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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0008.PDF
FLIGHT, 3 January 195& DREAM OR NIGHTMARE? . . . time—certainly second only to the current harnessing of the powerof the atom. What was the impact of the conquest of the air? For the firstdecade or so the effect was negligible. During this period it proved difficult enough to produce a frail contraption of sticks, strkig andcanvas that would fly, let alone making it do some work. July 25,1909, witnessed the event of greatest significance duringthis period. On the-morning of that day Louis Bleriot took off from Barraques, on the French coast, and, just over half an hourlater, landed on English soil near Dover Castle. This first crossing of the Channel—England's traditional moat—filled the headlinesof the world's newspapers. To some who appreciated what it meant, the flight struck an ominous note. In later years the famousair pioneer Sir Alan Cobham commented: "The day that Bleriot flew the Channel marked the end of our insular safety and thebeginning of the time when Britain must seek another form of defence besides its ships." The remark applied, of course, equallywell to the historic insular immunity of many other nations. This was, perhaps, the greatest impact that flight was to make. In 1914, before aviation's wings were fully feathered, the mostterrible war in history flared up. At the beginning, the aircraft available were suitable for little else but the "reconnaissance orequally passive roles" envisaged at the Hague Peace Conference. When, four years later, it ended, fast, heavily armed fightermachines had shot one another out of the sky, reconnaissance aircraft had reported on and photographed the movement ofarmies on the ground. Torpedo-carrying aeroplanes had sunk ships at sea, low-flying aircraft had straffed infantrymen in muddytrenches and, of most significance in this analysis, bombers had showered high explosive and incendiary bombs on cities.Aviation, still in its early teens, had already become an enfant terrible. The 250-year-old prophecy of de Lana had materializedwith frightening accuracy. Since then aviation has, of course, continued to expand rapidly.What has been its effect on society? Without doubt, the impact has been very great and considered broadly it can be seen to havetaken effect along two major and quite separate ways, one civil and the other military.Aviation offers two fundamentals: speed and range. The characteristic of speed seems to have been used most in peace;that of range more fully occupied in war. (Below) July 25, 1909: Bleriot lands at Dover after crossing the Channel and Britain loses her historic insular immunity. (Right) Nightmare: Six years after Bleriot's flight, bombs from Zeppelins brought war to Britain tor the first time in nearly 1,000 years. Langley's "Aerodrome" of 1903—produced at President McKinley's request "to construct a flying machine with possibilities of war"— before the secret of heavier-than-air flight had been solved. Taking the ciyil aspect first, let us survey the impact of thespeed made possible by aviation. At the turn of the century vast areas of the great outback of the Australian continent were beingsettled. The farms were the biggest in the world, rarely close enough even for telephone connections. The problem of providingan adequate medical service is obvious. With individual doctors trying to serve practices extending over areas of up to 280,000square miles, people lived under the shadow of disaster, because, in the case of a broken leg, appendicitis or pneumonia, death oftenarrived much sooner than the doctor.. Then, in 1927, an aircraft was hired from a local airline and adoctor appointed to attend urgent medical and accident cases. It was an event of some significance in that great continent because,from that small beginning the now famous Flying Doctor Service has evolved. Today the service operates from 16 bases. More than1,000 farms, many of them 400 miles from the nearest doctor, can call for help and receiye aid in a matter of hours. The effect ofthis on the peace of mind of the society comprising the scattered homesteads can well be imagined. The service had not onlybanished fear, but also largely mitigated the loneliness of the communiy. The radios, an integral part of the service, are usedin "off-duty" hours for sending business telegrams and even private messages, an invaluable comfort to the womenfolk, many of whomsee no neighbours for weeks or months. Little wonder that, in 1954, the humane work of the service was recognized by the grantof the coveted prefix "Royal." More recently, large areas of North Canada have not only beenserviced from the air, but have even been initially populated through the agency of aviation. In order to exploit the naturalresources of the inhospitable sub-polar regions, after the original surveys have been made, whole communities are set up with theaid of aircraft. A unique task befell aviation as a result of the granting ofindependence to the sub-continent of India and its resultant partition into two States. Pakistan is formed of two large landareas—separated by over 1,500 miles of inherently hostile Indian territory. An air service between the two States permits thenormal everyday exchange of government and goods taken for granted in normal countries, with obviously beneficial impact onthe separated societies of this newly bom country. Without avia- tion this trade would be impossible, and there would be a con-sequent strain on Pakistan's already none-too-secure economy. Of greater significance is the fact that, lacking the swift and regularair service between the two portions of the country, a central government would not be able to function either efficiently oreffectively. Without aviation, Pakistan would, by now, probably be two separate and independent States. Throughout the world more than 80,000,000 people a year nowuse the speed offered by aviation, for business or pleasure. Although only a small percentage of the total world population, this is manymore than can be accounted for by the passage of government officials and heads of business concerns; millions of ordinary people—members of ordinary society—are, therefore, making use of aviation. By far the greater portion of these are people going on, orreturning from, vacations. The shorter travelling time by air enables them to stay longer at their destinations. The impacthere, although affecting large numbers of people, is slight on society. Most of the holiday-makers would have an equally benefi-
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