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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0117.PDF
FEBRUARY 25, 1926 1926. Jan. 2. Malakal-Mongalla .. .. (4,545 miles). „ 10. Mongalla-Jinja .. .. (4,890 ,, ). ,, 13. Jinja-Kisumu (5,000 „ ). ,, 18. Kisumu-Tabora . . . . (5,400 „ ). ,, 19. Tabora-Abercorn . . . . (5,685 ,, ). ,, 20. Abercorn-N'Dola .. .. (6,030 ,, j. ,, 23. N'Dola-Broken Hill .. .. (6,140 ,, ). ,, 29. Broken Hill-Livingstone . . (6,430 ,, ). ,, 31. Livingstone-Bulawayo .. (6,670 ,, ). Feb. 2. Bulawayo-Pretoria .. .. (7,100 miles). 4. Pretoria-Johannesburg . . (7,135 ,, j. 15. Johannesburg-Kimberley . . (7,415 ,, ). ,, 16. Kimberley-Bloemfontein .. (7,495 ,, ). 17. Bloemfontein-Cape Town .. (8,115 ,, ). Throughout the flight Mr. Emmott has taken numerousphotographs and films of various places and items of interest, and this film, when "shown," should not only provideexceptional interest, scientific as well as popular, but should also provide excellent material for British aviatioi i propaganda. SIR SAMUEL HOARE AT CAMBRIDGE SPEAKING at a meeting of the Cambridge University Aero- nautical Society on February 17, Sir Samuel Hoare said he was particularly glad to meet the members at a time when the University was showing an added interest in aviation in connection with the starting of the Cambridge University Air Squadron. He congratulated them upon the successful start that had been made, and would tell them that there were few recent developments in the field of British flying to which he looked with greater hope and confidence than the new movement started there and at Oxford. They had already set up the framework of their organisation, their squadron with its special appeal to those who wished to become Air Force officers, with its opportunities for the study of the technical side of aeronautics for those who were interested in technical questions, and with its stimulus to those who desired to push further the line of progress in the almost limitless field of scientific research. Good luck to the work of the Squadron in all these three directions. He was there, proceeded Sir Samuel, not only to con- gratulate the club, but to say something about British flying, but he felt some hesitation in doing so before that audience, as he was no expert either upon the scientific or practical side of flying. He would therefore give them the general impres- sions of an ordinary person who had become connected with flying a short time ago, and who asked himself the question— what part is flying going to play in the life of the nation ard of the Empire ? Most people have now grasped the fact that the invention of flying was revolutionising our system of defence. It was to be presumed that year by year, as the aeroplane and its armament became further developed and as the Air Forces of the Great Powers became stronger, this fact would become more and more apparent. Whilst he felt sure that the uses of air power would be extended in the field of home and Imperial defence on the ground of economy, if for no other reason, neither he nor the Air Staff held the foolish view that air force was the only force that mattered, and that navies and armies were obsolete. The defence problem of the future was not the elimination of one or other of the three fighting Services, nor the merging of all these into a single service, but rather a more intelligent division of labour under which the best and most economical use would be made of each. Regarding the part civil aviation would play in our lives in the near future, he found himself torn between the opti- mists, who believed that civil aviation could do everything, and the pessimists, who were certain it could do nothing. He thought civil flying was considerably further developed than was railway travelling 100 years ago, and motor travelling 25 years ago. In a space of six or seven years civil flying had established itself as a regular means of transport in every civilised country of the world. Year by year progress was being made with the solution of the problems of safety and regularitv. At present there were two practical difficulties still to be surmounted : flying at night and flying in a fog. They had made substantial progress in both directions, and lie advised any interested in the question to go to Croydon and see what was being done with the lighting of the aero- drome and with certain other improvements. There was still, however, one outstanding problem, and it was no use underrating it—the difficulty of expense. Organised civil flying was nowhere self-supporting. Everywhere it needed Government subsidies. If civil flying was going to play a really great part in the life of the nation, its cost would have to be reduced to an economic self-supporting figure. It was because he believed that result would be eventually reached that he changed the system of yearly subsidies to the present system of a ten-year subsidy, during which civil flying would have a chance of establishing itself as an economic proposition. Another difficulty, he said, was that of building up an air route that would possess such great advantages over the land or sea route as to ensure a sufficient quantity of passengers and freight—an obvious difficulty in a small country like England, where road and railway transport were developed to a unique degree. It could only be met by pushing out air routes over distances so long as to mean a great saving of time in transport. Hence the policy of long-distance flying routes within the Empire. Sir Samuel then referred to the future Empire air routes, two he had in mind being London-Calcutta and London-Cape Town. Alluding to the airship experiment, which he asked them to follow closely and sympathetically, he said that they were engaged upon it with a full sense of the difficulties and with a keen memory of the disasters behind, and for a year and a-half they had been studying all the lessons of the past and all the available evidence that might be procured from full-scale experiments and scientific research. He hoped and believed that during the lifetime of the present Government the two great airships now being buiit would be flying safely between England and the distant cities of the Empire. As regards the part flying would play in industry, Sir Samuel stated that if flying was to be a healthy growth, it must have its established place in the world of industry—there should be the closest possible connection between the Air Force, the Air Ministry and industry generally. At present the difficulty was that the aircraft industry was dependent almost entirely upon the orders of the Air Ministry, but until civil flying developed further he could not see how the position could be remedied. There was a general need for the linking up of our air system as closely as we could with the British industry. It was to be hoped that the experiment started this year with the formation of Auxiliary and Special Reserve Squadrons would create another connection between the Air Force and the industry. Sir Samuel concluded his speech in reviewing the work, mainly on the science side of the Club in connection with aviation. He referred to the work done by Prof. Jones regarding the stability of aeroplanes, Prof. Taylor in wireless, meteorology and flying, and to those scientists who lost their lives in the cause of flying such as Prof. Hopkinson, Mr. Keith Lucas (Trinity) and Capt. Busk. Among those present at the meeting were :—Sir Geoffrey Butler, K.B.E., Sir Arthur Shipley, General Costello, V.C", Colonel the Hon. I. M. Campbell, D.S.O., Wing-Cmdr. J. B. Bowcn, O.E.E., Prof. C. E. Inglis, O.B.E., Prof. B. Melville Jones. Sir Arthur Shipley proposed a vote of thanks to Sir Samuel Hoare. '•>ir Philip Sassoon at Brussels SIR PHILIP SASSOON, Under-Secretary for Air, delivered1 lecture before the Belgian Aero Club at Brussels on February • 0, H.M. the King of the Belgians being present. t.A.F. v. Army (Fencing) THE fencing match, between the Army and the R.A.F., vhich was fought on February 17, produced some excellent 1 lay. Foil, epee, sabre and bayonet were the weapons, and t le Army beat the R.A.F. in three out of four of these, viz. : Foil (5 to 4), epee (5 to 4), and bayonet (5 to 4). R.A.F- won sabre (5 to 4). The Royal Air Force Memorial Fund THE fortnightly meeting of the Grants Sub-Committee was held at Caxton Street, on February 18. Lieut.-Commander H. E. Perrin was in the Chair, and the other member of the Committee present was Mrs. L. M. K. Pratt-Barlow, O.B.E. The Committee considered in all 16 cases, and made grants to the amount of £&1 7s. The next meeting was fixed for March 4, at 2.30 p!m. 109
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