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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0045.PDF
JANUARY 28, 1926 IKe Rocsal £Iero Clu of the Ui\ited Kii\gd6i OFFICIAL MOTiCES TO MEMBERS COMMITTEE MEETING A MEETING of the Committee was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1926, when there were present :— Lieut.-Colonel F. K. McClean, A.F.C.. in the Chair, Ernest C. Bucknall, Lieut.-Colonel M. O. Darby, Lord Edward A. Grosvenor, Wing-Commander T. O'B. Hubbard, M.C., A.F.C., Lieut.- Colonel M. O'Gorman, C.B., F. Handley Page, C.B.E., T. O. M. Sopwith, C.B.E., and the Secretary. Election of Members.—The following new Members were elected James Arnold Brewster, Stephen Donoghue, John Philip Hall, Alonzo Limb, William Newton, Walter Ridley, Thomas Neville Stack. Ernest Leslie Howard Williams. Aviators' Certificates.—The following Aviators' Certi- licates were granted :— 7978. Charles d'Urban Shearing, February 15, 1925. 7979. Robert Nixon Thompson January 7, 1926. 7980. Kenneth Macdonald Beaumont, January 8, 1926. Committees.—Reports from the following Committees were received and adopted • Joint Standing Committee of R.Ae.C. and S.B.A.C., House Committee, Finance Committee. Britannia Trophy.—It was decided to consider the award at the next meeting of the Committee to he held in February. In the meantime the Secretary was instructed to prepare a list of meritorious performances for the year 1925. Annual General Meeting.—The Annual General Meeting of the Club was fixed for Wednesday, March 31, 1926. F.A.I. Paris Conference.—Colonel M. O'Gorman reported on the Paris Conference of the F.A.I, held on January 11, 1926. The report included the following items :— The Rules of the Schneider International Seaplane Race, 1926. The Rules of the Gordon Bennett Balloon Race, 1926. Aviators' Certificates. Test " A." The compulsory flight of one hour at an altitude of 6,000 ft. was eliminated. Test " A " would now be as follows :— " A flight without landing during which the pilot shall attain a height of 2,000 metres above the point of departure. The descent shall finish with a glide the engine cut off at 1,500 metres above the landing ground. The landing shall be made within 150 metres or less of a point fixed beforehand by the Official Examiners of the test, without starting the engine again." A vote of thanks to the Club delegates (Lieut.-Col. M. O'Gorman and Major J. S. Buchanan) was unanimously passed. Foreign Attaches.—The following Attaches were elected Honorary Members of the Club for the year 1926 :—Lieut. J. Bos (France), Commander R. A. Burg (America), Major H. C. Davidson (America), Capt. Luke N. McNamee (America), Commander J. C. Hunsaker (America), General A. Guidoni (Italy), Henri F. Martin (Switzerland), Capt. T. Toyoda (Japan), Lieut-Commander Hirose (Japan). Private Flying.—The following Sub-Committee was appointed to draw up recommendations on Private Flying:— F. Handley Page, C.B.E., Lieut.-Col. M. O. Darby, Major H. Hemming, Squad.-Leader M. E. A. Wright, H. E. Perrin (Secretary). Offices : THE ROYAL AERO CLUB, 3, CLIFFORD STREET, LONDON, W. 1. H. E. PERRIN, Secretary Britannia Trophy. THE Committee of the Royal Aero Club will consider the award of the Britannia Trophy for the year 1925 at its meeting in February next. The Britannia Trophy is awarded each year " to the British Aviator, who, in the opinion of the Com- mittee of the Royal Aero Club, shall have accomplished the most meritorious performance in the air during the year." The Royal Aero Club will be glad to receive particu- lars of any meritorious performances for consideration by the Committee when making the award. Particulars should be addressed to the Secretary, Royal Aero Club, 3, Clifford Street, London, W.I, not later tha"n Februarv 15, 1926. ROYAL AERO CLUB THIRD MONTHLY HOUSE DINNER The Auxiliary Air Force Discussed THE subject for discussion at the third monthly dinner of the Royal Aero Club was the Auxiliary Air Force, and the chair was taken by Squadron-Leader Lord Edward Grosvenor, commanding No. 601 County of London (Bombing) Squadron. The loyal toast was proposed by the Chairman and duly honoured before the appearance of the pudding, and con- sequently, when the Chairman rose a second time to open the discussion, he felt bound to remark that the situation was obscure, owing to the fumes of tobacco smoke, but he declared that the Auxiliary Air Force would find its way through the gloom. He declared also, amidst applause, that it would carry on the old tradition of the Royal Air Force. He then called on Air-Commodore J. G. Hearson, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., who is the responsible officer for Special Reserve and Auxiliary squadrons, to address the company. Air-Commodore Hearson said that there had been a good many public pronouncements on the subject, but there was a certain amount that was worth reiterating. The Auxiliary Air Force was on the same lines as the Territorial Army and the terms of service were very similar. The A.A.F. squadrons were intended to take their place among the combatant units of the Air Defence Force. They would be in the front line of air defence. They were all intended to be bombing squad- rons, and bombing was the counter-attack of the defence. There was nothing of the Reserve about the A.A.F. Every officer and every "airman undertook to be at his post at the first threat of air invasion, and to set out on bombing expedi- tions described as " the points of departure and of intended return (laughter) of which were in this country." It was a real man's task. There would be no time for training or enlistment on a wave of patriotic ardour. Every officer and airman must be at his post before the whistle blew. The man who waited for the war to break out would be too late. There were a good many reasons why certain squadrons should be on an auxiliary basis. One important reason was the desire that flying should be spread among the civil population and that men should get in touch with service flying while remaining civilians. The Royal Aero Club was doing great work in promoting the civilian flying clubs which would be splendid recruiting grounds for the A.A.F., and he would like to see one such club in the same district as- every A.A.F. squadron. As for the progress up to date, already four squadrons had made a beginning, two in London, one in Edinburgh, and one in Glasgow. A fifth was in prospect during 1926 at Birmingham. Three of the com- manding officers were present at the table. No. 600, the City of London Squadron, had had a large number of appli- cations for commissions, and there would be no difficulty in finding good officers. As for No. 601, the County of London Squadron, their chairman of that evening was always coming to him to tell him of his latest find, and he walked about the street with a formidable list of names in his pocket. As for the two Scottish squadrons, applicants for commissions were not exactly tumbling over each other. The speaker sought for an explanation in the Scottish character (with which he is evidently not very well acquainted, but when tackled by a subsequent speaker about his remarks he gave an assurance that he had not intended anything disrespectful about it.) As regards airmen, on the other hand, recruits were coming forward for the two Scottish squadrons in good numbers and good quality. On the first parade at Edinburgh the regular airmen were quite anxious about their own prowess beside 45 c2
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