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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0684.PDF
iron?! enemy, and his passenger did his level best to kill off as many of the " invaders" as possible with the machine gun which was mounted in the nose of the nacelle. Later Barnwell must have regretted his part of the manslaughter for he went out again to look for " wounded," and after locating them brought back information as to their whereabouts, and thus probably saved many lives by enabling the field ambulance to render prompt assistance. Among the large and distinguished company which watched the proceedings during the afternoon were H.M. Queen Alexandra and the Dowager Empress of Russia, this being the first visit of a member of the British Royal Family to the track. Numerous flights were also made during the afternoon by Messrs. Mahl, Gower, Wilberforce, and several other pilots. In the evening Hawker arrived from Hendon, and delighted everybody by looping in excellent style. XXX Waterplaning is not, evidently, to be regarded as the sport of the well-to-do, as I hear that the three brothers Mitchell are having an excellent time at Gillingham in Kent, with a machine which they have constructed from their own designs. This machine is a biplane having a span of 37 ft. and JUNE 26, 1914. The flying boat exhibited\ at Olympia by this firm i& practically finished and will, it is expected, bentested shortly, probably at Cowes. XXX As a result of his exhibition flights at Scunthorpe, Lines., Manton's collection of mascots has received two interesting additions. One is a silver-mounted hazel nut, the nut having been discovered 70 ft. below the bed of the River Trent whilst laying the foundations of a new railway bridge. The only speech made by the donor in handing over the gift was : " A nut from a knut to a knut." The other is a miniature silver replica of the famous Lincoln Imp. XXX Whilst at Scunthorpe Manton, after some difficulty, obtained permission to inspect some of the local iron works, and impressed by the heat irom the furnaces, the thought occurred to him that it would be interesting to try a flight over the works in order to watch the behaviour of the machine in the heated air. Next morning he went upjbr the purpose, and as he was passing over the works the Bleriot rose up about 50 ft., according to his baro graph, in a distance of about 300 jds., and on fl)ing into cold air again! it dropped a similar :'•• ' - .. •• The Mitchell hydro-aeroplane after overturning in the Medway at Gillingham. 34 ft. for the upper and lower planes respectively—the chord being 4 ft. 6 ins. and the gap 6 ft. At present a 100 h.p. Mors engine is fitted, and the machine when empty weighs 1,050 lbs. Three floats are employed— two main and one tail float—the former, which weigh 50 lbs. each, being rigidly attached to the struts from the body, and tied together by the cross-member seen in the photograph. Ailerons are fitted between the main planes. The machine has not yet been flown, owing to the fact that the locality is within one of the restricted areas, but " taxying " has been freely indulged in. On the last occasion, however, misfortune awaited them, happily without serious results, as the crowd, holding on to the tail, let go before the pilot was ready, with the result depicted in the photograph. XXX The Perry Beadle tractor biplane is now erected at Brooklands and has been out for a short " straight." This machine, which is quite a likely looking little 'bus, will be more thoroughly tested as soon as weather con ditions permit, and should prove attractive to the amateur pilot as the selling price is to be very reasonable indeed. distance. Although it was more or less what he expected,. Manton tells us it was an uncanny experience, as it felt as though the machine was being lifted by an invisible crane. xxx One amusing experience befell Manton on the first day at Scunthorpe. On landing from a flight he was approached by a gentleman who asked in German if he spoke that language. In the same language Mr. Manton just managed to inform him that he did not. The stranger then tried French. Again Mr. Manton had to express his regrets for a limited knowledge of that tongue. The man next tried Spanish, and finally in desperation spoke some English, and was considerably surprised to learn that the young airman who had been giving such clever demonstrations was just an Englishman. Manton also tells me, with a twinkle in his eye, of the comment of one of the crowd who evidently knew that his father is a doctor. When Manton disappeared among the clouds and someone asked where he had gone the answer came back, " I suppose he has gone to see some of his father's old patients." 684
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