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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0288.PDF
MAY 14, 1925 Glider and Light 'Plane at Rossitten : The upper monoplane is the "Dessauer," piloted by Fuchs, during a duration flight of eight hours. Below it is seen the Espenlaub light monoplane. THE Light Aeroplane Holiday Handicap, which is open to both single-sea.ters and two-seaters, provided the engine weight does not exceed 170 lb., is to be an international affair, but as such Dutch and Belgian machines as exist have prob- ably by now been entered for Vauville, it seems rather doubt- ful whether we shall have the pleasure of seeing any foreign competitors in this event. There is, we believe, a possi- bility that one of the Pander monoplanes may take part, as its Anzani engine comes within the weight limit stipulated. We are sure all would welcome the participation of at least one of these machines, which, selling at a price of £450, and having an excellent performance, are a most attractive proposition. Apart from the Pander, however, we are not very optimistic as regards seeing foreign machines taking part, and as the engine weight will preclude the " Moths," this competition will probably be in the main for last year's two-seaters, with possibly one or two of the 1923 single-seater light 'planes. * * * So far reference has been made to handicap races only. Three scratch speed races, at least, will be flown, two of which will be international, while the third will be an inter-club race for de Havilland " Moths " owned by the various light 'plane clubs. In the single-seater light 'plane scratch speed race the engine weight will be limited to 120 lb., while in the two-seater race the engine may weigh up to 170 lb. We are not quite certain what is the weight of the " Y "-type Anzani fitted on the Pander light monoplane, but it seems probable that it is within the limits fixed, in which case the Pander might be seen competing with Parnall " Pixies," de Havilland 53's, ANEC I's, etc. The race being a scratch one, is, of course, for speed only, and perhaps the R.A.E. Aero Club's " Hurricane," which Bulman handled so masterly last year in the Grosvenor Cup Race, might also be counted upon to take part. * * * IN the similar event for two-seaters, the " Moth " will be ruled out on account of engine weight, but the two-seaters of last year should be represented in force, the " Pixie " as a monoplane being quite fast, as also the Beardmore " Wee Bee," the Sopwith-Hawker " Cygnets " the " ANEC 11 " and the Westland " Wood Pigeon." It is also to be hoped that some of the machines which did not get a chance of doing much at Lympne last year will be present, if not in the speed races, at any rate, in the handicaps. Cases in point are the Blackburn " Bluebird," the Short " Satellite," the Avro " Avis,-" and the supermarine " Sparrow." All of these machines should be capable of giving quite a good account of themselves, and would be very well worth entering. The prizes offered are not, of course, on the same scale as la?t year's Air Ministry Competitions, but, on the other hand, these machines are already in existence, and it would cost but very little to get them into trim for racing. THE inter-club race for de Havilland " Moths " should mark the beginning of a new kind of air racing, a sort of one-design class racing in which victory or defeat will depend upon the amount of power that can be coaxed out of the engine and the manner in which the pilot takes his corners. This type of racing deserves to become very popular and should do much to stimulate interest in the light 'plane clubs, each club being naturally frightfully keen on winning. We trust that in years to come inter-club racing will become a regular feature of our season's flying programme. AT the moment it is not quite clear whether the certified performances competition planned may be flown in connection with the other races as regards greatest speed over 3 kms. and over 50 kms., but in any case this could only apply to the speed performances, and separate events would have to be arranged for greatest height in 30 minutes and greatest altitude reached. In these performance tests, incidentally, the engine weight is limited to the new figure of 170 lbs., which has been decided upon for the 1926 Air Ministry competitions. No distinction is made between single-seaters and two-seaters, the same engine weight being permitted for the two types, A two-seater glider at Rossitten : The Academic Flying Group, Darmstadt's "Margarete," inflight over the Kurischen-Haff. Note the kind of country over which the machines fly. 288
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