The Fortieth Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, “ Prophecy and Achievement in Aeronautics,” was given by Sir Harry Garner, K.B.E., C.B., M.A., F.R.Ae.S., before the Royal Aeronautical Society on Thursday 29th May 1952 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, S.W.I. Mr. G. H. Dowty, F.R.Ae.S., President of the Society, presided over the meeting which comprised some 350 members and guests.

Medals and Prizes awarded by the Council for 1951-1952 were presented before the Lecture.

The 846th Lecture to be given before the Royal Aeronautical Society was read under the auspices of the Brough Branch by Mr. K. G. Hancock, B.Sc, A.F.R.Ae.S., and Mr. P. Person, M.A., A.F.R.Ae.S., on “ Power Steering for Aircraft,” on the 21st February 1952, at the Electricity Showrooms, Hull.

There has been little practical experience in the United Kingdom on the operation and use of bogie undercarriages, although the de Havilland Comet, the production version of which is fitted with four-wheel bogie main undercarriages, has done enough flying now to give some idea of the snags likely to be encountered.

These remarks are confined mainly to the theoretical and practical advantages and disadvantages of bogie undercarriages in general, with brief descriptions of some of the various types.

A few years ago it became obvious that the use of multi-wheel arrangements would become common on future main undercarriages, particularly on large aircraft. Four reasons for such use are: —

1. (i) Spreading the load on the runways allows operation of the aircraft from a larger number of aerodromes.

2. (ii) Reducing the individual wheel loads and tyre pressures allows operation of the aircraft from natural airfield surfaces.

3. (iii) An overall reduction in undercarriage weight may be achieved, particularly for large aircraft.

4. (iv) Ease of stowage in the aircraft structure when retracted.

The multi-wheel arrangement could be obtained by having the wheels side by side, in line, by having the wheels side by side, in line, or by a combination of these two methods.