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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0202.PDF
MARCH 15, 1928 FROM TfoE FOUR African Survey Flight SIR ALAN CQBHAM reached Durban in the Short " Singa- pore " flying-boat from Lourenco Marques, Portuguese E. Africa, on March 8, after 4J hrs. flying. Durban will be his temporary headquarters, and the machine will be over- hauled, purely as a matter of precaution. R.A.F. African Flight THE four R.A.F. Fairey III F machines which are carrying out the annual service flight from Cairo to the Cape and back, reached Nairobi on March 7. Long-Distance Record Attempt CAPT. HINCHLIFFE left Cranwell aerodrome, Lincolnshire. on March 13 in his Stinson monoplane (Wright " Whirlwind ") for an unknown destination. His companion was first re- ported to be Mr. Gordon Sinclair. Whilst testing his machine during last week the pilot was accompanied by the Hon. Elsie Mackay, who has a slight financial interest in the venture, which is an effort to set up a new long-distance record. Miss Mackay said she had no intention of actively participating in it but, it was reported later, that Capt. Hinchcliffe had actually set out to cross the Atlantic, and that " Mr. Sinclair " was really Miss Mackay. It was under- stood that Philadelphia would be Capt. Hinchcliffe's goal. Up to the time of going to press no news has been received of their progress, other than the machine was sighted over Ireland. Aviation Loses a FriendBY the death of Mr. Rodman Wanamaker, head of the great American stores named after him, aviation has losta patron. One of his particular acts of generosity was the financing of Commander Byrd's flight across the Atlanticlast year. Glosters for Japan THE Gloster " Gambit " has won a competition for deck-landing scouts held by the Japanese Navy. Mr. Levine's Latest ! MR. CHARLES LEVINE, the wealthy American business man and a spectacular follower of aviation, announced that he is already constructing an aeroplane to carry fifty pas- sengers, with which he hopes to start an air service between New York and London. He said it would be equipped with seven engines developing 6,000 h.p., and the wing span would be 180 ft. Mr. Levine also declared that his recent non-stop flight to Cuba demonstrated the possibility of a service be- tween New York and Cuba.North Pole Airship Ready GENERAL NOBILE'S airship, the " Italia," which has been constructed for a North Pole Expedition, made a successful test flight along the Italian coast on March 9. General Nobile stated that he was satisfied with it. French Air Liner Crash A FARMAN " Goliath " operating on the French Air Union's service between Paris and London crashed in the Channel about nine miles from Folkestone on March 11. The pilot, Andre Schmutz, and his mechanic, Raymond Terade, were picked up dead by the Channel steamer, Maid of Orleans. A wireless message from the machine was received by Croydon at 11.37 a.m., which stated that the machine was descending in the Channel, and messages were immediately sent to all .ships in the area giving the approximate position of the descent. The machine had left Paris the day before, and made a landing at St. Inglevert owing to stormy weather. Three passengers were on board, and when the flight was resumed the following morning, they decided not to continue with the machine owing to the bad weather. They thus narrowly escaped the disaster. The pilot was well known and very experienced, having seen extensive service during the War. He had been flying on the London-Paris route for six months. New German Flying-Boat A LARGE Dornier-Napier flying-boat has just been tested satisfactorily over Lake Constance. It is constructed of metal and fitted with four British-made Napier engines •developing 2,000 h.p. Twenty passengers and a crew of three are accommodated. The cruising speed is 105 m.p.h., and loading capacity 12 tons. Orders for England IT has been decided to use British aircraft for the new air service from the Rand to Durban. The Junkers Company of Germany made a tempting offer to the organisers, but acceptance would have meant erecting special repair works in South Africa. The Government has offered facilities for repairs at Pretoria, the military headquarters.New Air Survey Machine A SPECIAL machine is being constructed to the order of the Aircraft Operating Co. for air survey work. Two air- cooled engines will be fitted with geared propellers, and the ceiling, with both engines, will be, it is expected, about 23,000 ft. The machine will probably be in use before next •winter. The Avia Aeronautical Engineering Co., Ltd. THE well-known Czech aircraft firm of Milos Bondy a Spol, of Prague, which produced the " Avia" machines, will in future be known as the Avia Aeronautical Engineering Co., Ltd. The address, however, remains as before— Prague VII—Osadni 799, Czechoslovakia. Speed Record Competition MAJOR DE BERNARDI, the Italian pilot, proposes to attempt another seaplane speed record with the machine in which he created the existing record. Vulture Causes Crash WTHEN flying in Nicaragua at the Marine flying field at Esteli, on March 8, Capt. W. C. Byrd and S'ergeant R. Frankforter, of the United States Marines, were killed owing to the collapse of a wing strut after a vulture had blundered into it. As the wing structure gave way and the machine fell both men jumped with their parachutes, but at their low altitudes the parachutes failed to save them. Collisions between birds and aircraft have often occurred, but not with fatal consequences before, except, possibly, to the birds. South American Air Mail THE first air mail tn be conveyed between Paris and South America reached Porto-Praia (Cape Verde Islands) by seaplane on March 7 from St. Louis, Senegal, and was transferred to a steamer which then proceeded townrds Pernambuco, Brazil. The mail left Paris by air on March 2. Australian Fatality THE well-known Australian pilot, Flight-Lieut. Ivor Mclntyre, was killed on March 13 when his machine crashed during a " stunt " flight. He was a fellow-pilot of Wing- Comdr. Goble's on the flight round Australia some time ago, and he also accompanied Group-Capt. Williams on the tour of the Pacific Islands. Last year he resigned from the Air Force to take up the appointment as instructor to the South Australian Aero Club at Melbourne. He was 28 years of age. Irish Free State Flight COMMANDANT J. FITZMAURICE, commanding the Irish Free State Air Force, flew from London to Dublin recently in a new Fairey III.F. Lindbergh's Latest Medal THE Woodrow-Wilson Foundation has conferred upon Col. C. Lindbergh the Peace Award, which consists of a medal and .£5,000, for his Atlantic flight and subsequent flights in the cause of aviation. Belgian Flight to Congo ON March 9 the Belgian airmen, Thieffry, Ouersin and Lang, left the Evere aerodrome, Brussels, for a flight to the Congo in four stages. Their.machine is of Belgian construction and fitted with an Hispano-Suiza engine of 600 h.p. An hour after leaving Brussels it was forced to land at Heer Agi- mont, in the Ardennes, slight damage being done to the under- carriage. Canadian Item A NEW exploration company has been formed! n Canada styled the Northern Aerial Minerals Exploration, which will keep in touch with prospectors by means of an air fleet. The organisers are Mr. J. Hammell, a pioneer, and Doctor Oakes a pioneer mining air pilot. 182
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