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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0238.PDF
and motor-cycles which accompanied them, and to im- provise rafts from old petrol-cans, etc., to enable them to cross the rivers. A somewhat unusual difficulty experienced in the grass country was the fact that large quantities of grass seeds were forced through the radiators of the motors. Some- times after one day's run the undershields were found to be covered with seeds to a depth of 3 ins. or 4 ins. The tsetse fly was a constant source of trouble, and it was found almost impossible to indicate the actual location and depth of the various fly belts. It is possible that the traffic of the war transport has spread this pest considerably, and that areas previously immune are now infested. In addition to the Glossina Morsitans (the ordinary tsetse fly), the Glossina Trypanosoniasis (the carrier of the deadly sleeping sickness) was also prevalent in some of the districts in which this party was operating. In the fever districts progress was not infrequently seriously handicapped by sickness, and, though fortunately there were no deaths among the British personnel, a number of native labourers died from fever while working on the aerodromes. The white officers were often isolated for long periods, and one lived alone without relief for five months at an aero- drome where fever was particularly prevalent. It should be realised that in much of the country traversed the tall grass renders it impossible for a man on the ground to see more than a few feet. In such cases the procedure adopted when the site for an aerodrome had been tentatively selected was as follows :— Four boundaries, usually 800 yards long, were first cut, and then two diagonal traverses were made from corner to corner, from which the grass and all obstacles except large trees were removed. This gave the approximate configura- tion of the whole area with the least labour, so that if the ground was by this method found to be unsuitable the site could be abandoned before much labour had been expended. FEBRUARY 26, 1920 For clearance the " task " per man was a " skonkewan' (a piece of ground 10 yards square). This was marked out over night, and the native's job was first to root up the grass and stack it in heaps, and then, when the trees had been felled, to extract the stumps to the depth required. The men were usually divided into gangs of 35 each in charge of a " Kapi- tave " (overseer), two gangs working a line of 600 yards. On the larger-sized aerodromes there were usually about 60 " skonkewans " to each line, a reserve of 16 men being left to clear up the grass heaps and any remaining stumps, or to assist with any particularly bad patches. The execution of the arrangements for the Cairo to Cape flight were only made possible by the valuable co-operation of the local authorities, who in some cases gave the sites for aerodromes free of charge, and in others provided the land at nominal rentals, and by the voluntary aid given by the people throughout the country. These included ex-R.A.F. officers, local officials, private individuals and others, who assisted with their local knowledge, and in many cases gave help in the necessary work. The assistance given by Khama, Chief of the Bo'mangwapo group of the Bechuanas, was particularly valuable. In addition to converting his own racecourse at Sorowe into an aerodrome, he gave the land necessary at Palapyo, and when heavy rain, fever and labour difficulties were handicapping the survey party he specially- mobilised some of his regiments to co-operate. Intense interest in the project was everywhere manifested by all classes of the population. A B.E. 2E machine flown over part of the route attracted great attention. Natives trekked in from very great distances to see it, while Louiniki, King of the Barrotso, travelled with all his headmen as far as Livingstone to witness its flights. On the whole, con- siderable political importance can be attached to the moral effect produced by the appearance of the aeroplane in this part of Africa. THE FLIGHT TO THE CAPE THERE are at the time of writing (Wednesday) three machines actually flying on the Cairo to the Cape route, the Handley Page, piloted by Maj. Brackley, having started on Febru- ary 23. The progress of the other machines has been as follows:— " The Times " Aeroplane Instead of the three days anticipated, five davs were actually spent at Mongalla, overhauling the machine and engines ; an attempt to start being made at 6 a.m. on February 20. Some difficulty was experienced in rising, as the magneto cutout on the starboard engine, and the Vickers-Vimy was accordingly landed again, with some difficulty. The de- lective part having been replaced, a fresh start was made at 9.40 a.m., and the machine was reported at Rejaf at 10 a.m. A landing was necessary at Nimule (in Northern Uganda) owing to the engine heating, and on the rough ground the tyres were punctured and the tail-skid injured. After repaisr (including patching a leaky cylinder) had been carried out, an attempt to restart was made, but a valve on the port engine was burnt, and so the crew had to camp out. Repairs were completed by noon the next day, but owing to the great heat the machine would not rise to a safe height, and although the lions created a disturbance it was decided to camp out again. At dawn on the 22nd a good but slow journey was made to Jinja. Magneto trouble entailed so much delay on February 23 that it was im- possible to start on account of the heat, but they left Jinja at 6.30 a.m. on February 24, and reached Kisumu, in BritishEast Africa, at 9 a.m. Dr. Chalmers Mitchell reported that all the crew were well and in good spirits. The " Silver Queen II" Having installed the undamaged engines, radiators and instruments of the South African Government's " Silver Queen " in a new Vickers-Vimy, Col. van Ryneveld left Heliopolis at 6.45 a.m. on February 22. He was reported at Assuan at 1.40 p.m., and reached Wady Haifa at 3.50 p.m., having to come down then owing to a strong head wind. He left at 1 p.m. on February 23, and reached Khartoum at 6.55 p.m. Then it was necessary to repair leaking water- jackets on the port engine. The Handley PageThis machine reached Heliopolis at 1.15 on February 20, having flown from Athens to Sollum, the previous day infive hours. It had been delayed at Brindisi until February 18 after the unfortunate accident in which a mechanic wasdecapitated by a propeller. A new propeller had to be sent from England and another mechanic has joined the crew.The machine left Cairo at 9.20 a.m. on February 23, and reached Assiut; the next morning it went on and landedat Assuan at 1.45 p.m. The Airco This machine has now progressed another stage, havingbeen reported at Rome on the evening of February 21. Hounslow Aerial Lighthouse THE Air Ministry Notice to Airmen (No. 18) :—" An aerial lighthouse is again operating at Hounslow. The lighthouse throws a revolving beam which attains itsmaximum brilliancy once every five seconds and is working every night from sunset to sunrise. " A second lighthouse which was in operation and whichgave three flashes every ten seconds has been removed from the aerodrome. " This notice cancels Notices to Airmen Nos. I, 3 and n. Meteorological Office and the Air Ministry Ax the monthly meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society on February 18, after Capt. C. J. P. Cave had read a paper on " The Status of a Meteorological Office and Its Relation to the State and to the Public," the society adopted the following resolution :— The Royal Meteorological Society observe that in the Air Estimates for 1919-20 published last December there appears a sum of £12,000 as a supplement to the grant in aid of the Meteorological Office. It would appear from this that it is intended that the finances of the Meteorological Office shall pass under the control of the Air Ministry. The Meteorological Office deals with a variety of problems of high scientific and practical importance, some of which have no bearing on the work of the Air Ministry, but are closely connected with the work of other Government De- partments. While recognising to the full the great benefits to the meteorology of the upper air likely to accrue from a close association with the service to which a knowledge of the upper air is so essential, and which possesses such facilities for its investigation, this society cannot but feel misgiving that there may be a tendency for other branches of meteorology to receive less than their due attention if one Government Department has the sole control of the finances and management. The Society, therefore, are of opinion that the Meteorological Committee should continue to have full control of the expenditure. It has been the practice in the past, before any change was made in the body administering the Meteorological Office, for an enquiry to be held by a Departmental Committee.
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