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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0105.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY W THE WORLD .• FOUNDED 1909 Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. War Correspondent JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Truditur, Sedist, London. COVENTRY : BIRMINGHAM. 2: fi 10 CORPORATION ST GUILDHALL BUILDINGS,8-10. CORPORATION ST. NAV|GATIONST. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams : Autopresj, Birmingham. Telephont: Coventry 52 10. Telephone: Midland 2971 (5 lines). Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, C.2 : 260, DEANSGATE. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. Telephone : Central 4857. No. 1882. Vol. XLVII. Registered ot the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. January 18th, 1945. Thursdays, One Shilling. Outlook The New R.Ae.S. SpiritT HERE was a time when the Royal Aeronautical Society used to be referred to by the cynics as "The Mutual Admiration Society." There was some justification for the tag. Too frequently when a paper had been read by someone from the Royal Air- craft Establishment, the ensuing discussion mainly took the form of people from the Air Ministry getting up and praising the work done by the R.A.E., or vice versa. In that way a semblance of backing was estab- lished for the refusal of official technicians to see any usefulness in such new-fangled notions as variable-pitch airscrews and retractable undercarriages. Things have changed. One does not nowadays find much admiration as between the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Aircraft Production, or between the M.A.P. and the Admiralty or War Office, or between them and the Air Ministry. In the case of the Royal Aeronautical Society, under such recent presidents as Mr. Arthur Gouge and Sir Roy Fedden, the somewhat academic atmosphere which used to characterise earlier lectures has during the last few years given way to a more prac- tical approach to technical and other subjects. In short, there has been a great awakening, and the present council has given many indications of its determination to make "The Royal and Ancient" a really live force in British aviation. This new spirit in Hamilton Place finds further expres- sion in a series of three debates to be held on January 23rd, February 8th, and March 13th, the subject being civil aviation. It will be recollected that the one-day debate held last November, although many of the talks given were excellent in themselves, rathei meandered all around and over the subject, which is indeed a very wide one. This year the intention is really to '' get down to brass tacks." There will be a specific subject; a certain number of speakers will argue "for" and a similar number "against." The motion for the first o'f the three debates will be: "That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable that persons experienced in transport services, e.g., shipping and railways, should take part in the development of civil aviation." Not only is the subject a burning one, but it is one on which opinions differ strongly. There are many who hold that it would be unfair to have let the pioneers do all the difficult work during the early days of civil avia- tion, only to have the fruits of their labours taken away from them by other interests as soon as truly commercial flying begins to promise to be a possibility. The other side argues that, particularly in the case ol shipping, a vast world organisation of agents, ports, customs, etc., already exist, and that to duplicate a1! this for air transport would be wasteful. Thus we may expect the debate on January 23rd to be both inter- esting and instructive. It is to be hoped that the \'irtual handing-over of Latin America to the United States will receive attention. DebatableS UBJECTS for the other two debates have not yet been chosen, we understand. There are plenty which need ventilating. For example, there is the thorny one of the single "chosen instrument." A really searching debate on this would be fruitful, but there might be some difficulty in getting speakers " for " the single company! We almost hesitate to suggest as another subject the Chicago Conference; some fairly pointed remarks would probably be made. But the way this country was out- manoeuvred at every turn, largely due to unprepared ness and the inelastic nature of our policy, calls foi outspoken comment, even if it is by now a case of thr dehydrated milk being scattered all over the doorstep.
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