Technica l Trainin g ... .

F
ROM the somewhat ambitious recommendations of
the Inter-departmental Committee under the
chairmanship of Sir Roy Fedden, issued in 1944,
to the actual Cranfield College of Aeronautics, of which
particulars were disclosed last week, is a fairly long step.
But in 1944 we were still at war, and the war-habit
of thinking in nothing smaller than millions of pounds
sterling had become well ingrained. The realization
appears likely to fall a good deal short of the anticipation
in this case, but we are inclined to think that, contrary
to the old saying, the realization is better than the
anticipation.
In place of the rather grandiose plans at first
envisaged, the College will open in the middle of October
in a fairly modest way, beginning with converted existing
buildings and adding to them gradually as and when
the need and possibility of doing so arises. That, it
seems to us, is a much saner way, even if in actual
fact it has been a case of making a virtue of necessity.
It is difficult to foresee just what the future is likely to
hold for the aircraft world, and by building up the'
^lleg e by easy stages, as it were, there will at least
fc a chance to adapt new constructions and equipment
to contemporary needs at any period. Over-planning is
a risk of the present time, and this will be avoided by
the gradualness with which the new College is to come
into full operation.
As for the educational aspect, we are very glad to
find that stress is being laid on the practical rather than
on the academic side. Germany has -always been inclined
towards the latter, and the fact that her aircraft
industry bristled with highly qualified technicians did
not, as history shows, enable her to produce aircraft
better thari Qurs. 'Nor need we be unduly alarmed at
the fact that in America they have something like ten
times the nurriber of highly trained men in their technical
departments compared with ours. Research is another
matter. There an intensive (and expensive) programme
is undoubtedly wanted if we are not to lag behind. But
training men for the industry requires a different
approach, and the number which can be absorbed into
the industry is not likely to be much greater than can
be catered for by the fifty undergoing a two-year
course at Cranfield.
We particularly welcome the decision that, although
students will be expected to be of university graduate
standard, the possession of a university degree will not
be obligatory, and that the Board of Entrance will base
their decisions entirely on their estimate of the candidate's
ability to profit from the course.

... . and Research

T
HAT the need for up-to-date research equipment
is fully realized was made plain by Sir Ben
Lockspeiser at a conference in London last week,
when he referred among many other subjects to the new
aerodynamic research establishment which is being
built at Thurleigh, near Bedford, as a cost estimated to
reach 20 million. Students at the Cranfield College of
Aeronautics will benefit from the" proximity to Thurleigh,
since visits can readily be arranged so that they
may be right up to date in their knowledge of the latest
research results and methods.
Sir Ben referred to many of the problems with which
we are bound to be faced soon, some of which, indeed,
are already confronting us. If this country is to hold
its own it is vitally necessary to give every possible
assistance to aeronautical research, and fortunately the
Government appears to be fully alive to this fact. No
one wishes to see money frittered away in times like
these but research is one sphere in which we simply
cannot afford not to be in the lead. The time has passed
when the aircraft designer's common sense told him what