LABORATORY OF THE AIR
An Account of the Royal Aircraft Establishment
of the Ministry of Supply,
Farnborough
Compiled by
JOHN PUDNEY
HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE
1948
First edition.
This account of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, prepared from official sources, is also of necessity an outline of the development of—and of government participation in—aeronautical science in Britain. It tells of early experiments with military balloons at Aldershot, Woolwich, and Chatham; of the first British use of balloons in warfare; of early attempts to fly in man-lifting kites and non-rigid or semi-rigid airships; and of the infancy and growth of the power of the aeroplane.
'' No sooner had man learnt to go aloft, to remain there, and to fly from one place to another, than innumerable questions arose. How fast and how far could he go? How many people—or bombs—could he carry? How would he defend himself, and how attack others? ' Through two world wars, and in the years between, the answers to these questions have been methodically sought by the staff at Farnborough. This community of specialists have only rarely been called upon to design a complete aeroplane; they have acted rather as consultants, and since 1916 their activities as designers have been restricted to directions largely unexplored by the aircraft industry. Much of their work has gained wide distinction, much has of course been shrouded in secrecy, and the emphasis has always been on team achievement; there is room in the following pages for extended mention of only a few examples of their outstanding successes in addition to scientific knowledge and in its application to problems connected with flight. Such examples are those of predictor gunsights, navigation instruments, air photography, gas-turbine engines in aircraft, the V.H.F. system of radio-communication, the catapulting and deck-landing of carrier-borne aircraft, and special questions of stability and stress confronting the aerodynamics department.
This book provides a valuable summary of the great record of the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
22 x 14 cm. 63 pp + b/w photo plates.
Very good + condition. Dust jacket edge worn but clean and complete. Endpapers tanned but otherwise very clean and tidy.
