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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0526.PDF
AUGUST 4, 1921 LONDON TERMINAL AERODROME Monday Evening, Aug. T. FRIDAY'S bad weather, interrupting traffic, prevented the record being broken again this week. As it was, 462 passengers passed through the Customs' house during the week. On Saturday there were 125 passengers—making a record day— and Thursday contributed 95 to the week's total. None of the French or Belgian machines flew on Friday, owing to the weather in the Channel, and only one of the K.L.M. services was run, Mr. Holmes taking the monoplane from London to Amsterdam. All the British machines, however, completed their journeys, carrying a total of 38 passengers. Today (Monday) the passenger figures, though high, are not so good as on Saturday. For one thing the " Goliath " was unable to leave Croydon, owing to engine trouble, and, though the Instone Line had 54 passengers booked, some of them difi not arrive to claim their seats. '\'; Getting more Work out of Machines THE Instone people are now running their aeroplanes in a way which approximates to commercial efficiency, and are in fact getting plenty out of them. Today, for example, the two D.H. 18's and the " Vimy " are scheduled to do the journey to Paris and back. On Saturday the "Vimy," one D.H. 18, and the B.A.T. all flew to Paris in the morning, anS duly returned during the evening. Instone's have, by the way, again beaten their own record by carrying as many as 152 passengers during the week. The Grands Express followed close behind with 130. There were scenes of great activity on Saturday. Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. no fewer than eight machines left the air-station. The Messageries Aenennes sent three away, two with passengets and one with a full load of goods. There were, in addition, the usual monoplane for Amsterdam, three Instone machines with 22 passengers, and a " Goliath." Throughout the entire day there was something happening, as many as 27 machines entering or leaving the air-Station -—and this apart, of course, from the joy-riding machines. Comforts for Passengers A LARGE stretch of tarmac has now been added to the space for the parking of passenger-car?, and is relieving con- gestion very considerably. Further additions are, it is stated, to be made to the tarmac on the aerodrome, and it is certainly to be hoped that, before the winter, it will be extended so that passengers can enter and leave machines without wading—as they have so often been obliged to do previously—through wet grass. The large number of women passengers now travelling by air, and who persist in wearing flimsy shoes, makes this im- provement a very real necessity. Several interesting " air-taxi "journeys have been accom- plished during the week. Mr. Herne, with his Renault- Avro, was engaged to take a lady to Belgium in order that she might reach quickly the bedside of a sick son. On returning, and when calling in at Ostend for petrol, Mr. Herne was lucky enough to pick up two passengers for London." Business Man's Air Trips CAPTAIN MUIR has been flying backwards and forwards to Wales. It appears that a business man, Mr. Gogo, who has offices in Antwerp, London, and Cardiff, has engaged Captain Muir to fly him between London and Cardiff, and on to various parts of Wales. They have done this journey three times during the past week, and today (Monday) Captain Muir has flown down to . Cardiff to fetch Mr. Gogo to London. He will take hirr. .across to Antwerp tomorrow. Mr. Cobham, of the De Havilland Aircraft Company, .received a message—presumably by wireless—from a passenger on an incoming liner who wished for an aeroplane to meet :-him at Liverpool. Though the message was not received at the De Havilland Works at Stag Lane, Edgware, until i p.m., the aeroplane was duly waiting at Liverpool when the liner arrived during the afternoon, and the journey from Liverpool to London waj accomplished in an hour and a half, the passenger having ample time to keep a previously- arranged appointment in town which he was in danger of missing owing to the lateness of the boat. Mr. Cobham also flew to Paris on Saturday with three passengers whom the Instone Air Line had booked, but were unable to accommodate owing to the holiday " ruph." Another Grass Fire THE Meteor and Wireless section cricket team are beginning to suspect that there is a. conspiracy to interrupt their games by suddenly-started aerodrome fires. The previous fire occurred while they were engaged in a match, and on Thursday, while they were playing Handley Page Transport, proceedings were again interrupted by fire. The motor grass cutter, which was working near, had, it transpired, back-fired and set the grass alight. This time the fire was too much for the aerodrome staff to cope with, and the fire brigade was telephoned for. Two brigades arrived, one from Carshalton, and the other from Croydon. The particular fire in question was duly got in hand ; but not, however, before the airship mast and the temporary hangars had been in peril. : The Handley Page Service HANDLEY PAGE Transport are still confining their activities to one machine in each direction daily between London and ' Paris. This does not seem to be working the machines to their full capacity. The management, however, evidently do not think it worth while to risk the regularity of the service by trying to get more out of the machines in an endeavour to carry some of the numerous passengers to Whom, at present, they have to refuse accommodation. On Friday evening the staff of Handley Page Transport, together with a few aerodrome officials, were invited by the General Manager to the Duke of York's Theatre. During the interval the theatre bar became strongly reminiscent - of the Trust House at the air-station. Traffic to Amsterdam CAPTAIN LEVERTON is very pleased with the way passenger bookings to Amsterdam are increasing. There is now a steady stream of travellers, whereas during the first few months bookings were spasmodic. The spare monoplane that is now kept at Croydon enabled Captain Leverton to maintain his service to Amsterdam unbroken, althoiigh no machine came from Amsterdam on Friday owing to the weather. I understand that, if traffic becomes much greater, the heavy seats and luxury fittings of these Fokker monoplanes will be replaced by something lighter but Equally comfortable. At present the useful load of the machine is on the small side, ^nd although it gets off the Schiphol aerodrome com-.. fortably with five passengers, four is its limit at Cioydon. New Air Transport Companies UNDER the terms of the new subsidy I now hear of two new companies who intend running British services over routes on which foreign concerns have at present a monopoly. One of the newcomers intends operating between London and Amsterdam, and is calculating on 14 passengers a day, seven in each direction. This should not be difficult to attain next year, taking into consideration the way traffic has grown since frying was resumed on this route in April. At the same time, there is no comparison between the volume of traffic on the Holland airway and on that between London and Paris. On the latter it is, of course, infinitely greater. Another new company intends operating between London and Brussels. There should be great scope for an enter- prising British air-line in this direction. The present service is unsatisfactory, and complaints are received from booking agents who cannot deal with the enquiries they now receive for passages by air to Brussels. Bottle thrown from the Air - ~ ~ AN aerial voyager, while nearing Croydon the other day in one of the " air expresses " from Brussels, suddenly threw out an empty bottle, narrowly missing some people on a road below. The Civil Aviation Traffic Office has now issued instruc- tions that notices are to be displayed in all machines calling attention to the danger and illegality of such a proceeding. It is interesting to note that before the instruction was circulated the K.L.M. had, on their own initiative, printed and fixed notices to this effect in all their machines. The airship mooring-mast is still out of action, and the next visit—if any—of the " R. 33 " must depend, I suppose, on the official " fate " of the airships. Three cricket matches have been played during the week, two inter-section championship matches, and one against South Beddington. The results were :— London Terminal Aero- South Beddington .. 55 drome .. .. 73 C.A.T.O. .. ..44 Instone Air Line 45 for 3 wickets Handley Page Transport 53 Meteor and Wireless 15 In the last-mentioned match Tutt took 5 wickets for 4 runs, and Miller 2 for 9 runs. Today an all-day match is being played against the Lands Directorate branch of the Air Ministry. 526
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