Ab initio " training has continued at the schools controlled by the De Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd., and the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd. The number of courses under this category completed at each school during the period 1st April, 1926, to 31st December, 1926, is as follows: 66 De Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd. - 14 17 31 An "ab initio " course involves 30 hours flying training (dual and solo) on a Preliminary Training type of aircraft (De Havilland Moth," or Bristol Preliminary Training Biplane) and at least five hours solo flying on an advanced training type (Bristol Advanced Training Biplane, D.H.9 or D.H.9 J). No fatal accidents or accidents involving serious injury to Reserve Officers or Instructors have occurred during the period under review. FLIGHT TO INDIA BY SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AIR. 66 The inaugural flight over Imperial Airways' route from Egypt to India was made by the Secretary of State for Air, who, accompanied by Lady Maud Hoare, left Croydon on the 27th December in one of the Hercules " aircraft with which the service will be operated. In the same aircraft travelled Air ViceMarshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond, proceeding to India to take over the command of the Royal Air Force in that country. The flight was completed on the scheduled date after the close of the period under review. The itinerary is given below: Very bad weather was experienced on the early part of the route, yet, except for a delay at Jask, where a sandstorm of wholly exceptional severity necessitated a return to the aerodrome on the 5th January, the flight was carried out according to schedule. Since a day's delay at Karachi had been allowed in the programme, the arrival at Delhi took place at the scheduled time. It is worthy of note that the machine on this flight carried a full load of passengers and baggage. The arrangements for the flight were greatly facilitated by the valuable assistance rendered by the authorities of the various countries passed over, particularly France and Italy. OTHER LONG DISTANCE FLIGHTS. Flight to Australia and Back. A flight was carried out by Sir A. J. Cobham from Rochester to Melbourne, Australia, commencing on 30th June, and arriving at Melbourne on 15th August. The return flight was commenced on 29th August, and finished at London on 1st October. The aircraft used was the identical D.H. 50 machine which had been flown by Sir Alan Cobham with the Director of Civil Aviation to India and back and again used on the flight to Cape Town and back. On this occasion it was fitted with a 385 h.p. "Jaguar" engine and with floats in place of a wheel undercarriage as far as Port Darwin. The primary object of the flight was to survey the route from the point of view of its possibilities for ordinary commercial air traffic. The total distance flown was approximately 28,000 miles, the longest flight ever accomplished by a British aircraft using the same engine throughout. His Majesty the King honoured Sir Alan Cobham by conferring on him the decoration of a Knight Commander of the British Empire. Flight to Cairo and back. With a view to testing the endurance of the Bristol Series VI "Jupiter" engine, an attempt was made by Colonel Minchin, with Mr. Mayer as passenger to fly a Bristol "Bloodhound machine fitted with an engine of this type from London to Cairo in two days. The machine left Croydon on 30th June and reached Brindisi the same day. The second day the machine, owing to unavoidable delay at Brindisi, was forced to land at Mersa Matruh for the night, the flight being completed by 6.30 a.m. the following day, i.e., 50 hours after leaving Croydon. Light Aeroplane Flight to India. On 15th November two members of the Lancashire Light Aeroplane Club, Mr. Stack and Mr. Leete, left Croydon to fly to India. The machines used were two De Havilland " Moths" of standard type, but fitted with extra tank capacity. They arrived at Karachi on the 8th January, 1927, and are continuing the flight eastward. This flight constitutes a record for light aeroplanes. AIR RACES AND COMPETITIONS. The Lympne Light Aeroplane Meeting took place in September. For the prizes offered by the proprietors of "The Daily Mail" there were sixteen entries. The rules limited entrants to twoseater machines with engines not exceeding 170 lbs. in weight, and the machines had to be fitted with dual control. The competition consisted of eliminating tests and a series of flights extending over a distance of 1,994 miles in six days, from 12th to 18th September. The routes were so arranged as to touch at the principal seaside resorts on the south coast. The winner of the first prize was the competitor who succeeded in covering the course with the highest "figure of merit " as to useful load carried and petrol consumption. Nine machines qualified and five completed the course. The first and second places were won by Hawker " Cygnet" machines and third place by the Bristol "Brownie," each fitted with a Bristol "Cherub " III engine, 36 h.p. The "figure of merit " of the first "Cygnet," piloted by Flight Lt. P. W. S. Bulman, M.C., A.F.C., was 2,203 (pound-miles per pound of fuel), which is equal to about 7 ton-miles per gallon of petrol, at a speed of over 65 m.p.h. Four other events were held on 18th September at the Lympne Meeting, the chief of which was the fourth contest for the Grosvenor Cup. The winner this year was Squadron Leader W. H. Longton, D.F.C., A.F.C., who flew a Blackburn " Bluebird," 75 h.p. Siddeley "Genet" engine, attaining a speed of 84.95 m.p.h. The handicap race for the King's Cup, over a course of 1,464 miles, was held on 9th and 10th July and was won by Captain H. S. Broad, A.F.C., flying a De Havilland "Moth," 60 h.p. Cirrus" engine, at a speed of 90.4 m.p.h. 66 A successful two-days' air race meeting was held at the Ensbury Park Racecourse, Bournemouth, on 21st-22nd August, four races being run on each day. This meeting was well attended and created interest in a neighbourhood in which aeronautical activities had lately been lacking. Interest in air racing throughout the country has also been aroused by the meetings organised by the Light Aeroplane Clubs. Three clubs-Yorkshire, Newcastle, and Lancashire-have held Races or Displays and the results have been very valuable in attracting new members to the Clubs, apart from adding to the keenness of the existing members and interesting the public. Proposals are being considered by the Royal Aero Club and other parties concerned for a considerably larger programme of air races in the coming year, when it is hoped that a still stronger impetus will be given to the movement for raising air racing to a leading place among national sports. AIRSHIPS. After the completion of the full scale aerodynamic experiments. which were carried out with R. 33 at the close of 1925, the airship was deflated and was not again prepared for flight until September, 1926. The analysis of the pressure plotting experiments with R. 33 was completed in the early summer of 1926, and showed that the full scale results agreed generally with those obtained in model experiments in a wind tunnel. This result means that the designers of the two new airships R.100 and R. 101 can now accept with much greater confidence as a basis of design the calculations of aerodynamic forces based on experiments in the wind tunnel. In July, a complete section of R. 101 (the airship which is being built at the Royal Airship Works, Cardington) was erected and submitted to stringent tests with satisfactory results. These tests represented the end of the period of preliminary research and experiment and the way is now clear for construction to proceed in accordance with the results obtained. The construction of R. 100 by the Airship Guarantee Company has been proceeding during the year at Howden, Yorkshire; and it is hoped that both airships will undergo their flying trials in 1928. R. 33 was recommissioned in September, 1926, for further experiments in carrying and releasing aircraft, and for testing the masthead gear of the new mast at the Royal Airship Works. On 21st October, R. 33 left Pulham Airship Station for Cardington, carrying two Gloster "Grebe" aircraft, both of which were successfully launched in the course of the flight, one over Pulham, and the other over Cardington. The Dominion Premiers visited the Royal Airship Works in November and inspected the test section of R. 101, witnessing a short flight by R. 33 with the two single-seater fighters attached. Subsequently, after satisfactory tests of the mast-head gear, R. 33 returned to Pulham for deflation. On the return flight the launching experiments with the "Grebe" machines were repeated with complete success. On the works side, the shed and mooring mast at Cardington have been completed and considerable progress has been made with the overseas bases in Egypt and India. The mast at the former station is completed; the erection of the airship shed at the latter station is well in hand. The recommendation of the Imperial Conference that the Dominions should consider the possibility of erecting at their own expense mooring masts suitable for accommodating the new airships, for the purposes of demonstration flights to be carried out in 1928-29, has already been acted upon by the Dominion of Canada and the Union of South Africa, which have each undertaken to erect a mast. Representatives of the Airship and Meteorological Staff of the Air Ministry are accordingly being sent to Canada and South Africa, and also to Australia, to investigate possible sites for bases. The question of erecting a second shed at Cardington, as also recommended by the Imperial Conference, is now being considered. ESTIMATES, 1926-1927. (NOTE. Particulars of the Air Estimates for 1926, relating to the financial year April 1st, 1926, to March 31st, 1927, were given in the last Report.) AIR NAVIGATION REGULATIONS. The Air Navigation Directions, 1926 (A.N.D.6) were issued on 30th October, 1926, amending in certain respects and consolidating in one publication various Directions issued during the years 1922-25, namely:-A.N.D.3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e and 3f concerning the registration of aircraft, the issue of airworthiness certificates and the licensing of personnel, &c. LICENCES AND CERTIFICATES. The following table shows the licences and certificates issued during the nine months under review and also during the whole of 1926: * This figure includes 69 Certificates of Airworthiness for aircraft known to have been sold abroad. During the period under review the number of pilots' licences issued shows a marked increase over last year, the increase being due to a considerable extent to licences being obtained by members of Light Aeroplane Clubs. It is of interest that the medical examination required for the renewal of a Class "A" pilot's licence has been abolished. This relaxation of the regulations was promulgated in Air Navigation Directions (A.N.D.6) in November. Of the 268 aeroplanes and seaplanes registered on 31st December, 1926, 216 machines, totalling 50,355 normal horse-power, were in civil employment and the remainder were experimental machines of military types in the hands of constructors. |