The CHAIRMAN opening the meeting, said he supposed that in aeronautics the helicopter was the dream which had taken longest to come true He believed that LEONARDO DA VINCI had dreamed it and he was certain that JULES VERNE had done so But there was a long period in a sort of borderland between dream and reality when helicopters were made which either did not fly or only just did so

In the past few years the helicopter had truly become a reality, there were many years of research and development ahead, but the helicopter had arrived In the Royal Aeronautical Society the helicopter had for long been one of the matters to which close attention had been given and in the past a number of eminent people had presented papers on the subject as well as on its sister, the “Autogiro,” before the Society and one or two eminent people had also given lectures against the helicopter and the “Autogiro”

Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to introduce our lecturer this afternoon Although as a fellow-member he has remained modestly in the background until now, DR SISSINGH is known internationally as a leading aerodynamicist in the rotary-wing field

Perhaps his first notable contribution was a paper published in “Luftfahrtforschung” exactly 10 years ago, this was later translated into English and became an N A C A Technical Memorandum In his calculations DR SISSINGH was not content with a rough estimate of the average values of drag coefficient and induced velocity but took into account their distribution along the blade This unwillingness to make empirical assumptions merely for the sake of mathematical simplicity is typical of his subsequent work

For a number of years DR SISSINGH has devoted his attention to helicopter stability and has written extensively on this important problem His investigations were conducted first at the Flettner Company near Berlin, then at the well-known Kaiser Wilhelm Institut at Gottingen, and recently at the Royal Aircraft Establishment

Although barely two years have elapsed since the helicopter was first certificated for civil use, the problem associated with its operation are sufficiently well defined to enable their nature to be discussed with reasonable facility Actually, of course, there are twenty-six years, including many tens of thousands of flying hours behind this particular development, and it is quite logical therefore that the most advanced and successful type of helicopter to date embodies the basic and well proven rotor features of the Cierva Autogiro

There is still much to learn, however, and at this stage of development it has in many ways been advantageous that, so far, the field of operational use has been a professional one Difficulties have been minor rather than of a major category, but circumstances could easily have been otherwise had there not been constantly available the requisite background of skill and experience not only to cure, but what is of equal importance, to anticipate and prevent trouble before it could assume proportions of a serious nature Additionally the limited number of helicopters in use has encouraged and made possible a rather intimate and desirable liaison between constructor and operator, which in turn has given the aircraft a reasonable opportunity to establish itself and prove its value under strictly controlled conditions of inspection and operation

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am sure you will agree that it is quite unnecessary for me to introduce DR BENNETT formally He has previously lectured before the Helicopter Association, to say nothing of numerous lectures to learned Societies both at home and abroad I also feel quite certain that most of you are familiar with his background in the rotary wing field of aviation

On behalf of all Association Members and their guests, I should like to thank the Directors of the Fairey Aviation Company for their kindness and hospitality to us today, and also thank those members of the Fairey Company Helicopter Division whose work has made this visit possible

Finally, on behalf of the Association, may I congratulate the Fairey Aviation Company again, together with all those responsible, for the excellent show in their recent successful attempt to raise the Helicopter world speed record Personally, I feel that given the right conditions they are quite capable of increasing this record still further

In a paper such as this, where I am asked to point a critical finger at the problems which we have to face in developing the helicopter for civil operation, it is inevitable that I should call attention to the shortcomings of the helicopters on which our experience rests so far We have to remember that it is only a few short years since the helicopter reached the stage when it could be put in the hands of operators, and that the types on which the whole of our experience is based were born in the stress of the war years when they had to be put into use just as soon as they worked reasonably well We have to admit that in many respects they are relatively crude in design, but, nonetheless, they have demonstrated that the helicopter is a practical transport vehicle and they have proved their worth in many fields The helicopter has definitely arrived and will take its place in Civil Aviation as complementary to the fixed wing aeroplane for normal transport operations, and in a sphere entirely its own where its special characteristics make it capable of doing work which no other vehicle can perform

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

Our lecturer today is too well known to all of you to need any introduction from me” MR HAFNER is a member of the Council of our Association, a member of the Helicopter Committee of the Aeronautical Research Council and Chief Designer, Helicopter Division, of the Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd

Since he talked to a joint meeting of the S L A E and our Association in April, 1946, the Bristol Helicopter 171 has successfully flown and is now accumulating flying time at a rapid pace I am sure we shall all watch the progress of the 171 with very great interest, particularly as it would appear to have possibilities of being the first British helicopter to go into production

On behalf of the Association I extend a cordial welcome to all our guests