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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0288.PDF
APRIL 28, 1927 Duke and Duchess of York Witness Fatal Air Accident ON the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of York at Mel- bourne, on April 21, five D.H. 9 machines were flying in formation very low over the procession, as a part of the great welcome to Their Royal Highnesses, when two of them collided and crashed into the town, killing two pilots and two observers. One fell into a garage and destroyed seven cars, and the other fell into a side street, bringing down the electric light cables with it, and both burst into flames. The Duke and Duchess sent messages of sympathy to the relatives of the victims, who were :—Flying Officer K. I. Dines, who had served in the war with the R.F.C. ; Flight- Lieut. V. H. Thorton, who had served with the Australian Flying Corps : Sergeant \Y. Hay ; and Corporal J. Ramsden. The Service African Flights THE Cairo-Cape flight ended on April 21, when the R.A.F. machines, under the command of Air-Commodore C. R. Samson, arrived at Cape Town about noon, 22 days after leaving Cairo. After five days' rest, they proceeded to Grahamstown on April 25, to co-operate with the Union Air Force, and then go to Pretoria via Durban. The long outward flight across the Continent has been very successful, the only mishap experienced being a punctured tyre at Abercorn. R.A.F. Home Defence " Show the Flag " Tour THE tour of the four Horsley day bombers of No. 11 Squadron, Home Defence Force, known as the " Showing the Flag by Air " tour, started from Netheravon on April 20 and arrived that afternoon at Spittlcgate Aerodrome, Gran- thani, which they left the next morning and reached Leeds about noon, landing on the Military Field, Roundhay Park. Here they received a civic welcome and were entertained at luncheon in the Town Hall. This represented the first stage of the flight. They next proceeded to Liverpool and left on Saturday, April 23, for Bristol, which they reached in 1 hr. 10 mins., the distance being 138 miles. One by one they made perfect landings near Sea Walls and again received a civic welcome. Nottingham was the next town in the tour and here, at a civic luncheon, the leader. Wing-Commander J. H. A. Landon, was presented with a portrait of Capt. Albert Ball, Y.C., for No. 11 Squadron, and in acknowledging the gift he said that the R.A.F. was young to have traditions, but if there were any they started with Albert Ball and his contemporaries. The Atlantic Attempts FOR the third time ill-luck has marred ambitious projects for the North-Atlantic crossing between New York and Pans, for the " Pathfinder " machine, in which Commander Noel Davis, U.S.N., intended shortly to make an attempt, crashed into 4 ft. of water when trying a right-hand turn to avoid some trees at Black River, Virginia, and the Commander and his companion, Lieut. Stanton H. Wooster, were drowned. They only fell 20 ft. They had left the Langley Field for a final test flight, carrying a load of 13,000 lbs., which was the first time that this full load had been lifted. It will be remembered that Commander Byrd recently crashed when making a test flight, whilst Captain Fonck came to.grief last September when he was actually setting off to cross the Atlantic. Another intending competitor, Captain Nungesser, has delayed his start in order to make certain modifications to his Levasseur machine. The only remaining entrant in America now is the Wright-Bellanca monoplane, which recently set up a duration record. Captain Saint-Roman, •who damaged his machine when trying to lift off in heavy- water outside Casablanca, has decided to continue his flight across the South Atlantic with his machine converted from a seaplane to a landplane. He hoped to leave for Dakar on April 21. A Real Airport AT the Tempelhof Aerodrome, Berlin, considerable expansions are taking place to meet with the air traffic expected this summer, and on April 9 a large central building was opened which houses administrative offices, the meteoro- logical station, two wireless rooms (from one of which communi- cation is made with other stations and from the other with machines in flight) and also a telegraph room containing direct lines to all the chief aerodromes. All this is in the eastern wing. The centre portion forms the actual airway station, being completely equipped with waiting rooms, ticket offices, cloak rooms. Customs Department, and a post office having a pneumatc tube connection with the city. The west wing contains a large dining room, tea rooms and a roof garden restaurant and terrace This wing holds accommodation for 4,000 people, and is kept separate from the passenger department. It is hoped that it will become a popular resort in summer, not only on special occasions The " platform " is railed off, and the machines now taxi close to it on a wide stretch of concrete ; an improvement on last year's arrangements, which often involved the passen- gers in a long walk across the aerodrome. A Yugoslav Long-Distance Flight Two Yugoslav officers, Lieut. Bardac and Capt. Sonder- mayer, left Yillacoublay in a Potez 25 biplane, fitted with a 450-h.p. Lorraine Dietrich engine, on April 20, at 5.47 a.m., with the intention of flying to Calcutta via Belgrade, Constanti- nople, Karachi and Bombay, and then back to Belgrade. They reached Belgrade on the first stage and left for Aleppo on the second stage on April 21. They arrived there on April 22 and left for Baghdad and Basra. On the same type of machine two French airmen, Capt. IK\v and Adjutant Rossi, started for Colomb-Bechar, a distance of 1,375 miles, on a non-stop flight. The Light Plane in South Africa MAJOR MILLER, a member of the Legislative Assembly, reached Durban on April 25, on his way from Capetown to Pretoria, a distance of 1,100 miles via Durban, flying a " Moth," which is the only light aeroplane in the country. He covered 300 miles that day and aroused the keenest interest, particularly among the natives. After visiting Zululand, he expected to join the British and South African machines flying to Capetown. The R.A.F. Display AT the Hendon display in June this year, five R.A.I-. pilots will fly " Moths " and give an exhibition of wing-to- wing flying with sideslips, rolls and many other manoeuvres. This will be the debut of the light aeroplane in a prominent way at the pageant. Capt. Wilkins in Australia By Wireless A PRIVATE wireless experimental station in Australia picked up a message from Captain Wilkins' expedition in Alaska on a 42-metre wavelength on April 23, but the full nature of it was not disclosed, although it is understood that Captain Wilkins' aged mother, who lives in South Australia, was informed of her son's safety. Another D.H. " Hercules " Christened KING FEISAL named one of the de Havilland " Hercules machines the " City of Baghdad " recently. The machine operates on the Cairo-Basra route. After the ceremony King Feisal and other notables of Iraq made flights. The Master of Sempill's 500 Miles in a " Moth " AFTER competing in the Easter meeting races, Colonel The Master of Sempill flew from Bournemouth on a " Moth to the Lizard, Cornwall, on April 19. in 2 hrs. 15 mins., and lett at 4.10 p.m. the same day on return to Bournemouth. After tea he left again and flew to London, arriving at Stag Lane at 7.30 p.m. He had covered a distance of approximately 50" miles. The Duchess of Bedford's Air Tour THE Duchess of Bedford left Woburn Park, Bedfordshir;, on April 21, for a fortnight's tour abroad in a " Moth machine, piloted by Captain Barnard. The first stage wi-> Paris, and from there the route will be through Spain arm Morocco. Cairo-Karachi Air Route , PENDING the settlement of the negotiations with tr.v Persian Government over their ban on our Cairo-Karac air route in that country, the latter has agreed to pern^ eight flights over Persian territory. " Light " Refreshments for Air Travellers IMPERIAL Airways have fitted up buffets on their tnr Argosy machines, and light refreshments will be served : waiters during flight. 262
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