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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0108.PDF
Liles, and Lieut. Stopford were all busy putting in straight flights on biplane No. 3, the day's work being finished by Lewis Turner flying the old school 'bus once round the aerodrome and back to its hangar. The day's work commenced on Tuesday by Biard taking out biplane 3, and putting in 15 mins. at straights. Turner then took out biplane No. 2, and mounting to about 100 ft. made several circuits ; he then turned the machine over to Fowler, who was making good circuits with right-hand turns ; Raphaite was also out rolling. In the afternoon Turner also put in some good circuits, after which the pupils adjourned for theoretical work. A.b.L. Flying School.—On Wednesday morning last week a 30 mile-an-hour wind prevented outside work, but towards evening it turned to a calm, and Mr. Barber brought out the Gnome Valkyrie racer in ideal conditions. He flew circuits in his usual excellent style, and made numerous flights before dark. Again, on Thursday, weather conditions were good, and in the afternoon Ridley-Prentice was flying circuits on the Green-engined Valkyrie at an altitude of 200 ft. The A.S.L. works were busy testing various propellers on the Viking biplane. Sunday proved a magnificent flying day, and during the whole afternoon Mr. Barber was flying his Viking biplane fitted with A.S.L. propellers. He went up several hundred feet and described some very small circles. A very interesting test was made, straight fabric balancers having been fitted to the machine in place of the patent cambering balancers designed for this biplane. Mr. Barber found a very marked difference in the lateral control of the machine, proving conclusively that the cambering surfaces possess wonderfully greater efficiency. During the course of the afternoon, Mr. Barber made innumerable ascents terminating the day's work with a splendid flight of 20 minutes duration, making many sharp turns with fine banking, his final glide from a good height being very effective. Mr. S. F. Cody and his freight of four passengers, Miss Buckoke and Messrs. Haves, Dackett, and Frank Cody, totalling to 738 lbs., with whom be flew last Saturday afternoon at Aldershot at a beight of about 70 to 80 ft. on his new 'bus for a distance of about 7 miles. Mr. Graham Wood, Lecturer at the Polytechnic, -who has just passed for his pilot's certificate at the Hewlttt-Blondeau Flying School at Brooklands. Bleriot School.—On two days last week, Wednesday and Thursday, it was possible to do some useful work at the school, all the pupils practising with great keenness. Messrs. Allen, Desoutter and Prenssiel, who are only waiting a fine day to obtain their certificates, were doing excellent circuits, landing in vol flant in true professional style. Messrs. Clappen, Pothet, Welburn and Morris were putting up good straight lines, and starting to get off the ground. They are making excellent progress ; a week or so of calm weather and they will be practically ready to attempt the trials for their brevets. The remainder of the week the weather was too bad for any outside work. W. H. Ewen School.—The pupils at the WT. H. Ewen school have, during the past week put in an exceptional amount of practice, which is well reflected in the capital progress they are all showing. The system of teaching in operation at the school is such that each pupil is taken individually, and thoroughly masters each lesson beforc leaving the machine ; and this system is proving its worth by its quick results. Mr. E. H. Lawford has now gained every confidence in his controls and handles the Bleriot exceedingly well, while MM. Dubois and Baumann have made excellent straight flights, sometimes in an 8—10 mile wind. Capt. Loraine and Mr. T. Warren have been making some good flights with right and left turns on the Bleriot, while on Thursday they both did two fine trips on the Dep. with well-judged landings. On Wednesday, Ewen was out on the Dep. for half-an-hour, circling round Edgware and Old Hendon, while on Thursday he put up a splendid exhibition in which his 28 Anzani behaved remarkably well. Making in all six flights, his total time in the air exceeded two hours with an average height of 800 ft. In his various trips.he covered the surrounding country to Finchley, Elstree and Hendon, landing with some fine spiral vol plane's, and at one time doing a straight with his hands above his head. On Sunday, Ewen was out twice for half-an-hour and 20 minutes respectively, when he did some flying which was exceptionally good for his 28 Dep. Rising rapidly, he took his turns by diving and banking in an almost alarming manner and finished up with very fine spirals. Although the wind was blowing from 14 to 17 miles per hour on Tuesday, Ewen was out twice on the 28 Dep. Salisbury Plain. Air Battalion —Wednesday of last week was a fair flying day, although it was a bit misty, and the Air Battalion put in a hard day's work. Lieuts. Conner, Manisty, and Fox were each out in the morning on Bristol biplanes, and Lieut. Barrington-Ivennett took the Nieuport to a height of 700 ft, making several circuits round Farge, Stonehenge, and Nitin Downs. Later in the morning Lieut. Fox got into his Bristol biplane again and made the test flights to secure his brevet. 108
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