274 IGOR I.

SIKORSKY
estimations of structural weights, performances and all general characteristics-
for planes of even more substantial size and advanced design. It is, therefore,
permissible to make a forecast of the future development, design and operation
of large aircraft.
In the past it has been intimated that efficient planes of large size would be
impractical. It was argued that with increasing size the structural weight would
increase beyond reasonable proportion to the gross weight, so that the ratio of
useful load to gross weight would become progressively worse. It is claimed,
however, that if careful study is made to distribute the power plant weight and
other units of weight along the wing, stresses decrease and an efficient structure
becomes possible.
A s previously mentioned, the structural weight of the S-42 is only 52 per
cent, of the gross weight; but, at the same time, the ship is built not only in
strict conformity with the load factors as set down by the U . S . Government,
but, in many cases, has even wider margins of safety.
In view of these considerations, it is reasonable to conclude that efficient
planes of still larger size and weighing hundreds of tons are not only possible
but practical.
With respect to structural limitations, the hydro and aerodynamic advantages
of large planes, particularly flying boats, may be pointed out. As the size of the
boat hull increases, the displacement and therefore the normal loading grows as
the cube of the linear dimensions, while the air resistance increases substantially
less than the square. This is due to the scale effect and because many auxiliary
parts, such as pilot windows, doors, handles and many other items, do not
increase in proportion to the size. In line with this, the water characteristics
improve as the size increases, and high aerodynamic efficiency, offering high
cruising speed, becomes entirely possible for the large seaplane.
Passenger comforts would increase with the size of the ship. In a seaplane
of ioo,ooolbs., or more, it would be possible to have individual cabins, dining-
rooms, smoking lounges, etc., entirely comparable in comfort and luxury to
those of the modern ocean liner.
There is no doubt that planes of great weight, capable of non-stop ocean
flights, cruising between 150 to 200 miles per hour, can be designed at this time
and be ready for service within two and a half to three years.
Greater cruising speeds are possible, but the size of the earth does not
warrant greater speeds.
The progress of air transportation will benefit more if designers will give
more attention to increased passenger comfort and ways and means to lower
transportation costs rather than greater speed. It is expected that within the
next five years great strides will be made in this direction.
How high will the luxury air liner "of the future fly? A few years ago
nearly everyone pointed to the stratosphere as the height. While this is possible,
the writer believes that the contingent limitations and difficulties will permanently
keep the major part of air traffic below the stratosphere.
The need of an airtight plane for stratosphere flying brings up a very serious
consideration. Should a leak occur, allowing a momentary release of the oxygen
in the ship, disaster would result. Possible safeguards against this condition
would mean large increases in structural weight.
This consideration, together with the well-known basic complications of the
stratosphere plane, will probably limit its use to a few exceptional services.
The flying altitude of the commercial air liner will be between 12,000 to
20,000 feet. At this altitude the plane will be clear of the majority of air dis-
turbances and will be capable of cruising at considerable speed.
 DEVELOPMENT OF A LONO-RANGE FLYING BOAT {8-i2) 276

This discussion is based on the results of present-day achievements. Pro-

jected from them will be the future great air hner. Present aerodynamic ex-
perience predicts aircraft of long ranges, carrying many passengers with comfort,
•safety and dispatch over routes that will reach to the far corners of the world.

DISCUSSION
Mr. H. O. SHORT (Fellow): They were indebted to Mr. Sikorsky for having
made a long journey from America to give the Society his interesting account
•of his practical achievements in flying boat construction.
He did not think that any foreign designer of aircraft would wish to deny
the share of credit which fell to British flying boat constructors in regard to
flying boat development, especially where all-metal construction was concerned.
It could not be denied gjso, however, that they in this country lagged behind
where very high cruising speed was concerned.
He believed the cause of their having fallen behind in the matter of speed
was that they had not made speed the first consideration to which other desirable
features of air travel might be subordinated. W h e n they had really endeavoured
to achieve speed, as they had in connection with the contest for the Schneider
Trophy, they had shown what they could do against the leading aircraft designers
of the world; also, Messrs. D e Havilland had shown what they could do when
they had made up their minds to be first in Melbourne recently. They in this
•country designed their machines around a set specification which defined comfort,
•equipment, stalling speed, ease of maintenance, etc.; the speed was what it
might be, but the specification was immutable. On the other hand, it would
appear that the American designers had specifications which fixed the speed as
the main consideration, and that other considerations were fitted inside that.
Perhaps some of the more technically minded might care to say something about
high wing loading; that was a matter in which they in this country had been
afraid to make explorations. Risk in aircraft development involved expenditure
and possible losses; success or failure involved the national prestige, and that
was a matter which should concern the Government of a nation.
Mr. W . O. M A N N I N G (Fellow): In order to illustrate the advance in design
made by Mr. Sikorsky, he compared the performance of the S-42 with the flying
boat used by Imperial Airways, Ltd., in the Mediterranean, though he pointed
-out that his remarks were not intended as a criticism of the latter. It was
sufficient to say that when it was introduced its performance was certainly better
than that of any other machine of its type in the world. But Mr. Sikorsky had
put it completely out-of-date.
In spite of the fact that the S-42 had rather less horse-power in proportion
to its weight, its cruising speed was 53 m.p.h. faster than that of the English
boat; the speed of the S-42 with one of its engines stopped was 20 m.p.h. faster
than that of the English boat with all engines operating at full power. The S-42
carried nearly i,ooolbs. more pay load in addition to fuel fcJr 550 miles increased
range. The climb of the S-42 was also better, the landing speed was 5 m.p.h.
higher, and the time to leave the water was about the same. This improvement
in performance could only be described as colossal. The new Atlantic liner,
" Queen M a r y , " possessed hardly so great an advantage over the so-called
Atlantic greyhounds of the last century as the S-42 possessed over the Enghsh
flying boat referred to.
In order to illustrate the matter still further, Mr. Manning roughed out a
specification for a new flying boat of the size and power of the Imperial Airways
boat, based on what Mr. Sikorsky had proved to be possible. The figures for
the proposed boat and the present Imperial Airways boat were as follows:—
276 IGOR I. SIKORSKY

Proposed Boat. Imperial Airways Boat.

Total weight 32,oc)olbs. 32,ooolbs.
Horse-power 2,400 2,400
Range 450 miles 450 miles
Crew 66olbs. 66olbs.
Equipment ... i,S6olbs. i,56olbs.
Weight empty i6,5oolbs. i8,9oolbs.
Fuel 2,i2olbs. 3,42olbs.
Pay load ii,o6olbs. 7,46olbs.
Top speed ... 200 m.p.h. 137 m.p.h.
Cruising speed 170 m.p.h. 105 m'.p.h.
Landing speed 65 m.p.h. 60 m.p.h.
Initial climb 1,000 ft.p.m. 840 ft.p.m.
Time to take-off 25-30 sees. 25-30 sees.
Thus, said Mr. Manning, there would be a saving of 2,30olbs. in weight
(empty) of the new boat as compared with the older one. There would be a
reduction of about one-third in the weight of fuel for the range of 450 miles,
owing to increased speed; the pay load would be increased by about 3,5oolbs.,
partly owing to the reduction of the weight of the machine empty and partly
owing to the saving of fuel. H e had adopted the top speed of 200 m.p.h. for
the proposed boat, because such a boat could not be produced until about t w o
years hence, and by that time one would naturally expect an improved performance
over that of Mr. Sikorsky's S-42, which was designed two or three years ago.
The cruising speed of the projjosed boat would be 65 m.p.h. faster than that of
the Imperial Airways boat; the landing speeds would be much the same, and
the initial climb, which was not a very important item, would be increased by
about i6oft. per minute in the case of the proposed boat.
Major R. E. PENNY (Associate Fellow): The secret of the success of Mr.
Sikorsky's flying boat was to be found in the enormous amount of detail work,
the fairing up of the details so that the combined resistances had been reduced
to an absolute minimum.
He would like a little further information concerning a few of the figfures,
relating to stalling speed and times of take-off, because the facts were not quite
clear to him.
Mr. Sikorsky had displayed wisdom and foresight in concentrating upon
large flying boats, and one was grateful to him for having stressed the cumula-
tive aerodynamic and hydrodynamic advantages of the flying boat in increasing
sizes. The theory of this was well known, but it was dismissed by most people
without a moment's thought or it passed out of mind for other considerations,
which considerations were of minor importance if one took the^ long view as Mr.
Sikorsky had. It must be the conviction of everyone with imagination that a
trans-oceanic service by air could be practicable only if large flying boats were
used. Not only did Mr. Sikorsky share this conviction, but he had acted upon
it. That was why they would have the pleasure, about four years thence, of
congratulating him upon the production of a flying boat suitable for a trans-
Atlantic service affording efficiency and comfort far in advance of anything pro-
duced in Europe.
Mr. A . GOUGE (Fellow): They in England had to take a lesson from the
paper and re-cast their ideas, with particular reference to the wing loading. It
would appear that practically the whole of the improvement in this boat over its
predecessors was due to the increased wing loading and aerodynamic cleanli-
ness. In England they had been very loath to work to such high wing loadings
because of their effect upon the landing speed. Whilst he gathered that the
landing speed of the S-42 was 65 m.p.h.—which, incidentally, required a lift
coefficient of nearly 1.4—it seemed to him that the question of the landing speed
on the water, if the water were reasonably calm, was of minor importance.
 DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG-RANGE FLYING BOAT {8-4,2) 211

W o u l d M r . S i k o r s k y amplify his figures t o s h o w w h a t w o u l d b e the w e i g h t

of the aircraft w h e n the r a n g e w a s 3 , 0 0 0 m i l e s , w h i c h r a n g e w a s referred t o at
the b o t t o m of the table s h o w i n g the p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e S - 4 2 ? F r o m a r o u g h
addition, it appeared that the w e i g h t of the aircraft under this condition w a s
4 0 , o o o l b s . , instead of the 3 8 , 0 0 0 m e n t i o n e d at the t o p of the table as b e i n g the
g r o s s w e i g h t . H e also a s k e d for the benefit of M r . S i k o r s k y ' s e x p e r i e n c e of the
long struts running to the h u l l — w h e t h e r t h e y g o t in the w a y w h e n loading the
aircraft and w h e t h e r t h e y w e r e subject t o m u c h c o r r o s i o n and d a m a g e . It had
been the practice in E n g l a n d d u r i n g the last year or s o t o delete struts of this
nature, o w i n g t o the a m o u n t of trouble attributed t o t h e m in the direction of
corrosion and d a m a g e .
W i t h regard t o p o s s i b l e future d e v e l o p m e n t s , he a g r e e d that as the size of
the boat hull increased the cross-sectional area w a s again up less than t h e square
of the linear d i m e n s i o n s and, therefore, t h e air resistance w a s relatively i m p r o v i n g
for this reason, s o that a larger b o a t should p e r f o r m better than a small o n e .
M r . M . L A N G I A E Y ( M e m b e r ) : It w a s a little difficult t o m a k e c o m p a r i s o n s
b e t w e e n the S-42 and o t h e r s , o n e c o n o m i c g r o u n d s , which m u s t include petrol
c o n s u m p t i o n against p a y load, or resistance. W o u l d the t a n k a g e m e n t i o n e d in
the paper represent U n i t e d States gallons or imperial g a l l o n s ? T h e difference
b e t w e e n the t w o w a s quite considerable.
O n e outstanding figure w a s that of the ratio of the g r o s s w e i g h t t o the tare
w e i g h t , which w a s far a b o v e that for a n y m a c h i n e p r o d u c e d in this c o u n t r y ,
within his k n o w l e d g e , particularly in flying b o a t s . F l y i n g b o a t s had a l w a y s b e e n
regarded as inefficient in c o m p a r i s o n with land planes, o n l y t o b e u s e d w h e n land
planes w e r e n o t p o s s i b l e ; indeed, land planes had b e e n used frequently o n s e r v i c e s
which w e r e essentially flying b o a t r o u t e s . It appeared, h o w e v e r , that the S-42
w a s n o t o n l y ahead of all other flying b o a t s , but that e c o n o m i c a l l y , and f r o m
a profit-earning point of v i e w , in spite of its s p e e d , it w a s better than a n y c o m -
mercial land plane in this c o u n t r y .
A t e v e r y turn o n e heard the a r g u m e n t that s p e e d w a s obtained o n l y at the
e x p e n s e of greater h o r s e - p o w e r ; M r . S i k o r s k y had s h o w n , h o w e v e r , not o n l y b y
his ideas but b y his p r o d u c t s , the e x i s t e n c e of w h i c h could n o t b e denied, that
increased s p e e d could b e obtained b y other m e a n s than b y increasing the h o r s e -
p o w e r . T h e y had k n o w n that in t h e o r y , but he had s h o w n it t o b e p o s s i b l e in
practice, and the g r e a t l e s s o n t o b e learned f r o m his paper w a s that m o r e c o u r a g e
and m o r e f o r e t h o u g h t w a s n e e d e d .
M r . S. S C O T T - H A L L ( A s s o c i a t e F e l l o w ) : R e f e r r i n g t o the author's c o m p a r i s o n
b e t w e e n the S - 4 0 and S - 4 2 , h e g a t h e r e d that the figures g i v e n for the S - 4 0 w e r e
t h o s e for the aircraft as a flying boat, not an amphibian. T h e p h o t o g r a p h s had
s h o w n it with amphibian g e a r fitted.
D i d M r . S i k o r s k y consider a n y radical i m p r o v e m e n t s in flying b o a t hull
d e s i g n could b e e x p e c t e d — n o t m e r e l y m i n o r i m p r o v e m e n t s , such as cleaning u p
the surface of the hull b y such e x p e d i e n t s as flush riveting, b u t b y radical c h a n g e s
in d e s i g n ?
H e had e x a m i n e d s o m e figures for the landing s p e e d of British flying b o a t s ,
and, indeed, had m a d e e x a c t l y t h e s a m e c o m p a r i s o n that M r . M a n n i n g had just
g i v e n , but had decided that it w a s s o pessimistic that he w o u l d n o t pursue it
further. B u t it w a s interesting t o n o t e that M r . S i k o r s k y ' s S - 4 0 had a w i n g
loading of ig^lb. per s q . ft. and y e t its landing s p e e d w a s g i v e n as 65 m . p . h .
T h e lift coefficient, w o r k e d o u t o n t h o s e figures, w a s in t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d of
0 . 9 . W h a t w a s the w i n g section u s e d o n that m a c h i n e and w e r e there flaps of
a n y d e s c r i p t i o n ? T h e a b o v e figure s e e m e d e x t r e m e l y high. M o r e o v e r , t h e
m a c h i n e w a s a high w i n g m o n o p l a n e and o n e w o u l d n o t e x p e c t m u c h " g r o u n d
effect."
O n this q u e s t i o n of landing s p e e d , which w a s o n e of t h e main factors that
had influenced British d e s i g n , t h e y had b e e n rather inclined during the last f e w
278 IGOR I. 8IK0B8KY

months to condemn themselves unnecessarily. In days gone by—as of course now

—the main consideration was to produce a machine that was safe. Engine
reliability was not then what it is to-day, and landing speed was a factor
far more prominent in people's minds in connection with safety than it had been
recently. They should not forget the low-speed research carried out in this
country at a time when the question of safety had been translated in terms of
landing speed. It had placed them in the forefront as regards safety in aviation.
Low landing speed was one of the main factors influencing top speed and now
that engine reliability had eliminated its necessity, they had been left so to speak
in the lurch.
Commenting on Mr. Sikorsky's reference to the heavy wing loading of sea
birds, he presumed that the lecturer had in mind the albatross. H e pointed out
that that bird had not got it all its own way, because under certain conditions
its take-off was a matter of concern both to the bird itself and to anybody
watching it; and from that fact they could learn a lesson which would perhaps
modify Mr. Sikorsky's remarks in that connection. But in spite of this it seemed
that they had reached a point at which they could no longer disregard the demands
of top speed; the fetish of low landing speed was imposing a burden on British
aviation which it could not support.
Mr. E. M. BUXTON : The two extreme conditions mentioned by Mr. Sikorsky
when discussing landing speeds did not cover the whole of the variations, and
one would like to know how his flying boat hull would behave under conditions
in which there was not a great deal of wind but a long swell.
It was most entertaining to hear a lecture delivered from a severely practical
point of view, leading to conclusions which people of less experience than the
lecturer might consider to be visionary.
Mr. E. C. GORDON ENGLAND (Fellow): The conclusion at which Mr. Sikorsky
had arrived, that neither he nor his engineers knew anything about aerodynamics,
impressed him. They might learn a tremendous lot from a statement to that
effect, made so charmingly and modestly, because it contained an enormous
amount of truth. The trouble was that they thought they knew a great amount
about aviation whereas they were virtually ignorant—and Mr. Gordon England
emphasised that he made that statement in all seriousness. H e felt sure that
Mr. Sikorsky appreciated fully the truth underlying it. They imagined that they
had established the main facts about aviation, whereas they knew extremely little
of what the science contained still to be revealed.
A matter having a very great bearing on the future operation of large flying
boats was, in Mr. England's opinion, that of re-fuelling in the air, and he asked
what was Mr. Sikorsky's attitude towards that particular problem. H e asked
for Mr. Sikorsky's opinion as to the extent of the extra pay load that could be
carried by a flying boat if it were fuelled immediately after it left the water, as
compared with taking-off with a full load of fuel, and whether it would be prac-
ticablCj in Mr. Sikorsky's opinion, to re-fuel large flying boats in mid-Atlantic.
If that could be done, it seemed obvious that the pay load could be increased
tremendously; it was, to say the least, an interesting speculation.
Major F. M . GREEN (Fellow): Could Mr. Sikorsky add some further informa-
tion to his paper and so add still further to its value as a standard work of
reference, as undoubtedly it would become? For instance, the horse-power of
each of the engines was given as 7 0 0 ; one would like to know exactly what was
the rating and at what height that horse-power was obtained. Also, one would
like more details of weights of the engine units, wings, and so forth. Such
information would be of very great value to English designers.
Finally, Mr. Sikorsky had given many good reasons for adopting high wing
loading; but Major Green suggested that there was one more reason which
would make them all favour high wing loadings, which was that a very consider-
able saving of weight was effected.
 DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG-RANGE FLYING BOAT [8-42) 279
Lieutenant-Commander the Hon. J. M. SouTnyPELL (Associate Fellow)
(conimwiicated): Mr. Sikorsky had referred to the close co-operation between
his firm and Pan-American Airways. He thought he would agree with him that
there was a third partner whorn he had omitted to mention—the public.
The public will pay for good seryice if it is offered to them, but the public
will not pay for goods or seryices unless they are produced first, and it is only
with the co-operation of the public that practical experience and development
can be obtained. This was a simple economic problem, and he thought
it could not be too strongly emphasised that it is not a matter for wet-nursingf by
ministries, but entirely a matter for the air industry itself.
Air transport has to offer high speed in comparison with surface transport.
On overland routes speeds of 180-200 must be achieved, but he questioned
whether the same speeds are necessary with oversea routes.
Since for a given speed the seaplane cannot carry as high a percentage of
pay load, he suggested that some sacrifice of speed is permissible and desirable.
There are three questions he would like to ask Mr. Sikorsky :—
1. In the S-42 Mr. Sikorsky gives a pay load of 22 per cent, of the gross
weight. W h a t would be this figure if the cruising speed were
reduced from 157 to 127?
2. Could Mr. Sikorsky give figures of the relative capital cost per ton
(or per i,ooolbs.) of pay load capacity of the S-40 and S-42?
3. Mr. Sikorsky gives 65 m.p.h. as the landing speed with a maximum
flap angle. Is this Avith or without the motors?
REPLY TO DISCUSSION
Dealing first with the high wing loading, which is one of the particular
characteristics of the S-42, Mr. Sikorsky said he had already mentioned the main
considerations in favour of it. Repeating briefly, he pointed out the smooth
riding and the good control characteristics in rough air; the high efficiency and
increased cruising speed, and the greater safety in stormy weather.
Referring to landing speed characteristics, he said the 65 miles per hour
figure had been well established for the S-42 in the fully loaded condition with
the engines rotating at zero thrust. This landing speed, which corresponds to
a very high lift coefficient, is the result of the combined action of a high lift wing,
together with a flap that influenced approximately 75 per cent, of its area.
The landing speed of the S-42 with its wing loading of 28.5lbs. per sq. ft.
is identical to that of its predecessor, the S-40, which had a wing loading of only
ig.5lbs. per sq. ft. The much higher lift of the S-42, he said, is due to the action
of the flap. This was forecast by the results of wind tunnel tests.
Mr. Sikorsky said that the design of the S-42 was outlined with a view to
obtaining a wing loading as high as practical and still remain within the 65 m.p.h.
limit. He expressed the opinion that it is possible in future designs, still higher
wing loadings may be expected.
With respect to the structural struts, he replied that they in no way inter-
fered with the loading of the ship as the forward and aft hatches were far
removed from the struts.
W'ith respect to maintenance, he is informed that there has been no trouble,
and that the maintenance engineers preferred the straight extruded thick
•aluminium tube to other types of construction.
All figures of gallonage given in the paper were in terms of United States
gallons, based on six lbs., English, per gallon.
Replying to the question of the given weight of the plane with fuel for a
3,000-mile range, Mr. .Sikorsky said the gross weight would remain at 38,ooolbs.
This is possible by reducing the weight empty by completely stripping three
280 IGOR I. SIKORSKY

passenger cabins of all non-structural items, such as seats, panellings, carpets,

etc.
In the future, however, he expected to increase the gross weight of the ship
to 40,ocolbs. by using slightly stronger material. The ship had been built of
duralumin, 17 ST. There was a new material, known as 24 S, or 24 ST
(according to its heat treatment), giving greater structural strength, and the use
of this would permit the increase of the gross weight without structural changes.
The take-off characteristics left no doubt that the ship would easily take-off with
considerably greater load. In that event the landing speed would be increased—
not Substantially, but to something above the figure now permitted. Therefore,
the Government would be asked tO' issue a double certificate, whereby the ship
would be licensed to take-off at a certain weight, but would not be licensed to
land at that weight. In that case, if the machine had to land soon after it had
taken off, and before it had used much fuel, the pilot would have to drop fuel,
and provision would have to be made to enable him to release it quickly in order
that when the ship landed its total weight would be within the permitted
maximum. H e believed that this system was very much recommended for long-
distance flying, where the weight of fuel to be carried at the start might amount
to 25 or 30 per cent, of the gross weight of the machine—an enormous percentage.
In regard to flying boats, he did not foresee very radical changes in hull
designs. He had heard of many attempts and had himself made several
attempts to combine other shapes of boats with some kind of vanes or submerged
wings, but until now had not obtained satisfactory results.
With reference to the behaviour of the ship in a long swell on the water,
Mr. Sikorsky said that perhaps this represented the most severe condition for
landing. In that circumstance, a low landing speed may be advantageous, but
only if the air was relatively calm; in a stormy wind it would be to the contrary.
With respect to the S-42, the plane proved to possess very satisfactory rough
sea characteristics. During one of the tests the plane took off and landed 17
times with full load on a reasonably rough day with the waves being fully 6ft.
high. It was found that the plane behaved excellently and would stand con-
siderably greater sea if needed. The plane was tested in circling on the water,
taking-off, landing, taxying", and so on, repeatedly.
He believed there were most interesting possibilities in the direction of re-
fuelling in the air. Re-fuelling immediately after the take-off could certainly be
done and would increase the flying range or the pay load. Another interesting
possibility would be to re-fuel midway between stages, and by that means one
could at least double, and possibly more than double, the useful load that could
be carried across the ocean. Based on present aerodynamic information, it could
be predicted that a ship of a range of 4,500 miles will allow a pay load of from
7 to 9 per cent, of the gross weight. Within the hull of a flying boat of a gross
weight of about ioo,ooolbs., one could carry 8,ooolbs. as pay load, which would
be satisfactory to justify trans-oceanic transportation ; and by re-fuelling in mid-
ocean one could increase the pay load to 15,000 or 20,ooc'lbs. But there was
another problem to be faced, that for long journeys one could not keep the
passengers in one place, but must provide further accommodation for them.
Sleeping accommodations would become necessary, and there must also be a
smoking-room and a dining cabin at least. So that while a machine might have
the lifting capacity there might not be sufficient room for the passengers to travel
in comfort, and one might not be able to use the lifting capacity, which results
from re-fuelling, at any rate for passengers.
Replying to Major Green's question concerning the power of the engines,
Mr. Sikorsky said that on the S-42 he used a new type of Hornet engine, rated
at 700 h.p. at altitudes from zero to 3,000ft. The engines were not highly
supercharged ; therefore the maximum power was about 730 h.p.
 DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG-RANGE FLYING BOAT (8-42) 281

Finally, he expressed again his sincere appreciation of the friendly reception

accorded him, and said he would carry away with him most pleasant memories
of the occasion and hoped to return to Great Britain in the future.
V O T E OF THANKS
The PRESIDENT : Mr. Sikorsky was indeed a very remarkable man and it
was regrettable that he was not an Englishman. The quality of the applause
which had followed the reading of the paper and the reply to the discussion was
very much above the average—and that was a significant fact, because the Royal
Aeronautical Society was a scientific body, not swayed by sentiment, but one
which judged a paper purely on its merits. One could say absolutely without
question that Mr. Sikorsky's paper was the sort of contribution the Society-
wanted more than anything else. (Hear, hear.) One hoped that Mr. Sikorsky
would visit this country again even before he built the machine to operate across
the Atlantic.
One was particularly delighted that Mr. Sikorsky had the great daring to
consider the ordinary " man in the street," w h o paid for the commercial machine;
Mr. Sikorsky had actually taken account of the fact that the passengers on long-
distance routes would need sleeping accommodation and would want to walk
about, and that if they could not do that they would not travel in the machines.
And when all the scientific people had been afraid of loading the machines, for
purely technical reasons, he had put forward an overwhelming case for high
wing loading, namely, the importance of avoiding air-sickness. From the point
of view of " the man in the street " there was very little attraction in air travel,
except, of course, its speed; it was a rather dull method of locomotion, rather
expensive, a little dangerous and very noisy. However, there was in fact a lot
to recommend it, and if air-sickness, which was one of the distressing aspects of
aerial travel, could be avoided It was all to the good.
There had been some very lugubrious speeches at that meeting, continued
the President, concerning the position of English aviation, and most of them
seemed to have been addressed to him, as though he were responsible! Whilst
he supposed that he must accept a certain amount of responsibility, he pointed
out that if they in this country were behind hand on the technical side of aviation,
the people to blame were the members of the Royal Aeronautical Society; it was
of no use pushing the blame on to somebody else. But Mr. Sikorsky, by visiting
this country at the present time, had caught them, so to speak, " assuming the
unperpendicular." However, the position might be represented by a waving
curve, and it might well be that before Mr. Sikorsky visited this country again
we should be sending some of the members of the Society to America to read
papers in his presence.
Meanwhile, the President invited the meeting again to thank Mr. Sikorsky
for his model lecture, which was so unassuming and so unboastful, and to show
their admiration for Mr. Sikorsky himself.