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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1102.PDF
FLIGHT, OCTOBER 16, 1981 suffered from the sun. Probably he took liberties with it. The sun in Eastern parts is no respecter of persons, and even the strongest must have regard for it or take the consequences. Kingsford Smith- thought that he could defy them. He is a man who takes no risk with his equipment on a long flight. His conquest of the Pacific was due quite as much to his forethought in providing the best possible wireless equipment and a sound navigator, as well as to his practice in flying by instruments, as to his ordinary skill as a pilot. Mr. Anthony Fokker con- siders Kingsford Smith the greatest of the long- distance pilots. His meticulous care over his equipment, however, is not equalled by his care for himself. His physical powers are marvellous, but even they have a limit. We cannot spare a pilot like Kingsford Smith, and so we are glad that his doctor has insisted on his taking some reasonable care of himself. We cannot help wondering what spirit of unrest urged him to undertake this last attempt to make still faster time between England and Australia. At the time of his marriage last December he is reported to have said that he had done with long-distance flying. At that time, however, his company, Aus- tralian National Airways Limited, was doing very well with its unsubsidised services between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Now it has suspended operations, and Kingsford Smith was without an occupation. Inaction must be intensely galling to a man like him. But this record-breaking between England and Australia has now been overdone. What lessons it had to teach have now been taught. We all know that an organised service could carry mails between the two countries faster than any one pilot in a light aeroplane with a single engine can possibly cover the distance. It may be that to keep on repeating the lesson will produce some effect; but, after all, special mail aeroplanes are now being produced, and the matter is not being allowed to stand still. That being so, the lives and the health of our best pilots are more valuable than any im- provement on the latest light aeroplane performance can possibly be. The very pleasant gathering at Derby last Satur- day, which is described in another column, was possibly the last occasion on which the members of the High-Speed Flight could be gathered together. We may take this opportunity of con- c, Out. gratulating Flight-Lieutenants Booth- ampions maji ^^ Stainforth on having been granted the Air Force Cross by H.M. the King. Both officers have well deserved it, though we cannot help feeling that the two other pilots of the Flight were equally deserving. Doubtless the whole team realises that it is collectively honoured by the awards given to the two chosen champions, even as a regiment which has done well on active service is honoured by a decoration conferred on the commanding officer. The congratulations of the King were addressed to the whole Flight, and all members of it, including the warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and air- craftmen, may plume themselves on having deserved the thanks of His Majesty. The Flight is now on leave, and it gathered at Derby from various points of the compass. Wh/n the well-deserved leave is over, the members of the Flight will be scattered and will take up other duties Martlesham, Felixstowe, Farnborough, will all gam pilots who, already among the best, have now bene- fited by a very special course of training in which scientific study is combined with practice in high- speed flying. One officer, Flight-Lieutenant Long, goes to join No. 8 (Bomber) Squadron at Aden. He will there fly Fairey III F two-seaters over the desert and play his part in one of the most interesting tasks entrusted to the Royal Air Force. It seems strange to us that officers who have displayed a peculiar degree of skill such as would mark them out as especially suitable for posting to fighter squadrons should in man / cases be sent off to bomber squad- rons. Naturally bomber squadrons need very good pilots. Their work is not in the least to be depre- ciated by comparison with that of fighter squadrons, and in many ways it may be held to be the more important work of the two. But it is usually held that fighter aeroplanes call for special qualities in a pilot which are not so necessary for two-seater aero- planes, and that being so, it appears rather wasteful to put our Derby jockeys on to ordinary mounts. The authorities of the Royal Air Force appear to be opposed to specialisation by pilots. The idea seems to be that as many pilots as practicable should practise flying as many types of aeroplane as pos- sible. We find it hard to believe that this idea is sound. This is an age of specialisation, and the tendency to specialise tends to grow with the advance of science. As the Air Force expands, and as machines are further developed, it seems clear that specialisation will be more than ever necessary. Take the case of flying-boat pilots. They need a lot of experience before they become masters of their par- ticular work. Mostly, we believe, they become en- thusiasts on that work, and when they have mastered it and have become wedded to it they would gladly make it the work of their lives. Yet they too are liable to be moved to other squadrons, where their laboriously acquired experience and skill is wasted, and must gradually rust from want of practice. It seems to us bad policy. It certainly means some waste, and waste should be anathema to all services. The more experienced the pilot who flies a certain type of aircraft, the less likelihood there is of acci- dent. One would have thought that the loss of an " Iris " with a number of valuable lives some months ago would have been a fairly emphatic lesson on the wisdom of conserving and utilising experience whenever possible, instead of dissipating it. Of course, even the expert has had to learn at some time; but the less learning that is going on, the less is the danger of a crash. To keep experts on the class of aeroplane for which they have shown special aptitude would seem an ordinary commonsense pre- caution. The only objection which we can see to such a policy would be that fighter pilots would never see any overseas service. Exceptions* ot course, would have to be made; but, then, all pilots now flying fighters are not actually experts. Ine real experts, we consider, when they are doing squad ion duty, should be kept to their own proper clas> of aeroplane. 1032
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