From the military point of view, the aeroplanes at present available have drawbacks. There is, indeed, room for vast improvement. Greater strength, greater reliability, greater portability—these are the aims that makers have in view; and they will, without doubt, be realised.
The War Office tests this summer will teach manufacturers many a useful lesson.
TENTH SECTION THE TRAINING OF ARMY AIRMEN
I. French thoroughness—An expert’s tribute—Sound training all-important.
It is now possible to deal with one of the most important considerations in connection with military aeroplaning. This concerns the training of pilots and observers at the military flying schools.
France is devoting herself energetically to this work. Germany, now equally "keen" upon military aviation, is establishing schools in all suitable places. Russia is convinced that the right policy is to create a large and efficient corps of airmen. So is Austria, Japan, as representing earnest progress, is not only training men at home, but is sending a large number of officers to the various schools in Europe.
As has been set forth before, in another connection, but should be emphasised again here, the true policy as regards military flying, in the present stage of development, should be: "Test all new machines that are introduced; maintain a fleet sufficient to meet any emergency which may arise; and, above all, train men with the object of acquiring a far stronger corps of pilots and observers than any present situation demands."
[Illustration: MAPS FOR MILITARY AIRMEN. Photo, M. Roe. The French authorities are busy with the preparation of a complete set of "air maps" for the use of the military pilots, when flying from point to point. A section of one of these maps—which are coloured—is illustrated above.]
Here, at any rate, is the clear-cut policy both of France and Germany—a policy which Russia is beginning to imitate, and a policy, also, that Japan is following.
Having toured France quite recently, an expert thus describes the activities at the French flying schools. "Those who are not directly in touch with the various Government departments cannot estimate how many airmen there are at work. Flying schools seem to be springing up everywhere. Depots are being established all over the country. Officers are flying from place to place every day. To see a military machine, carrying a pilot and observer, passing swiftly overhead, is now quite a common sight. Orders are being received almost daily at the military camps, instructing a machine to set forth upon a reconnoitring flight, or to carry a dispatch from one camp to another.