From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Letter of advice regarding design philosophy, cautioning against rushing into production without thorough testing and consideration.
| Identifier | Morton\M6\ img011 | |
| Date | 16th December 1929 guessed | |
| (4) or make tools or expensive patterns until we are both satisfied with the design & they have been made experimentally by hand & (3) they have been thoroughly tested Please excuse a note at the moment as at this post time. Remember that I am not criticing adversely but trying to help - which I believe I can do on the design part of the work. You said that 40 ft spans seem now too small. So I want you to reconsider whether we should not make our proposed 50 ft into 60 even at some loss to future extensions, it may mean that we ought to have one big bay enough for anything and feed it on the sides by smaller bays. I hope however that the 50 will be thought right as we have spent some time on getting this near to perfection. You will see that I believe that design must be long considered & tried in many forms on paper so as to get good and lasting results. We at RR have had great experience & find it frightly costly to make a mistake in going into production & rushing in to make even well considered schemes until they have been thoroughly tested out. It is a common mistake that has brought so many firms into trouble. Even with all our care we cannot avoid it, motto "Slow the word & command. Quick the action," a well considered scheme go for it quick & having decided but double in a hurry to decide, better sketches by later post if you cannot understand these. F H Rce [Vertical text in left margin:] From a little bird's indication I rather think it is well to make this adjustment & push the position of our Order Dept. | ||