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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0233.PDF
LONDON TERMINAL AERODROME Monday Evening, April 17, 1922. PASSENGER traffic has been rather disappointing over the Easter holidays. Quite an influx was expected, but it was not until Saturday that there was any sign of anything out of the ordinary. It is possible that the two recent fatal accidents, both of which gained so much publicity, were to some extent responsible ; though, on the other hand, it is increasingly apparent that a bad crash has little adverse effect on traffic. On Saturday there were 50 passengers in and out of the air-station in spite of the gale which, at times, reached almost hurricane force at 2,000 ft. Daimler Airways have abandoned the idea of running a regular service during April, but are hoping to put on their full four services a day in May. In the meantime, they are running an occasional service to supply the demand for seats, and the new D.H.34, which arrived from Stag Lane last Monday, has made two return trips during the week, being used in the meantime for practice flights for the pilots. The machine which forced-landed and turned over at Berck has been dismantled, packed up, and sent by boat and train to Stag Lane to be rebuilt. The first of the K.L.M. mono planes arrived on Saturday, piloted by Mr. Geysendorfer, and will be ready for the re-opening of the Rotterdam and Amsterdam service on Tuesday, the 18th. Mr. Leverton, whose offices are somewhat out of the way now that there is such a bewildering show of " paint and pomp " along the main-entrance road, has managed to secure six feet of frontage on the aerodrome " Broadway," and has erected a K.L.M. sign and constructed a fenced-in path leading to his office. Handley Page Transport have now moved into their new offices, and these are really the last word in airway sump- tuousness. The long baggage counter, and the ticket counter with its brass rails, give the place a very businesslike air, and there was some excuse for one of the aerodrome's most impecunious inhabitants trying to cash a cheque through the brass rails. The Anti-Collision Conference THIS Handley Page office was used for a meeting of the various air-company managements and pilots on Thursday afternoon to discuss improvements in the organisation of the airways with a view to preventing further accidents, and more especially to plan out routes and rules which would make the chances of air collisions practically nil. Several resolutions were agreed to, the principal being that the pilots should hold meetings amongst themselves to plot out definite routes, all marked by well-known and easily distinguished landmarks, and that once these routes are fixed all " air expresses " must keep to the right of them. It was further resolved that all machines should carry wireless, and it is notable in this connection that the French representatives, whose machines are not fitted with wireless, were as emphatic on this point as were the British. Several further resolutions dealing with the improvement of wireless communication and weather reports, were also passed, and it is understood that these have been forwarded to the Air Ministry for their consideration and, one hopes, " necessary action, please." The pilots have already held tentative meetings ; but from all accounts the business of fixing the routes is not at all easy. Each pilot has his own favourite land-marks on certain parts of the routes, and there appears nothing like agreement as to which are the best, or as to which route offers the most suitable all-weather conditions. In connection with the collision over France on April 7, the staffs at the air-station have sent a wreath for M. Mire, and, when the Daimler D.H.34 arrived from Paris on Friday evening, it had on board a similar tribute from the pilots and staffs at Le Bourget for Mr. Duke. British Daily Service to Brussels THE Instone Air Line hope to open their London—Brussels service on May 1, with one machine in each direction daily. Major Greer, who has been C.A.T.O. at Croydon since its inception, is to be their Brussels manager, and the various staffs at the air-station are to present him with a gold cigarette- case'when he leaves to take up his new duties. Capt. Baker is now to be in charge at Croydon, while Mr. Davies, who has been C.A.T.O. at Lympne, is also coming to Croydon, leaving Comdr. Deacon in sole charge at Lympne. On Friday the first of the Renault-Goliaths arrived from Paris. The Messageries Aeriennes are to augment their fleet by a number of these machines, which are to be fitted with gas-starters. The first arrival, however, is not so fitted, and, in order to swing the propellers, it is necessary to stand on a platform or truck, making the whole proceeding somewhat hazardous. The exhaust pipes are led back over the petrol tanks, but I am assured that this is not in the least dangerous- These engines are a distinct improvement, and the installation of Renaults should make the " Goliath " one of the best of commercial " air expresses." Long-distance Air Parcels THERE have been a surprising number of parcels arriving by the Messageries Aeriennes from Paris, and a number of these were originally consigned by air from Prague, via the Franco-Rumanian air line. It is possible in this way for a parcel dispatched from Prague in the morning of one day to be delivered in London in the afternoon of the day fol lowing, which, considering the state of many of the European train services at present, must mean a considerable saving of time. The competitors in today's air-races have been making practice flights throughout the week. Vice-Admiral Mark Kerr has been flying the Royal Aero Club's B.E.2E., and puts up a very creditable performance. The various Disposal Company's entries have also been given trial runs, and the D.H.o, with the 400 " Liberty " is very much fancied ; that is, if it can be induced to start. The aerodrome has been quite a popular rendezvous during the holidays. On Friday there was a constant stream of people in and out of the public enclosure, and Mr. Muir was taking up quite a number of joy-riders. Making Assurance Doubly Sure AN arrangement which does away with any delay that might be occasioned by unavoidable forced landings has been made by the Messageries Aeriennes, in conjunction with the Com- pagnie Gen&rale Transatlantique. On the Paris-Havre service, in connection with the sailings of liners for New York, it is of vital importance that, no matter what happens, passen gers should not miss their ship ; and, in order to make this practically certain, the steamship company have a fleet of powerful cars at Rouen, which, in case of an aeroplane forced landing, immediately rush to the spot and, picking up the passengers, transport them by road to Havre. Mr. L. H. Harris, who has an air-model studio on the aerodrome, has turned out some very fine models during the winter months. His scale models of the Vickers-Vimy "City of London," and of the winner of the Aerial Derby, the Gloucestershire Mars 1, are particularly fine, and photo graphs of them have been mistaken for air views of the real machines even by those well acquainted with the originals. The Grands Express have again had to postpone their night journey over the London-Paris airway. They wish to make sure that there shall be no failure that can possibly be avoided on this first night flight, and are waiting for a full moon and a clear night to occur simultaneously. M. Rene Labouchere is to pilot the Goliath when the attempt is made, and this in itself is an augury of the flight's success. Mf. Larry Carter, who is now piloting for Handley Page Transport, made his first flights in a D.H.18 during the week, and on Thursday flew this machine to Paris, returning to Croydon on Friday, and making very good time. The semi-final for the Napier football cup was played on Thursday between the C.A.T.O. Customs and Transport and the Meteorological Section, and resulted in a win for the former. None of the air-lines has been able to raise a team this year, and the final will be fought out between two sections of the Air Ministry staff. Capt. Greig, who was with Aircraft Transport & Travel from the early days, and was later with Air Express, Ltd., is now representing Basil S. Foster, Ltd., on the aerodrome. He will have plenty of work in connection with the big new petrol-plant that the Anglo-American Oil Co. are putting down, as they will have no fewer than nine pumps on the aerodrome when this plant is completed. A forced landing Mr. Shaw had in France the other afternoon, while piloting a Handley Page D.H.18, had one extremely amusing aspect. Engine trouble causing him to pick a landing in the first suitable field, he pulled up very quickly after his wheels had touched ground, and, climbing from his cockpit, moved back to reassure his passengers. But, though it had been a connecting-rod in the engine that had broken, and Mr. Shaw had been obliged to do some pretty rapid manoeuvres in order to get down into the field he had chosen from a height of about 1,000 ft., he not only found his passengers quite unmoved, but one of them, who had been taking a nap while in the air, was still sitting fast asleep in his comfortable chair, not having been wakened either by the engine stoppage or by Mr. Shaw's twists and turns as. he came gliding down in a quick descent. 233
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