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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0819.PDF
OCTOBER 20, 1927 understood to Mr. Kittel by using broken German. ' He'tookcopious notes about the Moth X before allowing it to proceed, and he seemed particularly concerned with the name Silvry 3which he no doubt took for the official designation of the machine. An Intense Moment In Praha a day or two was spent and a local return trip made to Plzen, a total distance of 120 miles. The tour was continued in a southerly direction towards Austria and after 2 hrs. 15 mins. flying Vienna was reached, the distance covered being 160 miles. Petrol was taken aboard here and provender acquired for consumption on the way to Buda- Pest, 125 miles, a stage which took Mr. Kittel another 1 hr. 45 mins. Turning to the east from here, he flew to Graz, 165 miles, and then went over the Dolomites to Udine iri Italy, this trip being 130 miles. It was quite a short opera- tion here to clear Customs, get refreshment at the officers' mess, and manage a considerable amount of writing in the carnet de passage. By nightfall the Lido was gained. It was now that the only awkward and uncomfortable moment of the whole tour occurred. Mr. Kittel had just taken off when leaving the Lido and had reached a height of about 150 ft. when his engine suddenly cut right out. Below the " Moth " the houses and trees spread out threateningly and a crash seemed inevitable. However, by working the throttle backwards and forwards the engine was persuaded to splutter sufficiently to enable a half-circle towards the aerodrome to be made, and thus a severe predicament was averted. The cause of the engine trouble was then found to be an air-lock in the petrol tank, due to the vent pipe being blocked. This, in turn, happened through the screwing down of the filler cap with a spanner, which was only done at Venice. Bologna, 80 miles away, was the next stop as a preliminary stage to reaching Rome, a farther 200 miles. This latter stretch was almost entirely flown over the Apennines, and Mr. Kittel had to climb to 6,000 ft. Naples followed, and this was the most southerly point visited. Turning for home he went to Rome again and thence on to Pisa, 165 miles. A course across country was pursued next to reach Milan, 140 miles, after which came a flight to Zurich, 145 miles, passing the Alps at 14,000 ft. Another 300 miles' flying brought the tourist to Paris. For the last stage of the journey to England the " Moth " had the company of an Imperial Airways liner, and the two kept very close together all the time. The pilot of the air liner kindly wirelessed on Mr. Kittel's intended Channel crossing to enable him to make the short cut from Etaples to Dungeness and not circle St. Inglevert and Lympne. The journey to Croydon was thus made in 2 hrs. 45 mins. Here the Customs formalities occupied no more than a few minutes, and then a final 15 minutes' flight brought the long and interesting tour to an end at Stag Lane. In Summary The statistics of this tour produce a mileage of nearly 4,000 over a period of nineteen days. Eight countries were visited. The venture was a delightful one, not marred much with bad weather. The first day proved the only occasion when it was necessary to fly through rain. Contrary to the records of one or two other tourists, Mr. Kittel had no diffi- culty in getting weather reports in advance and of a reliable nature. At Duebendorf (Zurich) a weather report in printed form is issued to air travellers in which is given all the condi- tions to be met with on the route to Paris. Customs procedure is generally simple, particularly in Germany, Czecho-Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. In Italy and France the officials insisted on the filling out of the carnet de passage. There was not this trouble elsewhere. In Italy the officials direct their main interest in discovering cameras ; and almost the first greeting received on landing there related to " appa- Capt. Lancaster and Mrs. Keith Miller Flying to Aus- tralia in an " Avian " ON October 14, Capt. W. N. Lancaster and Mrs. Keith Miller left Croydon in their Avro " Avian " for Australia. Lady Ryrie, wife of the High Commissioner, and Col. Ivo Edwards, of the Air Ministry, watched the start. The pilot said that the flight was in no way a stunt, but a reliability test. The first stage took them to Abbeville, and the second to Le Bourget. The departure from here was delayed for two hours owing to fog, and they reached Dijon early in the afternoon of October 16. They set off again an hour later and arrived at Lyons. The next day Marignano, m Italy, ten miles S.E. of Milan, was gained via Marseilles. ["FLIGHT" Photograph Mr. D. Kittel taken beside the nose of his own " Moth X," called Silvry 3, on his arrival at Stag Lane after the successful completion of his latest European tour. He was one of the first private owners to learn to fly at Stag Lane with the London Aeroplane Club, and has about 400 hours' flying to his credit. ragi fotografici." This close scrutiny prevails even in the event of a test flight. In Italy Mr. Kittel had the sensation of flying level with the mountains at an altitude of 6,000 to 7,000 ft., and he was able to appreciate how mountainous the country really is. Much kindness was received on the Continent. At Bologna the people insisted on filling up the " Moth's " tank with petrol free of charge. And as petrol is 4s. 6d. a gallon in Italy this generosity was by no means inconsiderate. On the whole navigation gave no trouble. On the stages between the principal European towns the characteristics of the intervening country together with the help of a motor map, provided sufficient guidance. It was only in instances of poor visibility that the compass had to be solely relied upon. The vast activity of commercial aviation in Europe impressed "Sir. Kittel, as it does every air traveller. At the Tempelhorf Aerodrome, Berlin, about 26 machines arrived and departed daily, their destinations lying in all parts of Germany. The Junkers monoplanes with their neatly cowled-in engines, impressed him, too, with their clean lines. In Czecho- slovakia he found a flying club equipped with fifteen machines, nearly all being re-conditioned army 'planes. One of them had been taken from the Russians during the war. Summarising the whole venture, Mr. Kittel declared it to have been the most enjoyable holiday he had ever spent. Quick Sale of D.H.53 Monopiane MR. BAXTER ELI.IS, of the Newcastle Aero Club, recently sold his D.H.53 monoplane, fitted with a Blackburne 5 h.p. engine. Within a very short while of putting it up for sale it was disposed of to a fellow club member, Mr. Vernon Heaton, jun., who was not the only bidder. Municipal Aerodromes As a result of communications from Sir Alan Cobham several more towns are considering the question of providing municipal aerodromes. Blackpool is keenly interested, and seems likely to have one very soon. Middlesbrough is con- sidering its facilities, but Whitley and Gainsborough cannot meet the proposals at the present. 741
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