Page:Aircraft in Warfare (1916).djvu/205

Rh this. At present all raids, reconnaissances and other duties entrusted to the aeroplane are subject to the condition that the operation must be completed in time to return to headquarters before dark; infraction of this condition is prone to result in serious losses, both of machines and men. It is abundantly clear that no such restriction should be tolerated, and the solution of the difficulty is to be sought in the provision of flight grounds, worthy of our present day aircraft. It is a serious reflection on our conduct as a nation that we have so far shown ourselves prepared to spend more money in the provision and upkeep of cricket fields, than we are ready to do for the safety of our flying men and the efficiency of the Aeronautical Arm.

Even before the outbreak of the present war, the author had more than once given expression to the opinion that our flight grounds stood more in need of immediate improvement than the machines themselves. Thus the following is quoted from the author's recent "James Forest" lecture (1914):— ""There is, moreover, another factor (quite extraneous to flying conditions proper) that at present puts a definite handicap on high speed and prevents the aeronautical designer from doing himself justice in that direction; namely, the backward condition of existing accommodation in the way of alighting-grounds. Owing to quite wellunderstood conditions, it is necessary, before rising, to attain a speed on the ground not very much less than the normal flight-speed of the machine, and so, in the case of a machine designed for 120 miles per hour maximum flight-velocity, it would be necessary to acquire a speed round about 80 miles per hour before leaving the ground, which would necessitate a straight-line run of about 300 yards. To comply with this condition, and to give safe room otherwise for handling the machine, a flight-ground of at least half-mile length should be provided, having a surface far better than is now customary. Beyond this, since in bad weather it is undesirable"