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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0337.PDF
JUNE 4, 1925 OFF ! The Albatros L.69 with Siemens engine gets away covered a number of tent hangars intended to house such of the Rundflug machines as cannot be accommodated in the permanent hangars on the near side of the aerodrome. No machines are to be seen outside the tents, but we promise ourselves a walk across to investigate as soon as the main sheds have been inspected. Before turning our* attention to the competition machines, a few impressions oi the Tempelhofer Feid itself may be of interest. The aerodrome is, as already stated, extraordinarily conveniently situated, and is of large area. No actual dimensions are available, but as near as one can judge, the Berlin terminal aerodrome is somewhere between four and five times as large as Croydon, and although there is a slight ridge running along the aerodrome this is of such gentle curvature that it can scarcely make any appreciable difference to the alighting of machines. The surface is very smooth, but seems to consist of sand, covered sparsely with grass and weeds. The sandy nature of the ground is probably the only real objection to the Tempelhofer Feld, but is in a way a somewhat serious one, not only from the point of view of the public, who have, as we quickly discovered for ourselves, to put up with clouds of dust, but much more so for the engines and machines. It may be that when we saw the aerodrome it was unusually dry, a long period of very hot weather having preceded our arrival, but it seems likely that during a large proportion of the year the dust must be the source of considerable trouble with engines, as it can hardly be avoided that considerable quantities are sucked into the induction pipes and thence into the engines, where it probably forms an excellent abrasive compound when mixed with oil and petrol vapour. It is fortunate that the prevailing winds blow towards the sheds so that there is seldom much taxying to be done in taking off, otherwise the dust trouble would be considerably aggravated. As it is, machines arriving often seem to have to taxy up to the sheds in clouds of dust. On our arrival a number of Junkers monoplanes of the " Annelise " type were drawn up in front of the sheds, and every time an engine was started the whole batch of machines was smothered with fine sand. The Aero Lloyd companyappears to use mainly Junkers machines, but several Fokker F. Ill's, with Siddeley " Puma " engines, were also observed,as well as one or two Dorniers of the " Komet " type, with Rolls-Royce engines. In the sheds were also some of themachines used on the Berlin-Copenhagen-Malmo air route, and carrying the Swedish registration letter S, followed byfour other letters. One machine carried the identification S-A.T.A.A., so that it would seem likely that in time, whenSweden has obtained more machines, one may expect to see one with the letters S.A.T.A.N. painted large on itsfuselage. To whatever type of machine falls this identifica- tion, it should prove " hot stuff." Judging from the number of machines departing and arriv-ing, the Aero Lloyd is very busy, as might be expected from the fact that Berlin is a centre from which air linesradiate in many directions. The intervals between machines were very short, and a very large number must arrive anddepart in the course of a day. The traffic appeared to be mostly passengers (a fact accounted for by the reason thatthe fare is approximately the same as first-class on the railways), but several machines were also observed beingloaded with newspapers, and evidently Germany is alive to the importance of getting her newspapers distributed todistant towns in the quickest possible time. The fact that Aero Lloyd machines were constantly going out for, or comingdown from test flights did not, of course, minimise the impression of intense traffic, but even after making everyallowance for these local flights there is no doubt that Germany is " taking to the air." One receives the impression that theGerman public regards it as a patriotic duty to take an interest in flying, and without a doubt Germany is well situated for thedevelopment of internal air routes, as well as for international lines when the time comes. While on the subject of the Berlin terminal aerodrome, itmight be mentioned that in one respect at any rate, the London terminal aerodrome appears to possess an advantage,i.e., in the matter of petrol supplies. In place of the under- AWAY ON THE FIRST CIRCUIT : The Caspar " Kobes " starts 337
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