A meeting of the Society was held in the rooms of the Royal Society of Arts, Adelphi, London, on Thursday, February 15th, 1923, Professor L. Bairstow presiding. The Chairman, referring to the paper to be read, namely, on “ The Practical Aspect of Seaplanes,” by Wing Commander T. R. Cave-Browne-Cave, C.B.E., said that this was the third of the series of lectures on seaplanes, a series which came into being mainly at the instigation of Wing Commander Cave-Browne-Cave. The lecturer was a member of the Council of the Society, and had thought that it woqld be advisable to have a connected series of papers of this description ; it could be said that the policy adopted had been successful and would be rounded off by that evening’s lecture. The author, in the beginning of the paper, explained what his position was, and that the paper represented other views in addition to his own, so that he (the Chairman) did not propose to enter into that subject, but he asked those present to note, when the paper was read, how the whole cause of seaplane development cried out loudly for further experiment. The conclusions in the paper were more definite than those they usually associated with pilots’ opinions on the flying of aircraft, but that they were generally sound he himself had some reason to know. On the other hand, it was quite clear from the paper that the author had not been able to put into numerical form many things which he knew were true in a general way. He then called upon the author to read his paper.

I propose to deal with the subject of this paper under three headings : First, a brief summary of Cayley's life and character; second, an account of his work on navigable balloons; and third, a like account of his work on mechanical flight. The latter sections will be prefaced with a short survey of the state of those two branches of aeronautical science at the period of Cayley's youth. It should, perhaps, be added by way of introduction, that Cayley's place as a pioneer in .aeronautics has not yet been fully assessed. His name is barely mentioned in that greatly over-rated, ill-arranged and cumbrous compilation, “ Astra Castra,” published by Hatton Turnor in 1865, and it is entirely omitted from the “ Dictionary of National Biography.”

Meeting of the Society was held at the Royal Society of Arts on Thursday, March ist, 1923, Professor L. Bairstow, C.B.E., F.R.S., in the chair. The Chairman, in calling upon Major F. M. Green to read his paper on “ Air Travel, with Special Reference to the Helicopter,” said that many of those present would be able to> agree with the very critical review of the problem given by the lecturer, and it would be an advantage perhaps to the progress of aviation if the Society gave a technical opinion as to the value of the helicopter as a means of air travel.

I must begin by explaining how I come to be giving this lecture. The experimental work with which I shall deal has, for the most part, been done at the N.P.L. and the R.A.E., under the general direction of the Aeronautical Research Committee. The way in which I come to be connected with the work is that I am a member of this Committee and am Chairman of a small panel that was created, some three years ago, by the Committee, to deal with this and other work relating to control and stability. The experiments that I shall describe and the methods of dealing with the results that I shall employ are, therefore, the results of the combined work of a considerable number of people. I can thus claim no special ownership of any of the ideas that I shall use, except in so far as I belong to the panel that has been working upon them. On the other hand I am giving the lecture as a private person, so that any views I express are personal ones and in no sense official.