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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0517.PDF
AUGUST 13, 1925 "CAMP MANEYROL " : On the left may be seen the permanent hangar, dedicated to the late JeanHemmerdinger. In this the offices of the A.F.A. are situated, as well as the meteorological service, telephone service, etc. On the right the tent hangars, which are of excellent design, with steel tube framework. Themachine on the right is a Caudron school biplane used for giving exhibition flights, "joy-rides," etc. THE two weeks' meeting for light 'planes and gliders Under-Secretary of State for Air, the site was permanently organised by VAssociation Francaise Aerienne has now con- acquired for use in actual full scale experiments, and a per- cluded, and if the light 'plane section of the meeting has not •"• ' ' ,„..*' resulted in the production of machines of outstanding merit, it has, at any rate, produced quite a number of machines with really good flying qualities, the reliability of which has been thoroughly tested by the stipulation that machines must cover the 70 kilometre course once daily throughout the meeting. As regards the gliders, several very excellent performances have been put up, and at least two world's records " have been estab- lished, namely, for duration and altitude. Whether any useful purpose is served by a glider remaining in the air for a whole day does not greatly affect the argument. Before placing before our readers a record of the more outstanding performances, it may not be without interest to give a brief reference to the Vauville station, which has now been established as a permanent centre, and to the conditions governing the experiments in this year's meeting. At the outset it should be pointed out that the Vauville meeting was not, nor was it intended to be, in any sense a race, although con- siderable prizes were offered for certain specified perform- ances. This is indicated by the official title of the meet- ing : " Meeting Experimental de Vauville." The actual site used at Vau- ville is a small plateau behind the bay of Vauville, and is situated between the villages of Vauville to the north and Biville to the south. The coast M. Carlier, President of the French Aerial Association, who was in charge of the organisa- i- , ,, . • ._ r oc-n- tion at Vauville. line at this point faces SSW., and there are fairly steep slopes from the plateau on which is;situated the aerodrome down to the sand dunes which separate the foot of the hills from the actual beach. The site was chosen as a result of the flights made there by the late M. Maneyrol, and later by such well- known glider pilots as Thoret, Simonet, Descamps, and Barbot. With the support of M. Laurent-Eynac, the French manent camp has now been established. This year a per- manent hangar, which it is hoped is only the first of several, has been completed, and bears the name of the late M. Jean Hemmerdinger. The camp itself is known as Camp Maneyrol, in memory of the famous French pilot who established a world's glider record at Itford in 1922, and who lost his life by the collapse of his machine in the air at Lympne in 1923. When the A.F.A. took over Camp Maneyrol the surface was entirely covered with gorse and heather, and a great deal of work must have been put in before the surface became at all suitable for service as an aero- drome. Even now it is none too good, and machines require either very skilful piloting or very substantial undercarriages to avoid crashes. For use by gliders the site appears to be extremely suitable, as the prevailing winds are, we understand, from south-west, in other words, blow towards the steep slopes, and thus give rise to ascending currents. With this wind direction, how- ever, the aerodrome is less suit- able for power-driven machines, since there are hedges, trees and other obstacles behind the camp, while the aerodrome itself slopes towards the sea, very gradually at first and then steeper and steeper, until it terminates in slopes of roughly one in one. Machines with a good sliding angle are particu- larly difficult to land on the aerodrome, especially if there is little or no wind, since the approach from the landward side has to be made at a fair height and the slope of the aerodrome is such as almost to correspond with the gliding angle of an efficient aeroplane. With easterly winds, however, when gliding is not possible, the aerodrome is much more suitable for power-driven machines, which can then come in from the seaward side and land into the wind, and slightly uphill. Behind the sand dunes, between the coast and the base of the slopes, there is 517 •:•••.:*-•
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