The Research Agenda

What was the scheme of work that was drawn up in the meeting at the Ad­miralty mentioned by Glazebrook? Some indication was given in the House of Commons when questions were taken on the founding of the commit­tee. More details, however, can be gleaned from a document titled “Prelim­inary Draft for Programme of Possible Experimental Work,” dated June 1, 1909, and used as the basis for an interim report during the first year of the committee’s activities.46 The program of work was divided into six sections: I, “General Questions on Aerodynamics”; II, “Questions Especially Relating to Aeroplanes”; III, “Propeller Experiments”; IV, “Motors”; V, “Questions

Especially Related to Airships”; and VI, “Meteorology.” For our purposes, only the first two sections are of interest; within them, some fourteen distinct topics were identified. They repay scrutiny and call for some comment. The list of topics was as follows:

I. General Questions on Aerodynamics

1. Determination of the vertical and horizontal components of the forces on inclined planes in a horizontal current of air, especially for small angles of inclination to the current.

2. Determination of surface friction on plates exposed to currents of air.

3. Centre of pressure for inclined planes.

4. Distribution of pressure on inclined planes.

5. Pressure components, distribution of pressure for curved surfaces of various forms.

6. Resistance to motion of bodies of different shapes = long and short cylinders &c.

7. Combination of planes: effect on pressure components of various ar­rangements of two or more planes.

II. Questions Especially Relating to Aeroplanes

8. Resistance components of aeroplane models.

9. Resistance of struts and connections.

10. Resistance of different stabilising planes both horizontal and vertical.

11.Problems connected with stability.

(i) Mathematical investigation of stability.

(ii) The stability of aero curves of different section and plane.

(iii) Effect of stabilising planes.

(iv) Effect of sudden action.

(v) Effect of gusts of wind.

(vi) Investigations as to stability of models for different dispositions of weight etc.

12. Materials for aircraft construction.

13. Consideration of different forms of aeroplane: monoplane, biplane, etc.

14. Other forms of heavier than air machines, helicopter, etc.

The list conveys the range of problems confronting the committee but also something of its priorities and preferences. The emphasis to be placed on sta­bility stands out clearly in the degree of definition accorded to the problem, which is carefully divided into six subsections. Likewise, the scientific style of the approach is clear. Experimentally, a significant amount of the work was to be done with models while, theoretically, the complexity of the real flying machine was replaced by simplified concepts such as planes and cylinders and centers of pressure.47 The operation of an aircraft was being assimilated to the abstract categories familiar to the committee from their Tripos text­books on mechanics and hydrodynamics.