I feel most sincerely the weight of the great honour that has been done me in electing me as Chairman of so distinguished a Society, which most certainly does occupy a unique position as the oldest Aeronautical body in the world. The diffidence with which your very distinguished Chairman of the Session now closed assumed office, makes me wonder as to how I can most suitably step into his shoes, and, in particular, solve the difficult)- of delivering an inaugural tiddress which will not be too unworthy to rank with the papers of the high standard of the past.

The introduction of a new material is a very slow process and engineers are extremely critical of the claims put forward in favour of any new materials. The development of aluminium and its alloys has been exceedingly slow and it has needed the extraordinary circumstances of the war and the brilliant work recorded in the eleventh report of the Alloys Research Committee of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers to establish finally the use of aluminium and its alloys. This paper deals with one of the latest metals to be introduced to engineers.