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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1946.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER AND AIRSHIPS FIRST AERONAUTICAL^WEEKEY IN THE^IVORLD •• FOUNDED ISOQ Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices.- DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Truditur. Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines;. HERTFORD ST., COVENTRY. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 51210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM. 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 2971. 260, DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: IlifJc. Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. 2GB, RENFIELD ST., GLASGOW C.2. Telegrams : IlirTe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: flnme and Canada: Year, £1 13 0. Other Countries: Year, £1 15 0. 6 months, 16s. 6d. ti months, 17s. 6d. 3 months, 8s. 6d. 3 months, t*s. 9d. No 1438. Vol. XXX. JULY 16, 1936. Thursdays, Price 6d. Something Lacking T HE handicappers have every reason to be satis fied with their performance in the 1936 King's Cup race. The pilots flew finely in difficult con ditions. The broadcaster on Saturday may also feel that he did his part as well as it could be done. Otherwise there is little praise which can be given in connection with the race. The contest for the King's Cup is the most important >porting event of the aeronautical year. The conditions of the race ought to be so framed that some particular aeronautical purpose should be served, and that the winner should feel that he has achieved that purpose. There are various possible objects which might be chosen. The race might be made to tell the world that British civil aeroplanes are fast, despite various foreign impressions to the contrary. It might offer a reward (and this reward is the most honourable and the most desired of all) for a machine which combines speed with other useful civil or commercial qualities, such as weight-carry ing, long range, passenger accommodation, etc. It might, by publishing a formula a long way ahead, give designers a chance to produce a machine with special characteristics which would benefit by the terms of the formula. In this connection it should be remembered that the Melbourne race produced the D.H. Comet. It might, in addition to other things, be a real test of the navigating skill of the pilots, or of their powers of endurance. It might also be so framed as to encourage entries from private owners. Once this was attempted, "V forbidding professional pilots to fly in the race, but e result was not a popular success. Finally, efforts might be concentrated on making a thrilling show for e London public, which, as everyone has now learnt, m[not in any case go out to any aerodrome in its "11 ions to watch air racing unless that racing is made Positively dangerous. ft TT has Proved futile is to attempt to combine the nulling spectacle with any one of Ihe other objects; quills is what the officials of the Royal Aero Club once ittempted to do. They have had numerous lessons in the past, but they will not learn. Of course, the miserable weather on both Friday and Saturday made a large attendance of the public an impossibility this year, but previous years have shown that even fine weather will not make a realty popular social or sport ing event of an air race. Common sense suggests that all attempts in this direction ought to be abandoned in the future. The wisest course would be to concentrate, if His Majesty consented, on making the King's Cup a manu facturers' race, reserving the Grosvenor Cup and other races for amateurs and private owners. That would imply altering the rule which demands that each entry shall be made by a private person and not by a firm, but not the least harm would be done by abolishing this rule. Let the object of the race be to improve the breed '' of aeroplanes by offering the prize for some useful quality or other. The selected quality might be varied from year to year, provided that the conditions of each race were published well in advance of the date of the race. But, if only in gratitude to the two suc cessive Kings who have presented cups to encourage British flying, let this race be of some practical value! Proving Nothing To descend to details of last week's race, while a race across country always has some value in testing the endurance of engines and the navigating powers of pilots, the absence of handicaps on the Friday made the elimin ating contest very unsatisfactory. In each class the slower machines had to do their utmost to qualify for the final, while pilots whose machines were fast enough to feel sure of qualifying had no incentive to give of their best, beyond a £50 money prize for the best time in each class. Therefore, the Friday's contest had very little real interest and proved nothing. If the Royal Aero Club decides on a pure speed race, well and good. Let them have a speed race; but do not let them confuse the issue by making their speedy aero planes fly in a handicap scurry round a triangle with thirty-four sharp turns. If they want a handicap race, then let them handicap from the beginning so as to give
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