Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with pleasure that I introduce to you today MR MCCLEMENTS, who is going to talk to us on the subject of “Helicopter Rotors”

MR McCLEMENTS is a relatively newcomer to the rotary wing industry and only claims a modest two years or so of direct connection, first with the Ministry of Supply and now as experimental engineer to the Helicopter Development Unit of British European Airways Corporation Apart from this, it is quite obvious that he has given a great deal of thought and work to the subject of his lecture

Speaking from personal experience, I can assure you that he was invaluable to all those in the industry during his time at the Ministry of Supply and will, I am sure, be equally so in his present appointment

On behalf of the Association, may I welcome our guests and trust you will be well rewarded for coming along

Members who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Association’s Meeting on January 24th were rewarded by a most illuminating lecture on American Helicopter Development, delivered by MAJOR J C SILTANEN of the U S A A F

MAJOR SILTANEN is here in the capacity of Air Technical Liaison Officer to the U S Military Attache in London, in America he was engaged on work with the Rotary-wing Branch at Wright Field, being closely concerned with the military development of Sikorsky Helicopters

The lecture took the form of an informal discourse illustrated by many interesting slides, most of which have since been published in the Aeronautical Press, receiving due credit In token of the esteem in which we hold MAJOR SILTANEN, the Council have elected him an Honorary Member during his term of office in this country

I have accepted with pleasure the Chairman’s request to introduce our lecturer this afternoon It is twelve years ago since MR SQUIRE proved himself to be a worthy successor to the late MR H GLAUERT at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in analysing the basic aerodynamic problems of the helicopter The work of GLAUERT had been confined to vertical flight and to horizontal flight with the rotor axis vertical (like that of the Gyrodyne) MR SQUIRE extended the analysis to the flight of a helicopter in which the propulsive force for horizontal flight was obtained by a forward inclination of the rotor axis The classic report by MR SQUIRE on this subject was studied closely by the Sikorsky organisation and was put into practical effect a few years later in the well-known Sikorsky designs

MR SQUIRE is recognised as the leading aerodynamicist on helicopters in this country and is Chairman of the Helicopter Committee of the Aeronautical Research Council We are all looking forward to hearing from him this afternoon on certain aerodynamic problems of the helicopter which have remained a mystery to most of us until now