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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0508.PDF
12 AUGUST 6, 1925 spite of the diminutive wing surface of his machine and wasobviously getting as much out of his machine and engine as they were capable of giving. Comper, on the Cranwellmonoplane, was beginning to get used to his mount, and his turns became successively better, until towards the end, hewas cornering in masterly style, flying his little fast machine around the tent in almost vertical banks. The most unhappypilot in this race appeared to be Phillips on the old Sopwith. " Scooter," who was very uncertain on his turns, as if he wasnot quite familiar with his machine. Apart from the fact that he took his turns wide, the machine did not appear tobe anything like as fast as its handicap would indicate. THE TIMEKEEPERS : Mr. G. Reynolds and Mr. F. T. Bidlake, who •• watched " the races. After a very exciting race Uwins came in first on the Bristol " Brownie," with Cobham on the " Moth " second, and Broad on the other " Moth " third. Cranwell just failed to catch up the two " Moths," and came in fourth. The two De Havilland pilots seemed to have been so busy watching their course and cornering that they lost count of the laps, so that when Cobham did an extra lap, Broad followed suit. The final of the International Handicap was reserved for thefirst three in the two heats, and was flown by Uwins on the " Brownie " ; Bulman on the " Cygnet " ; Cobha.ni audBread on the " Moths " ; Holmes on the " Lucifer " ; and Campbell on the " Bloodhound." With the same handicapsas in the first heat it seemed likely that it would be a very close race between Bulman and Holmes, whilst there wasalso a very good possibility of Uwins securing first place. All six pilots again did some excellent cornering, and Cobhamonce or twice managed to sneak a few yards on Broad by just nipping inside him on the turn. As before the twoDe Havilland pilots flew very low, particularly Cobham, who repeatedly disappeared from view in the dips in the ground,suddenly coming into view as he hopped over trees and hedges. Bulman was again lapping with great regularity, aswas also Uwins, whilst Holmes as before was going very strongly, the " Lucifer " engine never seeming to miss asingle stroke. Campbell on the " Bloodhound " was somewhat handicapped by having to take a relatively large machinearound very sharp corners, and although he did very well he did not seem to be catching up as rapidly as he ought to doin order to get a place. At the finish Bulman came in first on the " Cygnet," with Holmes second, and Uwins third.Cobham failed to appear simultaneously with his team-mate Broad, and as the minutes went by it became obvious thathe must have landed. Broad, who had finished the race and landed, took off again and went off to have a look forCobham. He returned later with the information that Cobham had had a forced landing and turned over, but withoutinjury to himself or his passenger. After the finish of the final of the International Handicap,Courtney came out on the Armstrong Whitworth "Siskin," and commenced to give a display of stunt flying. Suddenlyhis engine was heard to splutter and bang, and the machine disappeared in a vertical dive beyond the trees markingthe edge of the steep slope down to the Romney Marshes. The machine was out of sight for some time and everyonethought that an accident had occurred. It then came in from another direction, and it was realised that a " joke " had beenperpetrated. The Grosvenor Challenge Cup HandicapLike the previous event, the race for the Grosvenor Challenge Cup was over a distance of 100 miles, or eightlaps of the course. No less than 14 machines had been entered, the pilots, machines and handicap allowances beingas follows :— Pilot. Machine and Engine. Hinkler .. Avro " Avis," " Cherub " Uwins .. Bristol " Brownie," " Cherub "Bulman . . Hawker " Cygnet," British Anzani Douglas . . D.H.53, Blackburne " Badger " Haig . . Pixie III, " Cherub " . . Boyes .. D.H.53, " Scorpion ' .. Parker .. Short " Satellite," " Cherub "..Chick . . Farnborough " Hurricane," " Cherub Kingwill .. " Wee Bee," " Cherub " Sempill .. D.H. " Moth," " Cirrus " Cobham .. D.H. " Moth," " Cirrus " James .. A.N.E.C, British Anzani Courtney.. Pixie II, BlackburneComper .. C.L.A.3, " Cherub " Handicap. m.. 19 . 18 . 17. 17 . 15 . 12. 11 7 6 3 3 1 1 s.48 49 1515 09 0214 40 42 0505 4900 Scratch There were only two non-starters in this event, these beingParker on the Short " Satellite," and Cobham, who had crashed in the last lap of the previous; race. The machineswere lined up near the fence on the north side of the aero- drome, and had to make an uphill start into the wind. Hinklerwas delayed for a few seconds by the fact that his wheels had become embedded in the ground, so that the machinerefused to move forward when he opened up his engine. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o *o o o o Mr. Reynolds gets down to it: Starting " Jimmy'' James in the A.N.E.C. is a somewhat difficult business. o o o o o oxo 508
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