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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0092.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY .30, 1931 up his Puss-Moth and showed that it is very controllablein the air. Actually the most interesting part of his display was not so much the control in the air, but the control on theground, as when he landed he proceeded to show the use of the semi-balloon tyres and wheel brakes as fitted to the 1931model. As he was taxying up, the usual two or three assistants ran out to hold up his wing tips, and he disdainfully wavedthem away and steered the machine with his brakes just where it was wanted. Mr. P. E. G. Sayer then demonstrated the Tomtit (Hermes)and gave a really amazing display of stalled flight. He was lucky to have a stiff breeze which, naturally, made it so muchmore spectacular. After this Mr. P. W. S. Bulman demon- strated the Hawker •' Hart " Rolls-Royce F.XI.B. This is, ofcourse, one of the standard service machines now, and although a two-seater, high-speed day bomber, it has a per-formance far in advance of all except our most recent single- seater fighters. Mr. Bulman is, of course, an absolutely superdemonstration pilot and always puts the machine in just the position and at just the spot at which it is shown off to thebest advantage. The way he suddenly came round the corner of the Hawker hangars in a vertical bank at a terrific speedwas enough to impress upon anyone the superiority of our modern fighting aircraft. Mr. J. Summers took up a Virginia about this tin - an(jwas also nearly able to stand still in the wind and sho that although a large and unwieldy looking bomber, it is c pabltof being thrown about mildly if necessary. The star tarn in the matter of stall flight against the wind and in some c,-ses ofactually skating backwards across the aerodrome was n n.doubtedly Mr. G. E. Lowdell on the Widgeon (Hermes) This machine is, of course, exceptionally good for this s >rt ofthing, being a parasol monoplane, and he showed clearh that he has plenty of lateral control even when completely stalledand sinking almost vertically. The display was, of course arranged by the Brooklands School of Flying, together with theB.A.R.C. and the Brooklands Aero Club. It is not generally known that Mr. F. Sigrist is now a Director of the school andthat many recent developments are attributable to his interest in it. We understand that a development policy has beendecided upon, which will include pulling down those ancient wooden sheds so long associated with flying at Brooklands andutilising one of the large hangars between Hawkers and Vickers. The aerodrome surface has also recently been levelledand rolled and is now in good condition. The Aero Club is certainly flourishing and we understand there is a possibilityof a larger club house being built before long. LJANWORTH CLUB Developments—We are informedthat a special meeting of members will be held at the club on Sunday next, February 1, at 5.30 p.m. This hasapparently been arranged by a committee formed of certain members, with a chairman chosen by N.F.S. If this com-mittee is really representative of the members as a whole, and has been elected by them, there is no doubt that itshould be able to carry out many of the reforms which are wanted at the club. We hope, therefore, that this willherald an era of prosperity for the club, and perhaps we shall see it become something like its originators meant itto be. I EICESTERSHIRE Aero Club—At the first annual1-1 meeting of the Leicestershire Aero Club., Ltd., held in Leicester, on Wednesday, January 14, Mr. W. LindsayEverard, M.P., who presided, congratulated the Leicestershire quarryowners upon their enterprise in being the first inthe industry to send representatives with samples of road- making granite by air to keep appointments with surveyorsat far distances. In moving the adoption of the annual report, the chairmanstated that, during the year, several other interesting flights had been undertaken, and that members of the club hadflown 1,200 hr., representing a distance of 100,000 miles, " without one single bone of any passenger or pilot havingbeen broken or injured." The club, which has a membership of over 900, is con-templating the inauguration of a weekly or bi-weekly commer- cial air service to some of the less accessible industrial centres. The President also announced, with great regret, that Mr. H. Purt, who had held the office of Hon. Secretary sincethe club was formed, two years ago, had been compelled, owing to the pressure of his many duties, to relinquish theposition. Mr. Everard paid tribute to the splendid work which the Hon. Secretary had done, and said that no otherman in Leicester could have organised the club as he had done in such a short space of time. Mr. Sidney Brown andMr. R. H. S. Brown were appointed joint hon. secretaries for the year. Q PORTS Flying Club.—High wind stopped clubflying on Friday and Saturday, January 23 and 24, but on Saturday, G-EBTD was delivered from Hanworth,and G-EBSA was taken away in part exchange. During the year 1930, the club aircraft between them flewjust over 1,000 hr., and during that time the collective average petrol consumption was only 4 • 0958 gallons perhour. This is roughly equivalent to 20 miles per gallon. During the same period, the Cirrus (II) engines consumed0-6949 quart per hour of Castrol XXL. The best individual figures for petrol consumption were put up by G-EBRI.which, strangely enough, was the dual instruction machine, and which usually carried the biggest load. In April, G-EBRIaveraged 3 • 034 gallons per hour. This is a most exceptional consumption for a Cirrus (II) engine, and is equivalent toover 25 miles to the gallon. Total flying for the week amounted to 10 hr. 30 min.,made up as follows :—Dual instruction (4 members). 1 hr 45 min. Advanced dual (7 members), 3 hr. 15 min. Soloistunder Instruction, 15 min. " A " Pilots (6 members), 3 hr. 45 min. Tests, etc., 1 hr. 45 min. THE BOOTH BABY FLYING BOAT : Henry Booth, a well-known aeronautical designer and engineer of Freeport, L.I., has designed a new two-seater baby flying-boat, which when in production will sel for about 1,500 dols. This boat is powered with a four-cylinder 32 h.p. Johnson Outboard Marine Engine, has a wing spread of 28 feet, a top speed of 75 m.p.h., and a landing speed of 36 rn.p.h. Under test the boat reached an altitude of 8,000 feet and consumed only three gallons of petrol an hour. When fully loaded it weighs 700 pounds. 94 .
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