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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2142.PDF
420 FLIGHT OCTOBER 19TH, 1944 Research Sir Henry Tizard Wants Yet Another JJepartment Taken Away from the Air Ministry THE most important suggestion made by Sir Henry Tizard, C.B., F.R.S., president of Magdalen Col lege, Oxford, in his recent address to the Parlia mentary and Scientific Committee, was that the control of aeronautical research should be taken away from the Air Ministry and vested in an Aeronautical Research Council under the Lord President of the Council, under whom there are already councils for medical, agricultural, scientific and industrial research. Sir Henry suggested that the Aeronautical Research Council (not to be confused with the present Aeronautical t Research Committee, of which Sir Henry was chairman until recently.—ED.) should have a large block grant from Parliament—not less" than £1,000,000 a year—that it should have an. executive council, and that it should include in the first place a chairman who is an engineer, if possible of very wide experience in industry. He sug gested an engineer because he believed in engineers and because scientists are afraid of spending money. On this council there would be the Director of Scientific Research, the corresponding man in the Navy or any other depart ment interested, and also selected scientific men. Such an arrangement would relieve the Director of Scientific Research of a large amount of routine and administrative duties, which he ought not to have, leaving him free to study the real problems and apply his own scientific mind to them, and to be freely in touch with developments in the scientific world. Justification for Spending With regard to the expenditure of a million or more by this executive body, Sir Henry said he would justify it on various points. One was, he had faith in the future. Secondly, if we set ourselves, as we do in aeronautics, to develop science and engineering so as to produce the highest pitch of the engineer's art, we incidentally have a very great effect on a large number of other industries. Aero nautical research in this country, whether in the design of aircraft or engines, has been of very great value to other industries. Thirdly, we must change our views of really well-organised scientific research and not be afraid of spending money on a large scale. If the public is going to be afraid of failures, and of any big organisation of this kind, then it means that a bold enough view will not be taken. If a bold view be taken, we have the talent in this country to produce the results in the end. On the subject of air transport Sir Henry Tizard had a good deal to say. He thought most people had exag gerated ideas of the probable size of air transport, at any rate of the probable demand for aircraft manufacture. Before the war a large number of people travelled first class to America, paying £50 to £30. If we took them all by air, and if we supposed that one-half were carried in British machines, which was asking quite a lot, then in order to perform that business one would not want more than 20 aircraft of the type now being built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. To maintain such a fleet one would not want to build more than four or five a year. Approaching the subject from another angle. Sir Henry said it was agreed that America was a great country for civil air transport. The latest figures which he had been able to obtain were for 1939-40, when the total fleet ot aircraft was about 250, of about D.C.3 size. To maintain that fleet on that scale one would need to build only about 50 machines a year. The total revenue of American air lines in 1943 was one-tenth of one per cent, of the national income. In this country our national income, now that wages were high, was about £8,000 million. The corre sponding figure was therefore £8,000,000 a year. Another comparison, with railway transport, showed that America's internal air line revenue was 2.\ per cent, of the railway revenue. In this country i\ per cent, of the railway revenue also happened to be about £8,000,000, so the two comparisons rather corresponded. £8 million in the way of aircraft would mean a fleet of about 80 of the D.C.3 type. It could be maintained by building 16 to 20 replacements a year. We must revise our ideas. What was involved was the manufacture every year of a few highly specialised aircraft, representing at any time the highest achievements of the engineer's art. If we ceased to be good at that it would be good-bye. Sir Henry had no doubt that the designers in this country were capable of doing that and could hold their own with those of any country, provided they had the right scientific assistance behind them and the right access to the experimental data they wanted. Automatic Control Future Sir Henry said he was not worried about being behind with commercial aircraft now. What he wanted was to make certain that we should not be behind in five years' time. We should not make certain of that unless we revised our ideas of research' and ciesign, took a big view of the future, and took risks instead of following some body else's example. Radio was placed very high in importance by the lec turer. He thought it quite practicable so to design radio equipment, on the ground and in the air, that when an aircraft approached an airfield it could be brought down by a pilot on the ground, right on the runway, without the captain of the aircraft doing anything except to take over if, in his judgment, that was advisable. Of long-distance aircraft Sir Henry said he could imagine as a practical possibility aircraft crossing the Atlantic automatically, without a navigator on board. Two things were essential to economic operation: a reduc tion of drag and a lighter aircraft structure. We knew how to reduce both drag and weight, but we did not know how much they could be reduced. The subject of struc ture design was often overlooked because it had not the *, glamour of aerodynamic design, but it was the real secret of commercial success. Stratosphere flying also came under review. Sir Henry said he believed in it. True commercial flights, i.e., long distance flights at high speed, for which passengers would be prepared to pay, were only possible by flying high. The country that solved that problem was going to get the business. No one was going to cross the Atlantic and take 14 or 15 hours instead of 9 or 10. Flight at supersonic speeds was a problem that ought to be tackled by any research organisation, but there was no commercial incen five at present. "BILLY" BISHOP r llF. retirement from active service "later in the autumn" of Air Marshal \V. A. ("Billy") Bishop, V.C., has been announced. Major C. C. Power, Canadian Air Minister, said, "-The Air Marshal had taken the position that, since recruiting has been suspended, there was no further necessity for him to retain his post. I should like to emphasise, however, that 'the services performed for the R.C.A.F. by Air Marshal Bishop extended far beyond the requirements of his position. This country, already deeply indebted to the Air Marshal for his service in the last war, has cause to be even more grateful foi his contribution to the development of the R.C.A.F."
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