. That is beginning to look a much more likely proposition. It is now several months ago that FLIGHT called attention to the fact that if dissatisfaction and lack of interest all round were to be avoided it was essential that the light 'plane clubs should be provided with a much larger number of machines, so that instead of something like 75 flying members per machine the figure could be reduced to reasonable proportions. If that be done the clubs should before long be in that desirable position referred to by Sir Samuel Hoare of being interfered with as little as possible " by Whitehall," and of being independent. The presentation of machines by well-wishers of the movement is one way of attaining that goal, and it is sincerely to be hoped that a keen rivalry will spring up among the various cities, and ultimately among the light 'plane clubs themselves, for leading place in the matter of number of machines in use and number of pupils trained. But there is another side to the question, which does not yet appear to have been given sufficient attention, although perhaps this is due to the fact that the matter which it concerns lies some little distance out in the future. We are referring to the position of those club members who have obtained their "A" licence. What is to become of them ? How are they to get a certain amount of practice afterwards ? These are questions of considerable importance, and the Air Ministry should go into the matter at once. In France there is a system in force by which almost anyone may learn to fly at no cost to himself. Although we have not yet got that far in this country, the light 'plane clubs go some way towards it, and it should be possible to give further encouragement by making arrangements for those who have learnt to fly to be given an opportunity of further practice. Perhaps some form of co- operation between the light 'plane clubs and the various special reserve centres could be arranged so that not only those club members willing to join the 742 NOVEMBER 12, 1925 reserve would be able to fly, but that others, without actually being part and parcel of the reserve, would be regarded as sufficiently valuable to the country to be accepted for further flying practice. The subject, as we have already said, is one of not incon- siderable importance, and will have to be dealt with in the near future. The Once more we feel it necessary to referS h "d to t^ie recent Schneider Trophy Race at C Cup er Baltimore, and to the, by now, even more important subject of next year's competition. Concerning the former, there can now, we think, be little doubt that the primary cause for Great Britain's defeat in the Schneider Cup Race was due to lack of time. The machines were not finished in time to allow of certain minor " snags " being discovered before the race. These were in no way serious in the ordinary way, but in a race every ounce counts and every foot per second is of importance. To take but one example, the propellers, generally speaking, were not all they might have been. They vibrated, they did not quite suit the engines, they did not always fit the bosses as well as they might have done. This is nothing against the propellers as such, but the net result was that, although the Napier engines " delivered the goods," the propellers did not make use of the power to best advantage, and, con- sequently, there was a waste of power which simply cannot be afforded in a race. The propellers are in themselves excellent, and these little troubles would undoubtedly have been discovered and remedied before the machines left this country. As it was, they were not found out until too late. In other words, it was purely a question of time. Then, again, take the question of pilots. No one with any knowledge of the subject can have other than the greatest admiration for the three British pilots who went out to fly the machines. But what was the position when one comes down to bare facts ? Simply that the pilots had not had opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with their machines. They had had no chance to practise cornering. They had not flown sufficiently long on the actual machines to reach the stage where they felt thoroughly at home and happy on them. The whole thing was very much like taking a driver off a touring car and putting him on Brooklands track for three or four laps on a racing car, and then expecting him to drive his car in a really fast race. It simply stands to reason that it cannot be done. Again, time comes in. Mr. H. T. Vane, Managing Director of Napiers, an interview with whom is published elsewhere in this issue, makes the very sound suggestion that next year the pilots should be service pilots. This suggestion is in no way a slur on the three civilian pilots who went out this year, but is the outcome of facing facts as they are. Civilian pilots, and more especially test pilots, can hardly be spared from their regular work sufficiently long to get in enough racing practice. In other words, the training for the Schneider Cup has now become a science and " whole- time " job. The Americans are using service pilots and are training them gradually on faster and faster machines. We must do the same. And above all, a start must be made at once, if we are to have any chance of winning the Cup next year. The orders for the machines must be placed at once, and pilots must be selected so as to begin preliminary training without delay.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
