The Aeroplane in War

by Claude Grahame-White; Harry Harper

Some admirable hints, as to the methods which should be adopted in teaching airmen, have been given by foreign military experts.

An officer of great experience, for instance, declares it essential that the pupil should first devote himself to a theoretical and practical apprenticeship in regard to aeroplane motors. He should, he also declares, be called upon to detect the reason for any stoppages intentionally caused by the instructor.

This officer also advocates the driving of motor-cars, at high speed, as a useful preliminary stage for intending military airmen, holding that such rapid driving gives a man a judgment of pace and distance which he would not otherwise possess.

It is contended, also, by other authorities, that ascents in free balloons are of value, as a preliminary to actual aeroplaning. Such ascents, in the opinion of these experts, help a man to gauge heights, and so prove of value to him in subsequent tests with aeroplanes.

While doing a brief course of ballooning, the officer can, it is pointed out, study the contour of the ground below him, and can also make himself acquainted, to a certain extent, with the use of maps and compasses. He may also practise aerial photography.

What other practical authorities have found of value, and what they recommend as a stage in the tuition of an officer-airman, is a day or so during which a pupil takes the driving-seat of a military machine, and practises—on the ground—the manipulations which he would have to make were the aeroplane in actual flight.

When the novice is thus in the driving-seat, it is suggested that an instructor should put him through a regular lesson—asking him, for instance, what manipulations of his levers would be necessary to effect a turning movement.

Such a plan is, undoubtedly, of value. Preliminary work of this kind, conducted by a pupil while on the ground, in order to accustom him to the handling of a machine, before actually taking the air, is encouraged at many civilian schools; and, to facilitate such practice, several ingenious machines have been devised. In one of them, the pupil sits in a wooden framework, which is balanced on a pivot, and is equipped with a forward elevating plane, and "ailerons."

When the beginner is ready for a spell of practice, the machine is turned, so that it faces the wind. Then the pupil takes his seat, and grips his levers. The balance of the machine is such that any gust has a tendency to make it tilt over from side to side, or tip forwards or backwards. If he is quick enough, the pupil can check these overturning influences by movements of the controlling planes. Thus he obtains, without risk to himself, or the danger of damaging an aeroplane, an insight into the general principles of control.

Also emphasised by many experts, is the value of a stage in military training which has already been described—that in which a pupil is taken, for a series of passenger flights, by an expert airman. During these flights, of course, the novice is learning many practical lessons.