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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0593.PDF
OCTOBER 12. 1922 Fokker steadying the tail of his glider as it is being lifted out of the hangar. pilot-designer is seen in the seat of his glider. On the right the famous Dutch opposite direction to what had been expected, i.e., from north east instead of from south-west. There was nothing for it but to haul the machine across to the hill opposite. This was accomplished by towing the machine behind a motor-car, the glider sliding alone easily on its steel-shod skids, and Fokker sitting in his seat. By the time the glider had been transported across to the top of the hill opposite the wind had dropped entirely, and Fokker expected some difficulty in getting the machine off without a head wind to help him. A start was made about four o'clock, twelve men hauling lustily on the towing rope. The speed, however, proved insumcent, and the glider refused to come " unstuck." It was then brought back to the top of the hill, and a motoi-car was substituted for the man-power. After getting up to a speed of about 20 m.p.h. the machine rose, the towing rope was cast off, and the glide commenced. The machine flew quite slowly, and did not appear to drop very rapidly, in spite of the fact that there was no wind to help it. A perfect landing was made some 500 yards from the starting point, the machine having remained aloft for approximately 45 seconds. The absence of noise made the flight seem quite remarkable, the only sound being a slight swishing as the machine passed overhead. Among the spectators we noticed Maj.-Genl. Sir Sefton Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation, and Commander Perrin, Secretary of the Royal Aero Club. The Fokker glider is going to the competition at Itford Hill by the end of the week, and will probably be flying again on Monday. FOKKER'S FIRST, FLIGHT IN ENGLAND : The upper photograph shows the first start, which was unsuc cessful. For the next start the machine was towed by a motor-car, and the machine got into the air as shown in the lower picture. 593
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