The Royal Air Force Display
Ox Saturday, July 2nd, the Royal Air Force will give its eighth display at Henan 'Aerodrome, and as usual the programme of events is full and varied. Each Year this aerial tournament has attracted afi increasing number of spectators, and it is hoped that 1927 will beat all previous records. There is every reason why it should : the exploits of Atlantic flyers have stirred the imagination of the most phlegmatic. Doubters and pessimists have been confounded ; few now deny the significance of aviation both in peace and war.
This year, at Hendon, the public will have an oppor- tunity of seeing some of the best .British aviators and a great variety of aeroplanes, including several experimental types, such as the " Pterodactyl, which is a tail-less aeroplane with a new system of control, consisting of rudders under the wings and floating organs at the wing- tips. An interesting small multi-engined civil land-plane is the " Hamlet," designed by Messrs. Handley Page. Before the display begins, exhibitions will be given - by individual pilots in the handling of various types of aeroplanes. These may appear at first sight to be " stunts," but in point of fact, like all the items on the programme, they form an essential feature in the training of a fighting pilot. During the morning there will be an air-race for officers serving in the Air Ministry and another for officers in the Reserve ; there will also be a fight between two single-seater aeroplanes and a fifteen-minute climbing competition between four single-seater fighters.
So far as is practicable, all branches of the Royal Air Force will be represented in the course of the official programme, which begins at 3 p.m. ; the principal and inevitable exception is the Fleet Air Arm, the reason being, of course, that sea-planes are designed to operate over and alight on water. Early in the afternoon, evolutions will be carried out by three squadrons in close formation. This spectacle, though less sensational than some, is most impressive : some thirty aeroplanes take part and manoeuvre with the precision of guardsmen at the Trooping of the Colours.. When one reflects at what prodigious speed these machines arc travelling; how many personal and mechanical factors have to be considered, and what might be the consequences of failure of any one of them; some idea can be formed of the nerve and skill displayed by the pilots, and the intensive training and rigid discipline which produce such results. At the same time, it should be remembered that these evolutions are not practised for.purpoSes of parade or show. Air Force units are trained in this way for mutual support against attacking aeroplanes and to ensure the maximum effect for their own weapons.
Another .operation is designed to show the method of attacking a ground target, in this case represented by a tank. The attack is made from all directions with a view to confusing the defenders, who never know from which quarter the next assault will come. It illustrates the amazing 'mobility of the new weapon and the difficulty of coping with it from the ground. A demonstration of air drill-directed by radio telephony from a ground station shows how communication can he maintained with a squadron in the air, and how the Squadron Leader controls his unit by the same method. At the display of 1926 the King himself • 'directed some similar manoeuvres by word of mouth. On this occasion, the evolutions of the squadron will conform to music transmitted from a wireless station to each aero- plane.
" Crazy Flying " will provide many thrills. Here again, " stunt " flying is not the object ; each and all of these marvellous feats, which defy the laws of gravity, have a practical value ; they demand for their successful execution the combination of many qualities and can only be performed by the most accomplished airmen. Inexpert pilots are a danger not only to themselves, but to other people, and would be at the mercy of more expert opponents. Many occasions occur in aerial war- fare when a pilot cannot save himself by any other means than those which will be seen at Hendon next Saturday. Other items on the programme are an aerial attack by a fighter: squadron on a squadron of bombers, the _destruction: of a kite balloon, the 'relief of an isolated :detachment of ground troopS,. and a parade of new :machines:. A special park has been -allotted .to these .novelties, and many of. the spectators-will -be able to -inspect them at their leisure.' As has been pointed out already,.the Hendon Display is the culminating point of the training year. It is the outcome of months of anxious thought and careful prepara- tion. All the machines used are of standard types, and the squadrons taking . part arc not specially selected, but are .typical of the Air Force in regard both to per- sonnel and equipment. As a mere spectacle it is well worth seeing, and should give food for thought to every thinking person. The Royal Air Force has been called the Cinderella of the Services, but it is the Service on which the nation must increasingly rely as its first line of defence. Few people are in a 'position to appreciate the arduous nature of its functions and the heavy burden of responsibility for life-and limb,.for progress and develop- ment, borne by the staff at the Air Ministry. Organization, training and research are carried on so unobtrusively as to pass unnoticed, and, when some fatal accident occurs, too often ignorant and hostile criticism is expressed. A 'visit to the display at Hendon will be both instructive and reassuring to all who still doubt.
In conclusion, it should be said that the financial proceeds of the display are devoted to the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund.
THOMSON.
Previous page
