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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1406.PDF
SOMETHING ABOUT OURSELVES The First Leader: Hatching the Egg of Aviation in "Extraordinary'1'' Offices FRIENDLY allusions on other pages to Flight's owncontribution to the cause of flying in Britain haveemboldened us to outline the progress of this journal since its birth on January 2nd, 1909. This date, it may be explained, was that imprinted on "Vol. 1, No. 1," though some eight numbers had appeared in preceding weeks for the purpose of securing copyright in the title. Even prior to that aeronautical matters had been dealt with for many years in a sister publication. The Automotor Journal. Our founder, the late Stanley Spooner, who died on April 3rd,1940, wrote in his first leading article : "It is not as a youthful stranger—entirely unknown to the aeronautic world—that we seekto introduce ourselves to everyone who is taking a special interest in mechanical flight; but rather is it as the dutiful offspring ofa journal, which has for long earned the esteem of the same public, that we hope to make a successful appeal for Flight today. Up tothe present time, when our own advent upon the scenes has synchronized almost exactly with the birth of a new era forhumanity—the flying age—the pre-natal interests of the great industry which is, from now onwards, to be our special charge,have been cared for, and the way prepared, by The Automotor Journal. That parent journal has for many years assiduouslychronicled all the early stages which have of late culminated so satisfactorily in the conquest of the air. But it now devolveson us, as a newcomer, to take up the running in columns of our own; since the time has undoubtedly arrived when theaeronautic movement can no longer be dependent on an auto- mobile foster parent, however honoured that parent may be. It is,then, our firm determination to establish the same lofty traditions for Flight that have ever guided the editorial pen of The AutomotorJournal in the automobile sphere, our chief aims and objects being ever to throw our full weight on the side of all that seems to us tomake for the highest permanent good of the aeronautic industry, to pursue a policy of entire independence, and to render our pagesas interesting, concise, and accurately instructive as lies within our powers." From the outset Flight was accorded the honour of being theofficial organ of the Royal Aero Club, and has also enjoyed the happiest relations with the Royal Aeronautical Society, which sawfit to mark our coming of age with a dinner at the Savoy Hotel on January 3rd, 1930. Col. the Master of Sempill was in the chair,and many pioneer figures were to be seen in the company. Messages arrived from the patron of the Royal AeronauticalSociety, His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and from other persons of rank and honour. The chairman recalled a letter fromLt. Col. Moore-Brabazon (now Lord Brabazon) which appeared in the first issue of Flight, and in which "Moore-Brab" referred tothe .difficulties of furthering aviation in this country, where every- one was "so ready to discourage one, ridicule one, and look uponone as an amiable lunatic." It was on this occasion that "Moore- (Left to right) Stanley Spooner, C. M. Poulsen. G. Geoffrey Smith. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of —Aerial Locomotion and Transport. —————— Title page of "Flight," No. I, Vol. I, the first issue apart from eight or so to secure copyright in the title. Depicted is one of "Moore-Brab's" first fights, at Issy, on a Voisin biplane. Brab" recalled meeting Mr. Spooner in the old Flight office inSt. Martin's Lane, which he described as one of the most extra- ordinary he had ever seen. It was, he said, like a huge pantomimewastepaper basket, in the middle of which sat Mr. Spooner, looking for all the world like a large old hen, hatching the egg ofaviation. C. M. Poulsen, editor from 1934 to 1949, writes of his formerchief and the early days in the following terms : "That the first few years of Flight's existence was a struggle may well be imagined.Most of the aeroplanes built and flown were produced by impecunious experimental enthusiasts, who certainly had nomoney to spare for supporting by advertising a journal which, they fully realized and willingly conceded, was doing excellentpropaganda work. A few there were who were reasonably well capitalized, but the revenue from advertising was almost micro-scopic during the first few years. From the very first, Mr. Spooner foresaw the tremendous strides which the aeroplane would makein the matter of speed, range and load-carrying capacity. He was not a technical man, and possibly because of that he refused to bedisheartened by the innumerable problems which stood in the way of realizing the ambitions of the early aviators. He would drawa parallel with the evolution of the motor car, a period with which he had been closely associated, and would argue that there wasbound to be even greater possibilities in the development of the aeroplane. His judgment invariably proved right, although it wasbased upon intuition rather than technical knowledge." For several years the late G. Geoffrey Smith, whose death it wasour sad duty to record in a recent issue, acted as adviser to Mr. Spooner and entered into an agreement on behalf of Iliffe andSons, Ltd., to acquire the journal on Mr. Spooner's retirement. In 1934 it was transferred, with its staff, to Dorset House, thepresent publishing office, and at this time Mr. Poulsen was appointed to the editor's chair. The retirement of Mr. Poulsen was marked by a luncheon givenby the management committee of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors in June, 1949. On that occasion one of his oldestfriends, Mr. Robert Blackburn (a message from whom we are privileged to print in this issue), referred to the "sane and balancedway" in which the products of the British aircraft industry had always been presented in the pages of Flight. The present editor took over on June 1st, 1949, and, with thestaff whose names are set forth on our title page, endeavours to uphold the traditions so diligently established and jealouslyguarded over the best part of half a century.
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