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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0194.PDF
and as tests of the reliability of the aircraft employed, it is increasingly evident that such visits serve a valuable Imperial purpose in remote centres which are with difficulty acces- sible by other means of communication. A cruise was also carried out by four large flying-boats in northern waters in August and September. The following month four Southampton flying-boats began an extended cruise to the Far East. The primary object of this cruise is to obtain further experience of the problems involved in operating and maintaining large flying-boats at a distance from any fixed base. The itinerary of the first stages of the flight has been from England to India and on to Singa- pore, which was reached on February 28 ; from thence • the flight will be continued to Australia. On the return journey the boats will visit Hong Kong via Borneo and the Philippines. The total projected mileage of the cruise is 28,000, 11,000 miles of which have already been covered without mishap or deviation from the programme. Personnel A slight reduction is made in Vote A (maximum numbers to be borne during the year), which now stands at 32,500. Some further measures have been taken in replacement of service personnel by civilians for duties in which it is found that the latter can be advantageously employed with resultant economy ; and there have been savings in ancillary services in Iraq. The average numbers, however (which govern the provision in Vote 1 and the other Personnel votes) are expected to rise. An increase in the numbers of officers of the General Duties Branch borne on Vote 1 contributes to this result, which is mainly accounted for by the formation of new units and the bringing up to establishment of squadrons and flights which have been partly formed during the present year. Training In my memorandum accompanying last year's estimates the instructional system in vogue and the various establish- ments which it is necessary to maintain for the flying and other specialised training of the Royal Air Force were described in some detail, and recapitulation"on this occasion is unnecessary The reconstruction of the station at Spittle- gate for the purposes of a flying training school which has been proceeding for some time past is practically complete, and the existing flying training school at Netheravon will be transferred there. Netheravon will, however, continue for the present to be used for the training of pupils in excess of the capacity of the other flying training schools. Provision for the School of Physical Training, Uxbridge, and the School of Store Accounting and Storekeeping, Kidbrooke, previously made in Vote 1, is now made under the heading of Educational Services (Vote 6), but in spite of these additions, the gross total of the latter vote shows a small decrease. Dominion Co-operation Considerable progress has been made in regard to the arrangements for co-operation with the air forces of the Dominions, which were discussed at the Imperial Conference of 1926 and briefly referred to in my memorandum accom- panying last year's estimates. The officers who joined the Royal Air Force on short service commissions after carrying out their initial training with the Royal Australian Air Force have been posted to vacancies in service squadrons and have proved themselves valuable and efficient. A further contin- gent has just joined, and others are to follow in subsequent years. A guiding principle kept in view in all these arrange- ments is to secure as far as possible identity in the objects and methods of training of the air forces of the Empire. At the request of the Australian authorities four Royal Air Force officers—a wing-commander and three squadron- leaders—have been lent to Australia for service at head- quarters. A regular scheme of interchanges is being developed between the Royal Air Force and the Australian and Canadian Air Forces. Six officers of the Iraq forces are being trained at the Royal Air Force Cadet College on behalf of the Iraq Government. Reserve and Auxiliary Forces The reserve and auxiliary forces will continue to be steadily developed in 1928, involving an increase in Vote 7 of £54,000. A satisfactory growth in the strength of existing units has been recorded during the year. In view of the increasing number of airmen pilots trans- ferring to the Reserve, arrangements have been made for the flying practice of these reservists at the civil schools, where for some time past the corresponding flying of officers of the Reserve has been carried out. The squadrons at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, whose constitution and objects have been previously described, MARCH 15, 192S continue to make highly satisfactory progress and to provide a flow of candidates for commissions. The membership of each squadron has been increased to a maximum of 75. The authorities at both Universities now permit flying in term time, an arrangement which has proved a great success. Technical Equipment A comparison of Vote 3 (Technical Equipment) with the corresponding vote in 1927 is considerably affected by the loss of the Middle East repayment (£810,000). The gross figures show a decrease of £359,000. To the extent of £50,000 this is due to an increase in the overall allowance for under- spending ; but the principal single cause of the variation is a reduction of some £200,000 in the provision under Sub- head A for aircraft spares, due to satisfactory experience of the maintenance costs of modern types. Apart from this the scale of monetary provision is not substantially altered. The process of re-armament with new aircraft and aero engines, begun last year, will be continued. The programme for this year provides for nine squadrons to be re-equipped with machines of the latest design, in addition to the equipment of the various new units to be formed in 1928. The control of aircraft at low speeds by means of slots in the wing structure is being actively developed. Details of the mechanism, which has to be separately adapted for each type of wing section, have been worked out for fifteen different types of service aircraft, and in the case of the Bristol Fighter the process of fitting the automatic slot to all machines, at the rate of six per week, is already well advanced. The re-equipment of the Royal Air Force with new motor transport has become necessary, as the age of the existing vehicles, some of which have been in service for over ten years, renders their reconditioning definitely uneconomical. The advent of a cheap six-wheeled vehicle, which has proved highly satisfactory on test and which is inexpensive to main- tain, makes it possible to replace the worn-out transport with a type which will provide greater mobility over rough country—a need which is largely felt in the Royal Air Force, especially in those units which normally co-operate with the Army. Provision is made in this estimate for a commence- ment of the process of replacement. A parachute is now supplied for every aircraft in the service which is capable of carrying it, that is, over 75 per cent, of all machines. This percentage will rise to 86 per cent, in 1928. Seagoing aircraft, which comprise the great part of the re- mainder, have not yet been fitted, as the parachute with its present form of attachment involves risk of drowning the wearer ; a new quick release gear has, however, been recently designed, which is expected to solve this difficulty. Research and Technical Development. The provision for Scientific Research and Technical Develop- ment is shown in Appendix I ; the net total for these services does not differ appreciably from that of last year. The experimental aircraft programme provides for the inception of work on fourteen new types, including both a high-speed and a civil specification. The programme of aero engine development covers a wider field this year owing to the advance made in basic problems, such as the gearing down of propeller speed and new methods of cooling, the results of which art now ready to be applied to individual types in detail, with prospects of success. The main function of the Royal Aircraft Establishment is. to supply a centre where full scale aeronautical research of all kinds can be conducted in close connection with the theore- tical and model investigations which are carried out both at the Establishment and at the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. The provision for the Establishment has risen from £390,000 to £407,000. This increase is mainly accounted for by capital improvements, including the provi- sion of auxiliary power plant and modifications required in the spinning tower. A seaplane testing tank, in which, models of seaplane hulls and floats can be tested at higher velocities than have hitherto been possible in the Froude marine tank at the National Physical Laboratory, will be begun this year. The Froude tank has only been available for short periods for aeronautical research, and, being designed to use marine models travelling at speeds proportionate- to those of surface shipping, can only be adapted to the high velocities attained with modern seaplanes by the use of undesirably small models. The new aeronautical tank will enable larger models and higher speed conditions to be studied with greater accuracy, and will provide more adequate facilities for dealing with the increasingly heavy programme of seaplane experimental work. By this means experiments on full-sized machines can be carried out to the best advantage, and undue cost and danger to personnel thus avoided. Another scheme with similar objects in view is the variable 174
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