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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0135.PDF
FEBRUARY 25, 1926 at ('aldington I iind (2) construction of an airship of the same capacity by a private company at a cost of £350,000. The Air Ministry programme has been considerably retarded by the break-away of the R.33 in April last. Although the resulting experience was of considerable value, the refit of the airship delayed the carrying out of the projected series of experimental flights until the latter part of 1925. The programme was, however, then completed, this being the first occasion on which these particular full scale aero- dynamic tests, to which all independent authorities have attached the greatest importance, have been carried out in this country or elsewhere. In addition an aeroplane was successfully released from and re-attached to the airship in flight, thus establishing the future possibilities of the employment of airships as aircraft carriers. This experiment was also the first of its kind that had been successfully carried out in this country. In consequence of the urgent need for economy, it has been decided, whilst the main lines of the programme will be kept intact, to spread its completion over a longer period than was originally contemplated ; a flight by one of the existing air- ships to Egypt, which was originally planned for 1926, will not now be carried out, since the experience to be gained by it, though desirable, is not considered essential ; arrangements are being made for the disposal of all Air Force and civilian personnel whose services are not likely to be required for the next year or so ; and Pulham Air Station is being put upon a care and maintenance basis. As the result of these economies, the net provision for all airship expenditure in current esti- mates is reduced to 335,000. Works. Vote 4 (Works, Buildings and Lands) shows a net decrease of £'225.000 as compared with 1925. The provision directly attributable to purchase of land and erection of buildings for the Home Defence Air Force is £1,130,000 as compared with /1.280,000 in 1925 ; if the original programme of expansion had been adhered to these services would have shown a large increase. So far as major new works at Home Stations are concerned, the provision is confined very largely to the amount necessary to meet liabilities already incurred. New services account for/1-22,500 only out of a total provision of £1,579,100 for major new works at Home Stations. In respect of Egypt provision is taken for the continuation of approved services and for certain urgent new services in accordance with the policy of gradual replacement of make- shift temporary accommodation by more satisfactory semi- permanent buildings. The provision for works services in Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq shows a reduction of £79,300 as compared with 1925. As in the Estimate for the present year, and in accord with the view recently expressed by the Public Accounts Committee, a lump sum deduction has been superimposed on the gross total of the Vote, in order to discount the delays which frequently affect Works expenditure under contract. Civil Aviation. The provision for expenditure in connection with Civil Aviation shown under Vote 8 covers as in former years the maintenance of the airport of London at Croydon and the aerodrome at Lympne, ancillary services (other than meteoro- logy) on the regular air routes, operational experiments and the supply of technical equipment for these purposes. The amount of the subsidy payment to Imperial Airways Ltd. in respect of their European services is unchanged, but the terms of the Agreement dated May 15, 1924, have been modified by a supplemental agreement dated December 18, 1925, and published as a white paper (Cmd. 2574), to provide for the conversion of the minimum mileage requirement of 1,000,000 miles per annum into an annual " equated " horse- power mileage requirement of 452,000,000 horse-power miles. With a view to the eventual establishment of a weekly civil airtransport service between Egypt and India, an agreement has also been entered into with Imperial Airways Ltd. for the operation of a regular fortnightly air service with three- P'rfiSSK engined machines between Egypt and Basrah via Baghdad and between Basrah and Karachi. The maximum annual subsidy payable to the company under this agreement is £93,600. The service should be commenced not later than January 1, 1927. This agreement will also be published shortly as a white paper. Provision has been made for payment of £30,000 for the subsidy likely to accrue up to March"31, 1927, and also for a capital expenditure of £31,500 for the establish- ment of the necessary ground organisation and ancillary services for this air route. A sum is again included for the financial assistance of a limited number of light aeroplane clubs, five of which have been approved under the terms of the Air Ministry scheme, and have commenced operations during the past year : the headquarters of these clubs are in London, Leeds, Birmingham, Xewcastle- on-Tyne, and Manchester. It is expected that a sixth club will be approved in due course. The enlargement and improvement of the airport of London at Croydon has been long in contemplation; and its need was emphasised by the Colefax Report (Cmd. 2351) ; but it has been delayed by causes over which the Air Ministry had no control. Now that the requisite powers have been conferred by the Air Ministry (Croydon Aerodrome Extension) Act of last session the work is being pressed on with. A sum amounting in all to £164.000 (largely reprovision of money voted in previous years) is provided for this purpose in the coming year. The increase of £105,000 on the vote as a whole is attributable to the proposed expenditure at Croydon and on the Egypt— India commercial air service, but the total cost of the latter should be offset by a more than corresponding saving on other votes. Meteorology. The provision for meteorology in these Estimates remains practically unchanged. This does not imply any stagnation, either on the side of scientific investigation or on that of practical application ; but in order to avoid an increase of expenditure the provision for routine services has had to be- very strictly scrutinised. C)n the purely scientific side, valuable work is being done on such subjects as atmospheric electricity, terrestrial magnetism and seismology, especially at the Kew and Eskdalemuir Observatories. It is fully recognised that the practical application of any science cannot be divorced from the study of the pure science itself. In addition to the general forecasts which are broadcast daily as part of their ordinary programme, the British Broad- casting Company commenced during the year to issue twice- daily from their high-power station at Daventry a special weather bulletin for farmers and sailors. This development of wireless telephony enables meteorology to be applied directly to the practical problems of agriculture, industry and navigation in a way which was not dreamt of before the advent of wireless. To meet the ever increasing demands made by aviation, both service and civil, for prompt and accurate weather reports at all hours of the day and night, it has been found necessary to reorganise the forecast service at headquarters. It is now possible for an aviator, in any part of the country and at any- time, to obtain within a few minutes a report on the weather conditions along any air route and a forecast of the probable changes in the course of his journey. Air Ministry. Vote 10 (Air Ministry) shows an increase of £10,000. This is less than the total amount of increments of pay under approved scales, without which the Vote would have shown some reduction on last year's figures. Such additions to the staff as have been found necessary (principally for technical development and equipment and for common services) have been more than set off by economies, especially in the Works and Buildings Directorate, where they have been made possible by the retardation of the building programme. ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY NOTICES When 'e back Lecture.—The Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society have great pleasure in announcing that Marchese de Pinedo, the Italian airman who recently flew from Italy to Australia in a Savoia seaplane, and back via Japan, will lecture before the Society on his experiences. The lecture will be delivered in English in the theatre of the Royal Society of Arts, on Thursday, April 8, 1926, at 6.30 p.m. it became known that Mr. Cobham would not in time to give his lecture before the Society on the date originally arranged, Flight-Lieut. H. Cooch agreed to deliver his lecture on that date. Mr. Cobham's lecture on " Long Distance Aeroplane Flights," therefore, will be delivered before the Society on March 18. 1926, at the Royal Society of Arts, 18, John Street, Adelphi, W.C. 2. Branches.—The Council have approved of the formation of a branch of the Society at Coventry. This branch has already some 200 members. The formation of a number of other branches is now under consideration. J. LAURENCE PKITCHARD. Hon. Secretary. 115
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