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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0733.PDF
OCTOBER 7, 1926 ENGLAND-AIM ENGLAND COBHAM'S MESSAGE TO "FLIGHT" READERS " Now that the flight is over, my sincere wish is that the great public interest in aviation that we have been so fortunate'increating, at the termination of our flight, will remain permanent in the minds of the people, for then we shall know that a big step has been taken in the progress of aviation, and that the troubles and trials of our flight were well worth while. When we departed on June 30 we were out to fly to Australia as quickly as possible, but at the same time we hadno definite schedule to work to. and we were not out to break records, for our main object was to fly to Australia through the heart of a monsoon on a seaplane, without any undue risks, and to try and give an impression to the world at largethat the flight was not a stunt, but a sound, practical proposition in which we were endeavouring to survey the possibilities of intermediate air routes between London and Australia from a seaplane point of view. " I would like to state that during the months in which we chose to- do the job— July, August and September—it wouldhave been impossible, as we encountered the weather, to have accomplished the flight on an aeroplane, and it was only by being able to alight at any moment on the various waterways we passed over that we were able to get through the variousmonsoon storms which we encountered. " I knew little ab)ut seaplanes before we started, but I have learnt a lot since, and from my experience the de Havilland 50/ Seaplane, in its class, could not have been beaten for the job. The machine itself behaved perfectly throughout the flight, and gave no trouble whatsoever, despite the fact that it was drenched through and through, even worse than if it had been submerged in the sea, and only a few days later was subjected to the glaring sun and the dry heal of 110° in the shade. The Short all-metal floats were perfect in design, inasmuch as we were able to get off the water on all occasions with as much as 1,000 lbs. overload, on a machine whose maximum permissible load was about 4,000 lbs. They remained watertight thr ughout. " Regarding the Siddeley ' Jaguar ' engine, which in the past has earned for itself the reputation of persistent reliability, it has secured on this flight the distinction of being the first aero engine in history to go across the world and back again without complete overhaul, for the main bearings were never touched at all. Thus, this has been the longest trans-world flight ever accomplished, with the same engine. Whether in deluge of rain or in terrific heat, our ' Jaguar ' purred without a falter the whole 28,000 miles. There may be aero engines as good as the ' Jaguar,' but I know of no better. The tragic death of Elliot almost made me forsake the flight, but I was extremely fortunate when the R.A.F. lent me Sergt. Ward, who proved a stout fellow, and later I was fortunate in securing the additional services of Mr. Capel, at Melb urne, to help us out with the extra work of making two jumps a day, where possible, in the homeward flight. The Sir Charles Wakefield Flight to Australia and back was done at the worst time of the year, and I know from past experience how simple it is to fly over that route out of the monsoon period, and therefore I have no fears for the future of intermediate air routes between England and Australia." ALAN J. COBHAM ENGLAND—AUSTRALIA—ENGLAND : Mr. Cobham starting from Rochester on June 3«
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