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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 1080.PDF
NOVEMBER 22, 1928 SIR PHILIP SASSOON'S EASTERN TOUR ON September 29 last the Under- Secretary of State for Air, Sir Philip Sassoon, left Cattewater, Plymouth, on a tour of inspection of the R.A.F. stations in the Mediterranean, Egypt, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, and India. On November 13 he returned to Plymouth, having flown 17,000 miles and spent 240 hours in the air. In that short time all the R.A.F. stations in the above-mentioned countries were inspected, which is truly a remarkable example of the powers of aircraft in rapid transport. The greater part of the trip was carried out in a R.A.F. flying-boat, a Blackburn Iris, with three Rolls-Royce 700 h.p. Condors. The pilots of the Iris were Squad.-Ldr. C. L. Scott, D.S.C., and Flight-Lieut. L. Martin, The Under- secretary was accompanied by Air Commodore A. M. Long- more, C.B., D.S.O., Director of Equipment, and altogether there were nine people on board. Describing his tour, Sir Philip said that on the day of the start the weather was so bad that the Imperial Airways flying boat did not start for Guernsey. Nevertheless the Iris took off and flew along the course usually followed by flying-boats to the French air station at Hourtin. which Sir Philip des- cribed as an extremely charming place. Then, after re- fuelling, the Iris went overland to Marseilles. It followed the course of rivers, and Sir Philip said that it was comforting to see water below although he doubted if a large boat like the Iris, taking the air at about 14 tons, could have got down safely on the river. Next day the Iris flew on past Corsica to Naples, where Sir Philip was met by his " opposite number," General Balbo, the Italian Under-Secretary for Air, and by the Marquis de Pinedo, Chief of the Italian Air Staff. The following morning the Iris made good time between Naples and Athens, so that Sir Philip was able to visit the Naples museums in the morning and the Athens museums in the afternoon. The route followed was down to the toe of Italy, and up the Gulf of Corinth. On October 2 the Iris crossed the Mediterranean to Aboukir. The views of the Cyclad.es and Crete from the air were described by Sir Philip as delightful. At Aboukir Sir Philip temporarily parted company with the Iris, embarked on a Fairey III F landplane, and reached Cairo by sunset. He spent two days at Cairo and inspected No. 4 F.T.S. at Abu Sueir, No.'208 Army Co-operation Squadron, and No. 216 Bombing Squadron at Heliopohs, and No. 45 Bombing Squadron at Helwan. Then, accom- panied by Air Vice-Marshal T. I. Webb-Bowen, C.B., C.M.G.. A.O.C. Middle East, he flew on to Khartum, with a stop at Wadi Haifa. Three Fairey III F machines made this flight, and they were met and escorted into Khartum by six other Fairey III F's from No. 47 Bombing Squadron. After returning to Cairo, Sir Philip set out for Baghdad with a flight of three Wapitis with Jupiter engines, which were being delivered by air to No. 84 Bombing Squadron in Iraq, and inspected the R.A.F. units on the way. The first part of the flight across Palestine, and Transjordan was, said Sir Philip, very interesting, but the latter part across the Arabian desert was wearisome. In the hot weather the air off the desert was very bumpy, and though they climbed at times to 8,000 ft., and felt quite cold up there, it was difficult to escape the bumps altogether. Still he thought he was lucky, as the bumps were often worse than the ' were that day. Sir Philip spent one" day at Baghdad, and then left for Basra in a Victoria with twin Lion engines. The Iris had meanwhile made its way down the Euphrates to Basra, and he rejoined it there. Flying down the Persian Gulf, the first mishap was met with at the very unattractive station of Jask, where engine trouble brought the Iris down. Still, being in a seaplane, Sir Philip had the advantage of some previous travellers, e.g., Sir Samuel Hoare and Sq.-Ldr. Hinkler, who were obliged to put up with the land side of Jask. Sir Philip was able to spend one night on a sloop, H.M.S. Crocus. The trouble proved to be a fracture of a camshaft ball race, and this was repaired by the crew, aided by the crew of the Crocus. The repairs, however, included the use of copper rivots in place of steel ones, so that after starting off the Iris had to return. Steel rivets were then improvised, and with them the Iris successfully made Karachi. Next day Sir Philip flew in a Hinaidi with two Jupiters to Jodhpur. After the dreary Scinde desert he found this Rajput City with its lake a delightful sight. There is a good aerodrome there, and H.H. the Maharaja entertained the party hospitably. Then they flew on to Delhi, and Sir Philip was much impressed by seeing from the air the lay-out of the new capital Some of the Government buildings have been completed, but much yet remains to be done. Still the lay-out made an imposing sight. From Delhi Sir Philip went on in a D.H.9A to Ambala, and there he actually condescended to take a train on to Lahore and Simla. The latter city, of course, is 7,000 ft. up in the Himalayas, and though I seem to remember that an aeroplane once flew up and landed there, it is a feat not to be recommended. After leaving the summer capital, Sir Philip flew in a Bristol Fighter along the Frontier from Peshawar to Quetta, visiting R.A.F. stations as he went. A forced landing among the Frontier hills must almost invariably mean disaster, but, fortunately, no such thing occurred on this occasion. On October 24 Sir Philip started his return journey in the Iris from Karachi. Again, he was forced down at Jask by the same engine as before. An oil leak seemed to be respon- sible. Anyway, a new Condor was brought out from Karachi and installed, while a Hinaidi was sent from Iraq to take Sir Philip over to Basra. This time he flew up to inspect the R.A.F. station at Mosul, which had been omitted on the outward journey. He joined the Iris again at Aboukir, and this time followed the African coast to Benghazi and across to Malta—the only other station not inspected on the outward flight. When the Iris started for Naples it was driven back by the foul weather connected with the Etna eruption. But it got through on the second attempt, and the party got a view of the volcano, still capped with snow, while the lava streams poured down and villages blazed in their paths. The same route as before was followed back to Plymouth. Sir Philip said that the metal of the Iris stood up perfectly to the heat of the East. He found the boat very comfortable, and there was little vibration. He made rather long flights, but was not tired by them. " Time goes fast when you are flying," he said, " it makes you feel fit and well." He said that he saw a great future before the flying-boat. F. A. DE V. R. Fairey Monoplane Tested AT NORTHOLT recently the Fairey monoplane, which has been constructed to make an attempt upon the long-distance record, made its first test flight with every success. It is understood that the pilot was Sqdn.-Ldr. Jones-Williams, who has been chosen to pilot the machine on its ultimate long-distance flight. Empire World Air Routes AN all-red route around the world is seen as a strong possibility in the near future by J. A. Wilson, the Canadian Controller of Civil Aviation, who recently returned from a sojourn of two months in the British Isles and Europe. " Enormous developments in inter-Empire communication may be expected within the next few years," Mr. Wilson said. " While efforts so far have been to some extent concentrated on flights to India and Africa, the eyes of British fliers are turning towards Canada." Aerial Photography in Canada AERIAL photography for map-making purposes by Government fliers has been practicallv completed for the year according to Wing Commander J. L. Gordon, R.C.A.F\ Eight detachments of two 'planes each have been operating throughout the Dominion for several months. Three machines operating at St. Donat, Quebec, have already returned to Ottawa, while the remainder are expected within the next few weeks. Aerial surveys have been made throughout the Maritimes, in Northern Ontario, and as far north as Fort Smith in the North-west Territories. Preliminary maps of the various localities covered will be completed with data gathered this year. Fairchild-Caminez Activities THE Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corporation of New York has purchased the minority stock interest of Mr. Harold Caminez and Mr. Leon Caminez in the Fairchild Caminez Engine Corporation. The activities of the Engine and Aeroplane Corporations will be consolidated, which gives the facilities of each company to the other and reduces over- head charges. Mr. Harold "Caminez has resigned as Chief Engineer, and Mr. David Caminez has resigned as Treasurer of the Fairchild Caminez Engine Corporation. An 8-cylinder cam engine and a small 80-h.p. four-cylinder cam engine have been built and flown, but as yet experimentation has not progressed to a point where definite performance or specifications can be announced. 1002
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