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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0745.PDF
JULY 19, 1/jjGHT RENt DESOUTTER, TEST-PILOT. THOUGH possibly not quite so well known to the generalpublic as his brother, Marcel, owing to the latter's exhibitions of skill in the spectacular days at Hendon, ReneLouis Desoutter has, nevertheless, accomplished a very great deal of flying, both in exhibition work and as a test-pilot. Attaching himself to the Bleriot Co. at their Hendonworks early in 1912, with the object of learning aeroplane construction, he, after ten months of workshop practice,joined the same school as a pupil and learned to fly, obtaining his certificate on May 19th, 1913, just fifteen months laterthan his brother. For a year he remained with the B16riot Co. as AssistantInstructor, and in May, 1914, joined as Chief Instructor at -the Ewen School, then in course of formation into the•Caudron Co. This was just previous to the outbreak of war, and whenthe declaration had taken place there was an immediate and almost overwhelming rush of pupils wishful to learn the artof aerial navigation. Soon, however, the Caudron firm, like most others, was•engaged on Service construction Work only, and Desoutter automatically passed into the position of test pilot formachines of the Caudron Co.'s building, where he still Temains, although he is still a free lance for testing machines•of other constructors when his services are not required by -the Caudron Co. He it was who tested the first Caudron in this country fitted with a 100 h.p. Anzani engine, andlater, in June, 1915, the first twin. Before taking over the testing of these aeroplanes hegraduated thoroughly in the French Caudron Co.'s works at Paris and Lyons. It will be remembered that owing to thepush of the Germans towards Paris—now luckily being pushed the other way—the Caudron Co. had had to leavetheir old flying grounds before the advancing enemy. Some few interesting experiences have been his, amongst othersthe obtaining of the world's record fora seaplane (with a pas- senger and full war load of six hours' fuel), rising to analtitude c f 14,000 ft. Perhaps the queerest experience, and one which, althoughfinishing without untoward trouble to either pilot or passenger, m ght easily have been otherwise, was when testing a new'bus of the enclosed type. Desoutter had arrived at the grounds just before lunch-time, and decided to make a trial flight with a weight to represent the passenger in the forward seat. All went well,and the machine behaved perfectly. Then came a desire among those assembled for a joy-ride, and the designer—luckily or unluckily, according to the point of view—secured the place of honour. No sooner had the machine attained an altitude of about1,000 ft. than she started to behave in a most remarkable manner. She would suddenly skid—not sideslip, but skid—out to one side, first to right and then to left, whilst the rudder seemed to have metaphorically taken the bit betweenits teeth, for it acted exactly in reverse to the pilot's wish. Also she developed a liking for getting into the Wind, for,when coming down wind, she would suddenly turn about almost instantly to face the wind. . Landing under such conditions was a thing to be carefullyreckoned with, yet it had to be done. There was a tree at the end of the aerodrome, and this Desoutter did his best toavoid, whilst the 'bus did its hardest to get to it head on. First it would slide to one side and then to the other, finishingup finally by just missing the trunk with its nose and sweeping off both right-hand wings. This is where the most curiouspart of the thing happened. Contact was made with the tree about 30 ft. from the ground, and by some miracle thebroken parts clung to the trunk, the while the machine spiralled down it to the ground, landing both aviatorsunhurt. It then transpired that the trouble came about from a broken rudder post, the rudder flopping over fromside to side as it pleased, thus taking over control from the pilot's hands, or rather feet. To get lost in the clouds over Hendon, and to find himselfover Hammersmith Bridge when he thought he was circling the aerodrome, was another experience, and goes to showhow baffling these fleecy appendages of the atmosphere are to the aerial navigator. As a last example, and perhaps a rather weird one,Desoutter was flying a machine fitted with a long exhaust cover over the engine, somewhat after the fashion of theGerman machines, when, five miles out at sea, he not'ced this arrangement very slowly lifting at the front end. Hecut out to come down, and the cover just as slowly returned to its proper position. On and off he had to do this all theWay back, the cover responding in ratio as the pressure of the gases increased or decreased. Quite Weird and ratherunnerving, seeing that, had it altogether severed its connec- tion, Rene might have been deprived of that cool-brainedhead of his, and England of a good pilot. SIDE-WINDS. SIR JAMES B. MARSHALL, Director of Dockyards andDockyard Work since 1906, has accepted the position of •deputy-chairman of the shipbuilding firm of Messrs. John:Samuel White and Co., of Cowes. THE B. and P. Sports and Recreation Club occupies aprominent place in the activities of the workers in the Boulton and Paul Aircraft Works at Norwich. But they do not-confine its benefits to themselves. Next Saturday, the 21st inst., the club is holding a sports meeting in aid of the BritishRed Cross Society (Norwich Division), when there is to be ;a long programme of athletic events for men and women,in addition to items described as " Old English," such as tugs-of-war," sack race, three-legged race and slow bicyclea-ace. ~ THE* Secretary of the Nieuport and General Aircraft Co.,Xtd., informs us that, in order to prevent misunderstanding and confusion, Langton Road, Cricklewood, London, N.W. 2,is their registered and only address, to which all communica- tions should be sent; that they have no agent whatever inLondon or elsewhere, and that Major S. Heckstall-Smith is the general manager of the business of the Company. How time flies. It must be nearly a decade since theremains of that ancient barge were dug up from under many feet of Thames mud when excavating for the foundationsof the County Hall by the end of Westminster Bridge. Much water has flowed under that same bridge since then, andstill the stately hall rears its walls but a fraction of the pre- determined altitude. Yet in its nakedness, a use has beenfound for it—The Welfare and Economy Exhibition. In the Ministry of Munitions section much may be seen ofshells in the making, from the little one-pounder to the 15-in. giant, 20 to 100 lb. aerial bombs, together with gunsand mortars of various descriptions. In connection with 745
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