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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0930.PDF
l/ycm] OCTOBER 19, 1912. HENDON SECOND AUTUMN MEETING. FORTUNATELY the thick fog which hung over London last Saturday did not make its appearance at the Hendon aerodrome. Instead, there was bright sun«hine and very little wind ; it was, in fact, a glorious day, and certainly much warmer than it was on the occasion of one of the August meetings. Nearly all the machines at the aerodrome, therefore, were in active operation, so that at times the air was, metaphorically speaking, full of aeroplanes of quite a variety of types. Early in the afternoon several trial flights were got through before the first event took place. This latter was the crosscountry handicap to Elstree and back twice, a distance of about 18 or 19 miles, the entrant of the winner of which was to receive a prize and trophy presented by H.H. The Maharaja of Alwar. Lewis Turner on the Grahame-White biplane won this event by 44 sees., Verrier on the Maurice Farman swooping in second, Desoutter on the Bleriot coming in 31 sees, behind ; Travers, on the 80-h.p. Henry Farman, who had started third, came in last. While the above pilots were away, exhibition flights were made inside the Aerodrome by B. C. Hucks on the 70-h.p. Gnome-Bleriot and Eugene Galy with a passenger on the 60-h.p. Anzani-Caudron biplane. Lieut. Parke, K.N., was also making passenger flights on the elegant Handley Page monoplane. Huck's new machine is exceedingly speedy, and except, perhaps, the little Caudron monoplane, is the fastest machine that has been seen at Hendon ; his time over the course worked out at about 70 m.p.h. The Handley Page machine, which created a very- favourable impression on the visitors, is not only extremely beautiful to look at, but appears to be remarkably stable. Several times Lieut. Parke laised both hands above his head while the machine was in flight ; throughout the rest of the day he made further trial flights on the same machine, each time with a passenger. Just before 4.30, the Breguet biplane with a 110-h.p. Canton Unne engine was brought out and given an engine test. It was then that five machines could be teen in the air together, viz., the Handley Page monoplane, Huck's Bleriot, Sydney Pickles on the 35-h.p. Caudron, Noel on the 80-h.p. Farman, and Btock on the Deperdussin. Verrier then started his passenger-carrying trips, while Grahame-White gave a very fine exhibition on the 70-h.p. *' Wake Up England" Farman. His bankings on this machine are very impressive, and by flying the machine close to the ground Dr. D. Edmund Stodart flying the 35-h.p. Caudron biplane at Hendon* the machine on which he passed his brevet tests at the W. H. Ewen School of Flying, Hendon, he emphasized the idea of great speed. The next up was^Galy, who again took a passenger with him on the Caudron biplane. After this, M. A. Richet got up the Breguet for a few minutes, and Jules Nardini ascended with a passenger on the 60-h.p. Anzani-Deperdussin mono. One of Naidini's mechanics escaped from what might have been a nasty accident, for in swinging the propeller he failed to jump clear quickly enough when the engine started, so that the propeller caught his coat, tearing away a large piece and flinging a number of tools that were in his pocket in all directions. The Grand Speed Handicap, two heats only (four laps each), of which were held, started shortly after 5 o'clock. In the first heat four machines made good, viz. : B. C. Hucks, 70-h.p. Gnome-Bleriot (Scratch) ; Louis Noel, 80-h.p. Gnome-Henry Farman (51 sees.) ; Pierre Verrier, 70-h.p. Renault-Maurice Farman, and Claude Grahame-White, 70-h.p. Gnome-Henry Farman. The finish was very exciting all four coming in fairly close together, Hucks first, then Noel, Grahame-White and Verrier following sharply behind. Six machines lined up for the second heat, three monoplanes and three biplanes, as follows: Marcel Desoutter, 50-h. p. Gnome-Bleriot; Jules Nardini, 60-h.p. Anzani-Deperdussin, and L. Brock, 35-h.p. Anzani-Deperdussin monoplanes, and Eugene Galy, 60-h.p. Caudron, Sydney Pickles, 35-h.p. Caudron, and Lewis Turner, 50-h.p. Gnome- Grahame-White biplanes. Galy was just about to start when it was found that the tail boom was damaged, so he had to retire. The two Deperdussins also fell out of the race, and Sydney Pickles, who came in first, was disqualified for fouling a pylon—very hard luck, for he made a fine fight for first place ; but better luck next time ! The first place, therefore, went to the next man in, Desoutter, while Turner was second. By then it was almost dark, and streaks of mist floating up all over the ground, it was decided to bring the meeting to a close, and to fly the final heat to-day (Saturday). ® ® ® ® THE HANDLEY PAGE MONOPLANE. THE performances of the Handley Page monoplane during the last two week-ends have set at rest once and for all any feeling of uncertainty as to the weight-lifting capacity and reliability of this machine. During this time, since the machine has been at Hendon, twenty-eight passengers have been taken. Amongst the eight passengers on Saturday last were two young ladies, cousins of Mr. Page, and on Sunday two youngsters were squeezed into the pilot's seat at one time and taken for a twenty minutes' trip over the Welsh Harp and the surrounding country. The total live load in this case, including the pilot's weight (about 10 St.), was 367 lbs., while the machine also had on board sufficient petrol and oil for two hours. About 2.45 on Sunday afternoon, the machine set out for Brook- lands carrying as passenger Mr. Nichol-on, one of the partners in the firm of Messrs. Jenson and Nicholson, the well-known varnish manufacturers, of Stratford, E., who had booked a return passage to the Weybridge track. The passenger had an extra interest in the machine, as all the metal parts were enamelled with " Robbialac," one of his firm's productions. This enamel dries very quickly, giving a fine glossy surface without stoving, and being unaffected by castor oil, is very u?eful for the parts surrounding the engine. It already has a considerable vogue amongst motor cyclists. Amongst other passengers carried over last week-end were Mr. Robert Blackburn, Mr. Travers, Capt. Tyrer, Mrs. Stocks, Mr. Ledeboer, and Mr. Gates. Considerable distances were flown with the pilot's hands removed from the control wheel. ® ® ® ® Kites in Parliament. ON Tuesday in the House of Common Col. Seely was asked whether the Government had made exhaustive tests with the Baden- Powell war kites as supplied to the German and other foreign armies, and, if so, whether they have been found inferior to the Cody equip ment, for which the Government had just paid a remuneration of /5000. Col. Seely, in reply, said that exhaustive trials were made with Major Baden-Powell's war kites up to the year 1898, when it was definitely decided not to proceed further with that particular design of kite. Since 1906, when a final reply was given to Major Baden- Powell, nothing further has been suggested by him. He has offered his invention to the German and other armies with the consent of the Army Council. About 1901 a design based on a different principle was put forward by Mr. Cody, for which he has received the remuneration mentioned. In reply to a further question as to comparative costs, the Minister of War said that the merits of both types of kite were fully con sidered by the greatest experts available, and they came to the conclusion that Mr. Cody's was the best. 930
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