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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0790.PDF
We realise that the scheme may not be quite so easy to carry out as would appear at first sight. The initial difficulty will be to obtain the consent of the parents and that of the headmasters. The former are likely to be among those who regard aviation as " a pursuit of adventure and great danger, with fantastical military and naval possibilities, and of very doubtful commercial value," as expressed by Major Stammers in his notes dealing with the scheme. The headmasters may to some extent share these views, and may also be guided and influenced by other considerations. Yet we believe that if the scheme is handled in the right way, and carries with it the official cachet of the Air Ministry, the obstacles should not be insuperable. We understand that Mr. Alan Butler, who has already done so much for avia- tion by his very practical interest in the subject, expressed by his purchase of a number of aeroplanes for his personal use and by his flying ah" round Europe in his own machine, has announced his willingness to undertake, on behalf of the Aircraft Operating Company, of which he is chairman, the equipment and maintenance of the aeroplane on a basis of a fee of one guinea per boy for the course of lectures and the flight terminating the course. The only stipulation made, we understand, is that the Air Ministry should guarantee those undertaking the scheme against loss up to approximately £3,000. As there can, we think, be no possible doubt as to the value of such a scheme, provided it is judiciously managed, it is to be hoped that the Air Ministry will see its way to assist in the manner suggested. Rather perhaps, should we express the hope that the Treasury, may be convinced, since we have very little doubt that the Air Ministry will be more than willing to help, being the party to gain most by the success of such an arrangement. It should be clearly under- stood that those who are. prepared to organise the scheme are not expecting to, nor even desirous of, making any profit whatever out of the scheme, although if it is successful and is found later to be able to pay its way without Government guarantee, so much the better. It is not difficult to visualise very important and far-reaching developments of the DECEMBER 3, 1925 project, but the modest start at present suggested should meet the case in its earlier stages. The The first of the monthly house dinners„ , . of the Royal Aero Club must be Royal Aero , , J _, „, Club House recorded as a great success. The address Dinners delivered by Mr. C. R. Fairey was of quite exceptional interest, whether or not one agreed with everything said, and, as Sir Philip Sassoon stated, it was difficult not to agree with Mr. Fairey, who is a most convincing talker. Mr. Handley Page was at the top of his form, and disguised some very telling points under a cloak of the most charming witticisms. Other speakers contributed valuable views, and altogether the evening is likely to prove, as we ventured last week to predict it would be, a red-letter day in the history of the Royal Aero Club. At this first dinner exactly the right tone was struck, the discussion being neither too commonplace nor too technical. If subsequent dinners are kept in the same vein they will certainly not prove too dull, neither will they err on the side of the too technical, and thus will not, as Col. McClean pointed out, trespass in the slightest upon the ground already covered by the Royal Aeronautical Society. The next monthly club dinner will be held on December 16, when the subject for discussion is to be " Civil Aviation," the debate to be opened by Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker. We note that the attendance at the dinner is to be limited in the future to 60 seats, which seems rather regrettable, since the first monthly dinner gave every evidence of the probability of a vastly larger attendance in the future. If the attendance is in future to be limited to this relatively small number, there would seem to be a danger that the dinners may fail to achieve as much good as they otherwise would, although the question of holding the dinners elsewhere than on the club premises would naturally give rise to various problems. In any case, we can see very keen competition for the 60 seats at the next dinner, and can only express the hope that it will be as successful as the last one. ITALY ADOPTS THE CATAPULT: This photograph, kindly sent to us by General A. Guidoni, Italian Air Attache in London, shows the catapult recently tested at the Navy Yard at Spezia. The catapult, which is similar in design to those used in America, was designed by Major Gagnotto. The weight of the Macchi flying-boat being launched was 3,000 lbs., and its speed 100 m.p.h. 790 .
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