FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1366.PDF
fLIGHT, 20 July 1951 63 THE OLD HANDS PAY TRIBUTE Jubilee Messages to "Flight" Readers from Builders of Britain's Aircraft Industry HOUGH several of the names appended to the messages on these pages were familiar—even famous—before 1914, it was not our intention to restrict the contributions to the earliest pioneers alone. Rather we chose to seek the views of some of the older hands in the industry to-day—men who have not only seen the industry grow, but who, in various capacities, have been instrumental in advancing its growth them- selves. We believe that readers will share our pleasure that the outlook revealed in these messages should be so fresh, the choices of theme so happy, and anything in the nature of pomposity—even on the part of the most illustrious—so conspicuously absent. From ROBERT BLACKBURN, General Aircraft, Ltd. O.B.E., A.M.I.C.E., Hon. F.R.Ae.S., chairman, Blackburn and IF it is permissible to apply the terrestrial term "milestone" to an aeronautical event, then the Jubilee of the Royal Aero Club is certainly a milestone in the history of aviation. To everyone concerned I offer my sincere congratula- tions on creating and maintaining an authoritative British body which is admired and respected throughout the world. Although it is now 43 years ago, I well recall my first association with the Club at 166 Piccadilly, whose premises also housed aviation insurance brokers and the great C. G. Grey. In 50 years the R.Ae.C. has pioneered and promoted flying, and I trust that it will continue to progress with equal success in-the years to come. To my mind one of the intriguing aspects of aviation is that it has, in the main, been born and grown up within my own lifetime. There were, of course, many early inventors, such as Yorkshire-born Sir George Cayley, who contributed to the conquest of the air; but "heavier-than-air" flying is generally accepted to date from the Wright Brothers. Since my initial flight from the sands of the Yorkshire Coast some 42 years ago, aircraft have developed with a rapidity which is most gratifying. Speeds have progressed from a modest 60 m.p.h. to beyond the speed of sound, and engine power has increased over one hundredfold. My first monoplane weighed approximately 800 lb, whereas today a prototype weighing 100,000 lb is being regularly test-flown from Brough. This growth of aviation in so short a space of time is truly remarkable, and the major share of the credit for popularizing private flying must be given to the Royal Aero Club. As Britain's representative at international conferences, as the governing authority on sporting activities, and as the father of all aero clubs, the R.Ae.C. commands respect for 50 years of worthwhile endeavour. From W. G. CARTER, C.B.E., F.R.AcS., technical director, Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd. AS we go forward to enter the second half of what eventually will become a century of aviation we can be justly proud of the contribution which has been made by British enterprise in furthering the development of aeronautical science and engineering. We can also be sure that British industry will continue to play a part in every way worthy of its great heritage and tradition. Inseparable from this field of endeavour, the Royal Aero Club stands acknowledged and supreme as the arbiter of all that is best in the provision and co-ordination of facilities concerned with flying as an art rather than as a science. In these days, with so much emphasis on scientific investigation and research, it is indeed good to have those other, not so easily definable, qualities thus worthily represented and upheld. From H. T. CHAPMAN, C.B.E., A.F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E., managing director, Armstrong Siddeley Motors, Ltd. MY colleagues and I take pleasure in sending to the Royal Aero Club our greetings and sincere good wishes on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Long may it continue to support so ably the cause of aviation. We have progressed a long way since the Club first came into being. Yet, as we stand today at the beginning of the jet and rocket age, we sense again the thrill of the pioneer. I often feel that there is a kinship between those early days and now. Then, when we were making our first attempts to fly, it was with very little knowledge of where it was all going to lead us. Now, on the brink of super- sonic flight and the rocket, we again stand facing the unknown. It must be the sincerest hope of all of us that man will use this ever-growing knowledge for the betterment of the peoples of the world.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
