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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0968.PDF
a reasonable degree of seaworthiness in case of a forced descent, they were better left alone. In the aggregate they do more harm than good to the cause of aviation. Unfortunately, a few British adventurous spirits were misguided enough to make the attempt, and thus we, like so many others, are left to mourn a number of splendid fellows who could ill be spared. In another direction the year does have some very magnificent results to show, and it is at least debatable whether, from a purely practical point of view, the flight from Amsterdam to Batavia and back by a Dutch pilot on a Dutch machine fitted with British engines is not the most meritorious performance of the year. Where the other great flights merely showed that, providing the engines hold out, the Atlantic can be traversed, the Dutch flight to the East Indies and back was of real practical service, in that it demonstrated that one may hope for the time, not very far distant, when mails can and will be transported over very great distances at a very high average speed. Of British long-distance attempts, none succeeded in establishing a record, or at least in holding it for any length of time. Carr and Gillman, by their flight to the Persian Gulf, did set up a record, but only for a few hours, when it was beaten for distance by a transatlantic flight. In the light 'plane class, we have done better than any other nation by such long-distance flights as Berk Hinkler's from London to Riga non-stop, and Lieut. Bentley's flight from London to Cape Town by stages. For Great Britain 1927 has been remarkable as a " seaplane year," and, although not in the nature of nor intended as, record attempts, such events as the Baltic cruise, and the Far East cruise now in progress, have demonstrated the enormous progress which Great Britain has made with the production and operation of marine aircraft. Also in the seaplane class was the magnificent Schneider Trophy victory of Lieut. Webster, who by the speeds maintained in the race established several world's records, only to be beaten two months later by one of the Italian pilots on an Italian Schneider machine. Maj. de Bernardi now holds the world's speed record, not only for seaplanes but for machines of any type, with a speed of 296-82 m.p.h. Another outstanding Italian seaplane performance was that of the Marquis de Pinedo, who crossed the South Atlantic by flying- boat, and then crossed South America, reaching the United States, where his machine was destroyed by fire. He returned across the North Atlantic in another machine. Turning from the subject of long-distance flights to one of a much less spectacular but no less useful nature, as far as the British Empire is concerned, 1927 has shown an almost phenomenal growth in private flying. From a very modest beginning, the Light Aeroplane Club movement and private flying in general have increased by leaps and bounds, and there cannot be the slightest doubt that, although at the moment rather artificially sustained, this movement has come to stay and has proved itself of very great assistance in producing what Sir Samuel Hoare has termed " air-mindedness." Civil aviation, in the sense of " commercial " aviation, has progressed steadily all the world over, but a& regards the British Empire it is to be feared that we are very much where we were last year. It is true that we have opened up as a civilian under- taking the desert route from Cairo to Baghdad, and 876 DECEMBER 29, 1927 that the machines and engines used have proved them- selves very reliable. But owing to the attitude of the Persian government the hoped-for extension to Karachi has not been realised, and so the "link" in the Imperial air route chain has not attained the importance which it should have done. On the subject of Empire air defence, the year has not been without its achievements, although the " deceleration " in the programme has naturally resulted in a smaller expansion than was at one time contemplated. The manoeuvres this year rather gave one furiously to think, and although some of the bombing machines that took part in the " raids " on London were successful, it would seem, at any rate to the ordinary civilian mind, that there is little to be hoped for from the point of view of defeating a really determined enemy. That means only one thing, i.e., the truth of the old saying, only in an even more pertinent form, that " attack is the best defence." If there is no satisfactory way of defending ourselves against air attack, the only remedy is a. striking force so strong and so well organised that any potential enemy would hesitate to invite reprisals. Unless and until universal disarmament becomes a practical possibility, we fail to see that any other course is open. That this inevitably points towards an air armament race is to be regretted, but we have not yet heard of any other practical way out of the difficulty. And Great Britain, by " decelerating " her air programme, has set an example which, more is the pity, has not been followed by other nations. It is not to be expected that we can go on indefinitely with an Air Force which in size is totally inadequate to our needs, and the urgent problems of the coming year will be, failing other countries following the lead given by Great Britain, to proceed at a more rapid rate with our expansion programme. Technical! ', 1927 has seen steady progress all round, with perhaps the greatest step forward marked by the production of all-metal or at least metal-hull flying-boats of such size as to be quite reasonably seaworthy. Not that metal construction has been by any means confined to marine aircraft. On the contrary, there has been a general tendency towards all-metal construction of aircraft of all types, and there is now scarcely a firm which does not produce metal machines. In very many cases such firms have evolved their own forms of construction, and a number of excellent types have been developed. A few other firms rely on obtaining some of the more difficult parts from firms with special experience ; nor is there any particular objection to this, since in case of war, the contingency at which in particular metal con- struction is aimed, the originators would form a very small percentage of the firms producing the parti- cular type of part. Aero engines have progressed along well denned lines, as was to be expected from the fact that the production of a new engine is a much more laborious process than the production of a new type of aircraft. In this country at any rate, the year has been marked by a decided tendency towards a much wider employ- ment of the air-cooled engine, although it cannot yet be said that this has superseded, or is likely to sup- plant in the near future, the older water-cooled type. Taking it all in all, if 1927 has not been a year of great prosperity for the aircraft industry, it might easily have been worse. With that reflection we will wish all our readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year !
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