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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0575.PDF
Professor Baldwin MAY 29, 1914. Mr. E. R. Whitehouse, who has lately been flying the Curtiss flying boat, informs me that Messrs. White and Thompson of Middleton, Bognor, are now busily engaged on the construction of a new flying boat for this year's Daily Mail waterplane flight round Britain. This machine, I understand, will be fitted with two Curtiss engines (British built, of course), each of which will drive a separate propeller. In other respects the new machine will follow fairly closely, standard Curtiss practice. It appears that Mr. Fowler's establishment at East bourne is in a fair way to become " the road to success," for not long ago one of Mr. Fowler's pupils, Mr. Thomely, secured an engagement to give exhibition flights in Germany, and now I learn that Mr. E. L. Gassier, who has been acting as designer and pilot for the Eastbourne Aviation Co., is leaving shortly, and that we may expect to hear of him in connection with a large, well-known English firm. Good luck to him ! XXX No doubt there are some of our readers who remember the time— long before the days of aeroplanes —when Capt. Thomas S. Baldwin made those exciting parachute de scents at the Alexandra Palace. I cannot say off-hand how long ago it was, somewhere about the early 'eighties I think, but anyway, Hendon received a visit from the self-same Baldwin—who is, by the way, the designer of the Baldwin " Red Devil" biplanes and other machines that have been flying with success in America—on Thursday and Saturday of last week, where he saw an aerial show vastly different from the one he himself took ® ® GUSTAV IT is with profound regret that we have been forced to the conclusion, as we state elsewhere, that Mr. Gustav Hamel came to an untimely end during his Channel trip which he started on Saturday morning last. Briefly the record of his movements shows that Hamel left Villacoublay at 4 40 a.m. on the new Morane monoplane with 80 h.p. Gnome monosoupape engine with which he proposed to compete in the Aerial Derby last Saturday afternoon. At 5.22 he reached Le Crotoy, and having breakfasted, he left at 8.30 for Hardelot, where he landed half an hour later. There he rested for a couple of hours, then had a light lunch, filled up the fuel and oil tanks of his machine, and left Hardelot at a quarter past 12. From that time nothing is known of the airman's movements, although the Cross-Channel steamer "Riviera " reported seeing an aeroplane flying in mid-Channel on Saturday afternoon. Hamel was one who had done very much for the cause of aviation in this country. The son of a well-known English surgeon and a clever motor driver, it was not surprising that aviation should attract him. Having studied the question in France, he set to work and qualified for a French certificate on a Morane monoplane on February 3rd, 1911. Returning to England he repeated the necessary tests on a Bleriot monoplane, and obtained a British certificate on February t4th, 1911. He quickly showed that he was master of the Bleriot type of machine, and he was selected to pilot a Bleriot racing monoplane in the Gordon Bennet race at Eastchurch, in July, 1911. It will be recalled that on l/LtGHT| part in afar back. As he said, "Gee, but things have changed some." Yes, and they have changed in the parachute line as well, according to his account of the shows they give " over there" now. What they do is this: The parachutist ascends in a hot air balloon with eight parachutes packed one on the top of the other, and as the descent is made these are cut free one after the other until he is ultimately sup ported by the last of the series. It is intended to increase the number of para chutes to ten in future displays. I should have thought the risk of one parachute not opening was bad enough, but ten ! Well, I should call it " some nightmare." XXX I understand that Capt. Baldwin is not over here entirely on pleasure bent, but has some business in hand in connection with an aviation concern that is to be started on a large scale in America under the name of the Connecticut Aviation Co. The trouble with the Wright patents will not affect this concern, as Baldwin informs In the sun. me that he holds the Wright license and intends to "sub-let." Beyond this I could not get any further information, so we must ,l wait and see." I hope Capt. Baldwin was impressed with our attempts at aviation over here, and that he will not take too many of our pilots away with him, for he says he has his eye on several of our crack flyers and hopes to send them across the Atlantic to be made a fuss of. " iEOLUS." ® ® HAMEL. the morning of the event, a trial flight showed that the machine was slightly slower than some of his rivals' mounts. With the object of augmenting the speed, M. Bleriot decided to shorten the already very small wings, but, in the race, when rounding the first pylon, Hamel's machine side-slipped to the ground, no doubt owing to his taking too sharp a turn. The pilot was fortunately thrown clear and escaped with very severe concussion. In July he took part in the Circuit of Britain, and after a good deal of engine trouble he was forced to retire at Dumfries. In the following September he took the principal part in the aerial post between Hendon and Windsor, flying in spite of the high winds. In the Aerial Derby of 1912 he secured the second place, last year seeing him a very popular winner of the event, whilst he was the favourite for the race which was to have been held last Saturday, the day of his disappearance. Of his many Cross-Channel trips, one of the most outstanding was that made in the course of his flight from Dover to Cologne on the Bleriot machine which was subsequently presented to the New Zealand Government. In a match against Hucks over a course round Birmingham last August, Hamel secured a victory by a narrow margin. He won several races at Hendon, and his flying there and at Brooklands was always highly popular, especially since last November, when he added looping the loop on the Morane to his accomplishments, and he had the honour of twice being commanded to " loop " before the King at Windsor. 575
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