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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0608.PDF
SEPTEMBER 8, 1921 THE INTERNATIONAL MICHELIN CUP Gained by Poiree on a Caudron •• As briefly announced in our issue of last week, Poiree on a Caudron biplane has succeeded in putting up a good per- formance for the Coupe Michelin. It is scarcely correct to say that he has won it, as there is still time for some otherS"?J to,.im-T>ro + ve on Pole's performance The rules stipulate that the circuit ofbe rov^T stipulate that the circuit of France shall oe covered in 15 stages, with compulsory landings at eachof the following aerodromes : Versailles (any one of the various aerodromes situated in the Versailles district), Amiens,Mourmelon-le-Grand, Saint-Dizier, Dijon, Joigny, Beaune, Bron (Lyon), Mmes, Pan, Meris;nac (Bordeaux), Romorantin,Angers, Evrenx, St.-Inglevert (Calais), Versailles. Com- petitors are allowed to start from either one of these aero-dromes, and apparently the only stipulation is that a " com- mercial " speed of at "least 75 "kilometers per hour shall be.,..., maintained. Intermediate landings are permitted. The ' ""' full rules of the competition appeared in FLIGHT on Feb-,; y ruary 17. .:•.;;'• The last holder of the Cup was Eugene Gilbert, who covered the circuit of France (3,000 kilometers) in 3c) hrs. 35 mins. 42 sees, in 1914 (June 8-9) on a Morane-Saulnier monoplane, 80 h.p. le Rhone engine. The turning-points of that circuit were somewhat different, although the total distance remains -, the same. The War prevented the competition for the next ... few years, and post-War conditions have been responsible - - for the non-holding of it until this year. Bossoutrot's Attempt j :• The first man to make the attempt was Bossoutrot, the ;;••.;. famous Farman pilot. His machine was a " Farman»Sport," S,- a small biplane with 45 h.p. Anzani engine. (What happy -:_;. memories the sight of " 45 Anzani " conjures up !) Starting from the Lyon aerodrome at Bron shortly before 5.30 a.m. -'•'••:• on Friday, August 19, Bossontrot landed at Nimes about :i . 8 a.m. and, after filling up, proceeded to Pau, where he arrived :•:-""• a* I2.25, leaving again some ten minutes later. Scarcely had ': ; he Rot away, however, before he had to make a forced landing, •-••• during which he damaged his undercarriage. The reason for the forced landing is given as engine trouble caused by ; . *?.e P°or Puality of the petrol with which he was supplied at Nimes. Bossoutrot had to abandon the attempt. Bajac's Two Attempts The second competitor to make an attempt was Bajac, who was flying a Spad-Herbemont, 80 h.p. Rhone engine. He started from Buc (one of the aerodromes in the Versailles - . „ district) at 5.51 on August 28, and proceeded towards Amiens,; -" his first landing-point. He was heard circling about, but owing to fog he was unable to locate the aerodrome, and '-•;,,-' finally, after circling round several times, had to return to y.i.. Buc, where he landed about 8 o'clock. '- The next day he made a fresh start at 5 hrs. 28 mins. 52 y...-: sees. He arrived safely at Amiens and proceeded towards Mourmelon, where he alighted at 7.40. Leaving again five ,.. •- minutes later, he made his prescribed landings at Saint-Dizier • and Dijon, arriving at Joigny 10.05. After "signing the book " he left again at 10.15 for Beaune, where he landed . according to the rules, proceeding towards Bron, where he landed about 2 o'clock. After filling up he got away from ' Bron at 2.50, and landed at Nimes at 4.36. Getting away . again at 4.48, he headed for Pau, where he landed just before •:•.- dark. Getting away early the next morning, he proceeded towards Merignac (Bordeaux), but engine trouble forced him to land at Tarbes, and he gave up the attempt. Poiree Succeeds The third attempt was made by Poiree on a type6o Caudron biplane, 130 h.p. Clerget engine. This machine, a fuselage biplane, is similar in a general way to that used by Poiree in the A Fire-Resisting Dope Test AT the invitation of Messrs. Imber Anti-Fire Tanks, Ltd.,of Tottenham, we were present at a test, which was carried out at Hendon aerodrome last Saturday, of a somewhatunusual and daring character. The purpose of the test was to demonstrate the fire-resisting properties of a new dopeby setting fire to some petrol, previously applied, on the wings of an Avro, whilst the machine was in full"ight. Unfortunately, however, th<; method employed in carrying out this test, though ingenious in theory, was unsatisfactory in practice, the rush of air caused by the machine's rapid flight preventing the flames from spreading further than one Monaco speed contest. Leaving Villacoublaj (one of theVersailles " aerodromes) at 4 hrs. 49 mins. 12 sees, on the morning of August 29, he touched at Amiens and landedat Mourmelon at 7.10. After filling up he left at 7.50, Saint- Dizier and Dijon were passed, and at 10.05 he landed at.nm ~'.;. *""V- "« ' """• » ^"«»"«»^_ •*"*-• *"»£ vizier a uijo , t t competition stipulat Joigny, at the same time as Bajac. Leaving again at 10.15, both pilots proceeded together, but the superior speed of the Caudron with its 130 h.p. engine soon left Bajac behind, and a landing was made at 1 o'clock at Bron. Here a stop of one hour was made for lunch and replenishments, and at 2 Poiree got away for Nimes, where he landed at 3.58. Getting away again at 4.22, he headed for Pau, which was reached at 8.0. After spending the night at Pau, Poiree left at dawn on August 30 and arrived at Merignac (Bordeaux) at 708, leaving again at 7.12. Romorantin was reached at 11.05 2 5- Iria(leverJt~ •"•"--v. Nimes and left again at 11.10. By midday Angers was reached, and getting away from there at 12.45, Poiree landed at Evreux at 2.30. Leaving at 2.35, he landed at St. Inglevert (five miles S.S.E. of Calais) at 4.25 and got away again at 4.30. arriving at the home aerodrome at Villacoublay at 6 hrs. 03 mins. 02 sees., having completed the 1.860 miles in 37 hrs. 14 mins. 40 sees., or at an average speed of just under 50 m.p.h. This figure includes, of course, the time spent at aerodromes and the stop overnight at Pau. In other words, it is elapsed time and not flying time. Thus for the time being, at any rate, Poiree is the holder of the Cup. It is, however, more than likely that other competitors will make the attempt before the end of the year and, by a better performance, become temporary holders of the Cup. or two tins containing petrol-soaked cotton wool mountedalong the leading edge. We understand some other arrangement is being thought out and further trials will be made shortly, when we hope to be able to make a full report on the results obtained. Nevertheless, the experiment showed that where the fabric had come into contact with the flame, only small holes were scorched into the planes, th-> dope having apparently suc- ceeded in resisting any smouldering or spr*>ad of flame. It also showed that the pilot of the Avro,vMr. Phillips, had a most remarkable store of pluck and confidence—he appeared to be most disappointed at not being able to complete a couple of circuits enveloped in a mass of flame ! '. 608
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