AERIAL PROPAGANDA IN AUSTRALIA
Back to Australia—Harry Expresses Some Views—Australian Air Policy—He Speaks of Stabilising Devices—A Reminiscence of the Round-Britain Seaplane Flight—A Civic Welcome—Harry’s Father Speaks—Assembling the Tabloid—First Flight in Australia—Preparations for Flight—Flying from a Street—An Object Lesson at Government House—Harry Dispels a Fallacy—And Speaks about Whirling Propellers—A Flying Call on the Governor-General—Interrupts a Game of Tennis—What the Governor-General Thought of Harry—Old Melbourne Friends Fly—The Australian Press—Enterprising Lady Passengers—Passengers pay £3 per Minute—Curious Attitude of an Association Official—Organisation of a Big Public Flying Exhibition—Harry’s Views on Flying—A Crowd of 25,000—Is Difficult to Handle—And Affects Harry’s Programme—An Accident—Without Serious Consequences—The Minister of Defence Ascends 3,500 Feet.
CHAPTER IX
There arrived at Fremantle on Tuesday, January 13th, 1914, R.M.S. Maloja, having on board the Sopwith Tabloid and Harry, who landed at Melbourne on the following day to visit his parents. Interviewed by a representative of the Press, Harry said the difference between a modern biplane, such as that he had with him, and an old “box-kite” biplane, an example of which the Australian Government had recently acquired, was as great as that between a motor-car and a bullock wagon or pantechnicon. Aviation, he said, had made great strides during the previous year or two. The “box-kite” biplanes were still regarded as serviceable school machines, but had not sufficiently good speed capabilities for military requirements, which the higher-powered modern machine undoubtedly possessed. He pointed out that the costs of the Tabloid and of a “box-kite” machine were about equal, and that, considering its power, the former was the cheapest machine on the market then.
With an eye to business, Harry said he was prepared to fly from Melbourne to Sydney in about 4½ hours. He would also loop-the-loop. The latter offer was received with some surprise, as no one, least of all a layman, had contemplated the possibility of doing this in anything but a monoplane then. He was prepared to take off from the street in his small speedy biplane, provided there were not, of course, any cross wires or paddocks. Reminded of the attempt of one, Cugnet, to rise from the Melbourne cricket ground, Harry said he would not have tried to do that in a slow, low-powered machine. “What Cugnet did said more for his pluck than his brains,” was Harry’s way of putting it.
Regarding stabilising devices, Harry declared them to be superfluous. “The bird has no mechanical stability device,” he said. “The muscles of its wings give it stability, and, as pilots have become more skilful and have gained a better knowledge of their machines, the risk of capsizing has been reduced to practically zero.” Aviation, said Harry, had advanced in the direction of knowledge and greater power and control. Never had he heard of an aviator being blown over. On account of the high degree of natural stability in the modern aeroplane it was, he said, a difficult matter to keep a machine on its back when deliberately flying upside down. Natural stability received too scanty attention, and if pilots would let their machines “fly themselves,” so to speak, there would be fewer accidents, was Harry’s opinion.
“Flying,” he said, “is full of interest and is not half so dangerous as the public imagine. Over 90 per cent. of the accidents are due to carelessness, not necessarily on the part of the pilot, but of workmen who leave wires slack and do not test the structural parts of the aeroplane.”