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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0672.PDF
SEPTEMBER 1, 1927 during which he had reached 3,000 ft. Soon after he descended another " Moth " appeared hovering over the field, and in came Mr. Alan Butler with a passenger. This brought the Moth fleet up to five. The Change of Venue After some delay it was decided to make a wholesale move to the Penshurst aerodrome, much to the disappointment of the small crowd. In rapid succession each " Moth " took off without a passenger to the accompaniment of a terrific whoop of admiration and surprise from the juvenile gathering. In view of the manifest obstacles and the low " bumps," the ascents were certainly quite spectacular. Capt. White went off first, and as a consolation for the proposal to desert the audience he gave an interesting exhibition of stunting at a low altitude. Capt. Broad did likewise. Mr. Butler followed the family, then Capt. St. Barbe, and finally Capt. " Jerrv " Shaw in his golden machine. And that was the last of the Moths. The other officials and the remainder of the De Havilland team went off by road. Meanwhile the abrupt blank left in the programme at the field naturally left everyone asking what thev were to do. They were assured that three Siskins would entertain them shortly, and, sure enough, a will-o'-the-wisp trio with draught-board sides appeared to gambol ecstatically, as though mad with delight over such a fine day. They must have wondered at times whether they were playing to an empty house, and, in case the three clever pilots of this superb exhibition are still in doubt about the presence of an audience, we would assure them that everyone was located in one corner of the field. The three clever R.A.F. pilots were Fit. W. F. Dickson, FOP. S. Blockey and F/O T. G. Pike. Siskin Trio's Clever Turn The three Siskins executed all their stunts in excellent formation. They circled round wing-to-wing, banked, and looped. They came over the field fairly low in single file. and rolled over in quick succession, seemingly making a synchronised porpoise movement in the direction of flight. At a short distance away they described with perfect symmetry the artistic manoeuvre which described the shape of three ostrich feathers. The leading machine shot up and looped, and simultaneously the wing machines shot up and outward and completed the curled tops with their loops. It was very impressive, and the intended design was patent even to a novice. A fascination peculiar to formation flying is the apparent repeated collisions of the machines. The wings seem to get hopelessly interlocked. What Happened at Penshurst To turn to the other part of this strange, disconnected air pageant, about forty enthusiasts of the club were given joy-rides at Penshurst aerodrome, including Sir Robert Gower, M.P., the president. Everyone here was very happy with their more active part of the meeting, and so they ought to have been. They hadn't their toys taken away. There was no doubt about their welcome to the De Havilland fleet and their keen interest and approval of the Moths. Sir Robert Gower and the Mayor are leading the way to develop- ing an air interest amongst the population, and it seems quite likely that Tunbridge Wells will soon join the growing list of active clubs. They have rented part use of Penshurst Aerodrome and, we understand, a field near Tunbridge Wells, too. The potential membership is already alxnit ninety. Late in the afternoon the Moths left for Stag Lane, stopping at Croydon en route, as they did on their way down. Mr. Mills, who brought his " Moth " G-EBPS down in company with Capt. S. L. F. St. Barbe, is taking it to New Zealand towards the end of the summer, but not by air. His machine will be the first light aeroplane in that country, and probably the first civil machine. He is going to be the " Moth " distributor for New Zealand, and he predicts a wide use for the light aeroplane. THE "TIGER MOTH" CREATES A SPEED RECORD To fully grasp the phenomenon of great speed it is nearly always necessary to have a comparison. The speed of the " Tiger Moth " is very impressive when it is flying alone, but at Stag Lane, on August 24, its performance was more easily appreciated when an ordinary Moth casually took the air just after its fast little brother flashed by. The difference was so startling that the speed of the normal Moth looked like a funny crawl. The record flight was made by Captain Broad in the evening, and in a sudden calm following a violent thunderstorm. He had been waiting for a period of calm of not more than twenty minutes for some time, and he had been assured of it by the meteorological experts on the Wed- Captain Broad's Fine Flight nesday evening. He was held up until eight o'clock by the storm, and then the light was very poor and fading fast, but with nothing more than a quick and normal preparation he was soon off, boxed in his cockpit, so that he was hardly visible. Incidentally the ground was quite fit for amphibians. After making a quick circle of the aerodrome Captain Broad came lower, flattened out straight, and flashed past the post at a great speed. In a twinkling he disappeared in the direction of Harrow Hill. He was steering for Reading, there to describe a three-point turn, the corners t>eing indi- cated by smoke fires. After he had gone, the light dimmed rapidly, and when about a quarter of an hour later one was [" FLIGHT " Photograph 186-5 m.p.h.! With an engine of about 130 h.p., this was the speed over 100 km. attained by Captain Hubert Broadlast week on the de Havilland " Tiger Moth." Our photograph shows Broad taking off. 618
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