AVIATION AS A PROFESSION
Young men, and parents on their behalf, are seeking always some
profession which will yield an adequate return for the enthusiasm
which youth lavishes upon it. Too often, though, at any rate in the
past, this search for a man's work in life has been narrowed into ruts;
conducted on certain set lines which, though they have found
employment for the beginner, have given him no scope for that
enthusiasm with which he will attack the first tasks presented him.
Aviation, till the coming of the war, was looked at askance by parents
who had sons on their hands. Apart from the risks of flying, which
appeared to them ceaseless and terrible, the actual industry of
building aeroplanes, regarded as an industry, seemed so haphazard and
objectless an affair--so much like playing at work--that they
discouraged any wish that a youth might show to enter it. Many people,
these people of intelligence, regarded the building and flying of
aeroplanes as being no more than a passing phase, and a regrettable
one, which it was hoped men would soon abandon, and turn their
attention to tasks more serious and profitable. But that was before
aircraft had proved their value as instruments of war. Now it is known
that aeroplanes have the power, granted they are supplied in
sufficient numbers, of altering the tenor of a great campaign, both by
land and sea; and that in any future war of nations, should one come,
a battle between the hostile flying fleets, fought to determine the
command of the air, will determine also, to a very large extent, the
fortunes of armies on the land and navies on the sea. It is clear
indeed that, for any great nation that strives to maintain its place,
a powerful air fleet has become a necessity; while for Britain, an
island no longer from the military point of view, seeing that we must
face seriously the question of invasions by air, there is a vital need
to strive for command of the air, as we now hold command of the sea.
The building up of our air fleet will be an arduous task, needing men,
money, and time; but without it we cannot be secure. Therefore the
work must be faced, the men and the money forthcoming. Aviation, as an
industry, must prepare for years of strenuous work. A great air
service must be created. Machines must be designed and built in
thousands instead of hundreds, and men trained to fly them. Nor is
this all. The aeroplane, though it has such significance as a weapon
of war, is destined primarily and eventually to be an instrument of
peace; a machine for the transport by air of passengers, mails, and
goods, at speeds greater than will be feasible by land or water; and a
craft also for the use of travellers and tourists, enabling them to
make such journeys, with ease and pleasure, as will again prove
impossible by land or sea. So aviation has two immense tasks ahead of
it, instead of one. Not only must it create, by years of patient and
determined effort, a flying service which will command the air, but
craft must be designed and built also for the mail, goods, and
passenger-carrying services, and to meet the needs of the aerial
tourist.
This new task that has been given to men, that of designing, building,
and piloting aircraft, is still on the eve of its expansion. The
opportunities it offers to young men--to men whose minds are quick to
grasp a new idea and who have the powers of initiative and
decision--are almost boundless. Flying will, as it develops,
revolutionise the world's system of transport; while the developments
even of the immediate future promise to be so great, and so important,
that it is not easy to visualise them. But this at least is clear: now
is the time for newcomers to enter the world of flight. Aviation needs
men, is calling aloud for men; and they are needed for many kinds of
work. First, of course, should be placed the flying services, naval
and military, to join which during the war men have come forward so
admirably. But it will need, in the expansion that must follow this
campaign, a steady and a ceaseless growth in numbers, not only of the
men who handle machines in flight, but of those who serve the
squadrons by their work on land, and who build up the organisation
which is vital to success.
For skilled aviators, other than those who join the services, there is
scope for remunerative work. A constant demand exists for men who will
test and fly in their trials the new machines that are built by
manufacturers; for men who will fly, in public exhibitions, the craft
that are used at the various aerodromes; and for men who will qualify
as instructors, and join the flying schools which are already in
existence, or in process of formation. In countries oversea, too,
there is the definite promise that aircraft will be needed, not only
for survey work over wide tracts of land, and for maintaining
communication and bearing mails over districts where land travel is
difficult, but also for exploration; and this again means that pilots
will be required. New aerodromes must come into existence also; not
only to act as alighting points for touring craft, but to provide
grounds for the training of pupils; and at these aerodromes pilots
will be needed.
Of other opportunities, apart from the piloting of aircraft, there are
many--though it is desirable for a man to learn to fly, and obtain his
certificate of proficiency, even if afterwards he does not intend
continuing as a pilot. The practical experience he gains, while
learning actually to handle an aircraft in flight, will prove
extremely useful to him subsequently, even though the task he
undertakes is one that keeps him on the ground. He may qualify, for
instance, for a post in a aeroplane factory as a designer or
draughtsman; or he may specialise in aero-motors, and seek a post in
the engine-shops. At the aerodromes, too, there are openings which
present themselves; as, for example, in the management of a flying
school.
It has been shown that the public will go in thousands to see sporting
contests with aeroplanes, and here is another field for organisation
and effort; while there is a constant demand for men of ability in the
executive departments of firms which are established already in the
industry, and are expanding steadily, or in those which are now being
formed, or are joining aviation from day to day.
The industry is at last on a footing that is practical and sound. It
presents a new field for effort, and one that is unexploited; while
for the man who enters it--and this should be the attraction for
youth--there are occupations as fascinating as one's imagination could
depict. But one thing must be understood clearly. Flying is, of exact
sciences, surely the most exact. The man who is only half-trained, who
is more or less slovenly in his work, who will not bend his whole
energies to his task, will find no place in this new industry. A young
man is wasting his time, if, after deciding to enter aviation, he
acquires knowledge that is no more than haphazard. He who contemplates
aviation as a profession must set himself the task of learning all
there is to be learned, and in the right way.
Individual opportunities and circumstances will, necessarily, play so
large a part in the steps taken by a young man--or by his parents on
his behalf--to launch him on a career in aviation that it is
impossible, here, to do more than generalise. Certainly, as we have
said, it is an excellent preliminary to learn to fly; and it may be
stated also that it is now possible to place, with aviation companies
of repute, premium pupils who will undergo instruction extending over
a period of three years. A youth may, also, gain his knowledge of the
industry by becoming an indentured apprentice.
One may say, as a conclusion to this chapter, that a great, new, and
potential industry is springing up in our midst, one which will prove
to be equally if not more important and far-reaching than the British
shipbuilding industry, and one which will employ thousands of skilled
engineers and artisans. Ships are limited to one element, the water,
which has very definite boundaries. Aircraft, too, are limited to one
element, the air; but this element has no boundaries so far as the
earth is concerned, and aircraft will be navigable to any and every
part of the globe.