FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0480.PDF
been used by Mr. Butler upon very extensive tours, some ofwhich have taken him all round Europe—as far south as Italy, and as far east as Czecho-Slovakia. In addition toits use as a touring machine, " Sylvia," as the machine is christened, has taken part in a great number of races andhas always acquitted itself well. The machine is of typical De Havilland appearance, and is fitted with 275 h.p. Rolls-Royce " Falcon " engine. In the Lympne meeting the D.H.37 will take part in the International Handicap and inthe Private Owners' Handicap, and will be piloted by Major H. Hemming, A.F.C. (Just as we go to press it islearned that this machine has been scratched.) Martinsyde F.6 Generally speaking the Martinsyde F.6 is very similarto the famous Martinsyde F.4, but is fitted with a Wolseley " Viper " engine of 180 h.p. A machine of this type wasused very extensively some years ago by Mr. F. P. Raynham, who took part in several races with it. The machine whichwill be competing at Lympne has been entered and will be piloted by Mr. Leslie Hamilton. As the Martinsyde Companyhas now been taken over by the Aircraft Disposal Company, that firm now holds the manufacturing rights. The Martin-syde F.6 has been entered for the International Handicap and the Private Owners' Handicap. The S.E.5 Another machine designed by the Royal Aircraft Factoryat Farnborough is the S.E.5, which was used in large numbers as a single-seater fighter during the war. As a fighter theS.E.5 was fitted with Wolseley or Hispano engines, but the example competing at Lympne, which is the property ofand will be piloted by Dr. E. D. Whitehead Reid, has been fitted with an 80 h.p. Renault, and even with this low powerit is still a very useful sporting and touring aeroplane. JULY 30, 1925 Dr. Reid has been a frequent visitor to British air racesduring the past few years, and his appearance at Lympne this year will be generally welcomed. The S.E.5 has beenentered for the Private Owners' Handicap. The Sopwith Machines The now defunct Sdpwith Aviation Company was one ofthe pioneer firms of the British aircraft industry, and it is, therefore, gratifying to find that two of its machines willtake part in the Lympne races. Both of these are of post-war design, but are, nevertheless, several years old, as bothwere produced during 1919. The Sopwith " Gnu " is a two-seater tractor biplane, fitted with 110 h.p. le Rhoneengine. It has been produced in several slightly different forms, and in one edition was a small cabin machine. Thetype was first seen in public at Hendon in 1919, on the occasion of the official welcome to the American aviators who hadthen just flown across the Atlantic. At this meeting the machine was flown by the late Mr. Hawker, who took up anumber of passengers in it. The " Gnu " flying at Lympne has been entered, and will be flown by Mr. J. R. King, theraces in which it will take part being the International Handicap and the Private Owners' Handicap. The Sopwith " Scooter " was, if we remember rightly,largely built by the late Mr. H. G. Hawker in his spare time, and may be said to be composed essentially of a Sopwith" Camel " fuselage, upon which has been placed a parasol monoplane wing of a type not now otten seen, i.e., withwire bracing instead of strut bracing. This machine also appeared at the Hendon meeting in 1919 and was used bythe late Mr. Hawker for stunt flying, his half-rolls particu- larly being very impressive. In the hands of that cleverpilot the machine was capable of every trick known to pilots. The Sopwith " Scooter " has been entered for the InternationalHandicap by Mr. Cecil Clayton, and will be piloted by Mr. J. T. C. Phillips. THE LIGHT 'PLANES Lack of space entirely precludes the possibility of giving adetailed description of the light 'planes entered for the Lympne races, nor is a detailed description required, as almostwithout exception all the competing machines were des- cribed in our issue of September 25, 1924, on the occasionof last year's Lympne competitions. In the following notes we give but the briefest reference to each type by way ofassisting our readers in remembering the various machines. A.N.E.C. Monoplane. This is, we believe, the 1923 Lympne single-seater A.N.E.C. monoplane, but with smaller wings. The machine was designed by Mr. \V. S. Shackleton and built by the Air Navi- gation & Engineering Company, of Addlestone. It has been entered by Major J. C. Savage, of sky-writing fame, and will be piloted by Mr. J. H. James, the famous racing pilot. The engine is a British Anzani. Austin "Whippet." This machine was designed for the Olympia Aero Show of1919 by Mr. John Kenworthy, and several specimens of it were built by the aircraft section of the Austin Motor Com-pany. The one taking part in the Lympne races is owned and will be piloted by Flight-Lieut. F. O. Soden, who has beenusing it for several years as a touring machine. Avro '' Avis." The Avro " Avis " was designed for last year's Lympnecompetitions, but on that occasion was prevented by engine trouble from showing what it could really do. It is a single-bav, I-strut biplane with folding wings, and the engine is a Bristol " Cherub." It will be piloted in the races by Mr.Bert Hinkler, the famous Avro test pilot. Beardmore "Wee Bee I." The Beardmore " Wee Bee I " is the machine which won first prize in last year's Lympne competitions. It was the first machine designed by Mr. W. S. Shackleton when he joined Beardmore's as Chief Designer, and is characterised by particularly " clean " lines. It will be piloted at Lympne by Mr. A. N. Kingwill. The engine is a Bristol "Cherub." Bristol '' Brownie." The Bristol " Brownie " light monoplane was.designed by Capt. Frank Barnwell, and is of particular interest on account of its all-metal construction. A similar machine won second prize in last year's Lympne competitions. Again this year the " Brownie " will be piloted by Mr. C. F. Uwiiis, the famousBristol test pilot. Needless to say, the engine is a Bristol " Cherub." Cranwell C.L.A. 3. This is a new machine ; in fact, the only new machine totake part in the August races at Lympne. As it is described in detail elsewhere, we need do no more here than remark thatjust as we go to press news has been received that the machine has been tested at Cranwell, and has behaved very wellindeed. The machine will be piloted by Flight-Lieut. N. Comper. The D.H. "Moths." The D.H. " Moth," two of which will be taking part in the races, is of such recent date that there is little need to give detailed reference to it here. Suffice it to say. that it is the type adopted by the light 'plane clubs, and that it is fitted with a " Cirrus " engine of 65 h.p. One of the " Moths " will be piloted by Capt. H. S. Broad and the other by Mr. Alan J. Cobham. D.H. 53. The D.H. 53, of which also two specimens will be takingpart, was designed for the 1923 Lympne competitions for single-seaters. Although the machine did not succeed inwinning any prizes that year, it proved itself a thoroughly sound little machine and was built in several examples,partly for the Royal Air Force and partly for Australia. The machine has been fitted as standard with the Blackburne" Tomtit " engine, but the two examples flying at Lympne this week will be fitted with Blackburne " Badger " andA.B.C. " Scorpion " engines, respectively. The " Badger "- engined machine will be piloted by Wing-Commander W.Sholto Douglas, M.C., D.F.C., but at the moment it has not been definitely decided who will pilot the other. Hawker "Cygnet." Pursued by constant engine trouble during last year's Lympne competitions, the Hawker " Cygnets " never really got a chance to show what they could do, although Raynham came within an ace of disputing Piercey's claim to first place on the " Wee Bee I," engine trouble preventing him from completing the last lap. The machine entered for the August meeting is fitted with a British Anzani engine, and it is to be hoped that Flight-Lieutenant Bulman will have better luck with his engine this year than did Longton last year. The machine is an extremely neat biplane, and is remarkable for its extraordinarily low structure weight. 480
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
