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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0310.PDF
JUNE I, 1922 HWmwr purge eetig " Flight" Copyright LE BOURGET : General view of machines, buildings, etc. COMPARED with our own Aerial Pageant, the meeting at le Bourget was somewhat tame, but, in view of the fact that the meeting was an affair lasting four days, and was got up by the " Vieilles Tiges " to raise funds for their Society (consisting of pilots who obtained their " ticket " before the War), the competitions and exhibitions were quite creditable, and the attendance was fair, especially on the last day, Sunday, May 28, when large crowds visited le Bourget, not only from Paris but from other districts as well. T6 sustain the interest for four whole days was not, obviously, an easy undertaking, and one can therefore easily forgive certain shortcomings in the organisation. On the whole, however, the meeting must probably be classed as a success, and one hopes that the funds of the " Old Stalks " have received a very substantial and welcome addition. The Daily Events The programme which had been arranged included certain daily events run off in series, and a number of competitions for special prizes and cups. In case of any gaps between events it had been arranged that pilots should ascend and give exhibitions of stunt flying, while parachute descents were also to be the order of the day. Dealing with the daily and recurring events in the order in which they were described in the official rules of the meeting, the first was formation flying by " Old Stalks." For this machines were to be started in batches of five in a line, the next five to be started 30 seconds later, and so on. The duration of each flight was to be about 15 minutes, and landings were to be made individually. So far as we were able to ascertain this event did not materialise, but the manner of indicating the start of any event was so vague that we admit we may have missed it. Machines were constantly starting off or coming in, but as to the nature of the particular " con- cours " in which they were engaged, this was mainly a matter for conjecture. Scoring boards there were none, although megaphone men did certainly shout something unintelligible at the spectators. The next civilian event was for quick get-away. The machines were lined up 250 metres behind the starting line, and at the drop of a flag they were to get away, and, crossing the starting line in flight, the winner was to be the pilot who first crossed the starting line and completed a circuit of the aerodrome. Number three on the programme was a get-off competition, in which the machines were placed at any desired distance behind a line marked by two posts with a rope secured at three metres above the ground. This line had to be cleared, and the winner was to be the pilot who managed to clear the line after the shortest run. A daily event which certainly might be of practical value was one representing a'forced landing in a clearing in a forest. The " forest " was represented by a square of 100 metres side, marked by four posts, joined by a rope secured at a height of four metres. Competitors had to clear the rope and alight inside the square without damaging their machines. The winner to be the pilot who " planted " his machine nearest to the point of intersection of the diagonals of the square. The rules for the figure-of-eight test required pilots to do this figure in the shortest possible time, two posts marking the space over which the tests were to be made. All the foregoing competitions were for civilian aviators. A series of competitions were also arranged for military machines. These included altitude, or rather climbing, competitions, single-seaters having to reach 5,000 metres and two-seaters 4,000 metres in the shortest time, carrying specified loads. In landing competitions the machines had to be landed inside a square of 100 metres side, carrying the same loads as in the climbing tests. The Coupe Bathiat M. Leon Bathiat, President of the " Vieilles Tiges " Association, has presented a challenge cup, competition for which is confined to French military aviators. This year's contest was over the route Paris, Angers, Paris, and com petitors had to land at Angers, and have their log book The race for the Coupe Lamblin was over the circuit Paris, Brussels, London, Paris. Our photographs show : On the left, Rex Stocken starting on the D.H.4C of the Aircraft Disposal Company, and, on the right, Jean Casale on a Spad-Herbemont. Note his engine being started by the aid of the Odier starter. 310
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