ate firms manufacturing aircraft in a small way and there was
practically speaking no engine industry at all. For the Royal Flying
Corps, the War Office had relied largely on the Royal Aircraft Factory,
and, although the methods of control adopted had many advantages, there
was in them a tendency to retard private enterprise and development. The
Admiralty, on the other hand, had assisted by dealing almost entirely
with firms for Royal Naval Air Service supply. The conditions in France
fortunately were very much better than those in this country, and for
the first year or two French factories helped us out with both machines
and engines. By the end of the war we had the largest and most efficient
aircraft industry in the world. There were no less than seventy-six
great factories turning out vast numbers of complete aeroplanes, in
addition to thirty-three manufacturing complete engines and over 3,000
turning out spares and equipment. Such expansion is not possible within
a few weeks, it took a long time to arrive at this position, and it
causes one very seriously to think what would have happened had France
not been our ally, and points the moral which has been mentioned of the
necessity for a thriving aircraft and engine industry in peace. During
the war Germany also had a very large number of firms engaged on this
work.

THE MACHINE AND ENGINE.

The general differences between service and civil requirements in
aircraft fall under the headings of ceiling, load and speed. For service
purposes very much higher ceiling and greater climb and speed are
required and the design is much affected by the condensed nature of the
load. For peace purposes, besides the primary advantage of speed which
the air has over other forms of transport, regularity must be ensured
and the correct ratio between speed, duration and load-carrying power
determined. Great ceiling, man[oe]uvrability and climb are not required.

However great the speed and load, there is no value in air transport,
whether for passengers or mails or goods, unless it is safe and also
compares favourably from an economic point of view with the older
methods. Without these the public cannot be expected to utilize air
transport, nor is there any inducement to surrender mails and freight
for carriage by air. Every endeavour compatible with economy is made, as
far as the equipment of aerodromes and the organization of the routes
are concerned, to render air navigation as