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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0207.PDF
CLUfiovO Hews FLIGHT, FEBRUARY 27, 19:U CROYDON WEEKLY NOTES T-^ JT week commenced with a very good prospect of a largeamount of snow, which had it materialised to any greatextent would have done much to disorganise traffic,as everyone knows, snow is as big, if not a worse enemy than fog, to aircraft. A number of the pilots have experiencedvery heavy storms and several machines arrived early in the week with a coating of frozen snow. However, taking theweek as a whole, there were very few services interfered with, and the latter end of the week was brilliant. Private owners were very plentiful, which is always a signof good weather. Like the proverbial gnat, they can be seen in swarms in good weather. The arrival of the Hon. Mrs.Victor Bruce was the main attraction of the week. She left Le Havre on Thursday, and reached Lympne beforelunch the same day. This was a very wise move, as it made the prospect of the official reception being held to schedulepractically certain. Had she decided to fly from Le Havre to Croydon on the day of the reception, there may have beenone of those unforeseen hitches which are apt to occur on special occasions. Happily all went well, and she arrived atCroydon at 11.57, on Friday. The reception was at midday so there was no delay at all, and everyone was thoroughlycheery. The trusty " Bluebird " G-ABDS looks well weather beaten,and it is a feast for the eyes to take a look round it, there hardly seems a space left anywhere, it is one mass of signaturesof people of all nationalities. Among some of the best known are President Doumergue, Jackie Coogan, and Al Capone, thenotorious gangster. It would be nearly impossible to read them all. Captain Norman Blackburn, who was present,was attired in a magnificent camel hair coat. When someone asked him the reason for such grandeur, he explained thatwhen wearing this coat, he could go without a drink for a week. While the reception was in progress we had a visit fromsomewhere unknown. An autogiro hovered over the aero- drome for some considerable time, and seemed to be having agood view of all that was happening. The pilot did not land, however, so perhaps he was Scotch, and did not see anyreason to land and have to pay for it, when he could sit comfortably up above and see everything for nothing. Auto-giros ought to sell well in Scotland. What's wrong with watching your favourite football or rugger team from above ?There you are, my good Scotch friends, that's a good tip for you. An Autogiro at Croydon always attracts more thanusual interest, as we seldom get a visit from one. Mr. H. Frost's " Junker Junior " passed through here on itsway to Amsterdam on Friday. We used to see quite a lot of this machine, but lately it has deserted us. The A.L.Ibetter known locally as the " Surrey d," and built by Surrey Flying Services, has been doing a lot of tests over theweek-end. I cannot understand why this machine has never been developed. It was built at least 12 months ago, and hasdone very little flying. It appears to have an excellent performance, and was praised by the late Lieut.-Col. Hender-son, a fact which alone speaks for itself. He was about the first pilot to fly it. On Saturday, Lieut.-Cmdr. Glen Kidston, R.N., smashed allrecords for commercial aircraft flying between Croydon and Paris. He completed the trip in 80 minutes, on the Lockheed" Vega." with 4 up, and no gale to help him on. Had a gale been blowing in his favour, I can imagine the trip beingcompleted in 60 minutes or even less. Until this new record was set up it was held by Imperial Airways. This timeis going to take some beating. Have we one commercial machine in England in the same category, that can do it ? Another American visitor on Saturday was a " Stearman "3.C.B. sports biplane, fitted with a 220-h.p. " Wright" engine. It belongs to a Mr. R. Haliburton, and is piloted by a Mr.Moye Stephens. It is a very attractive looking craft, being painted in a scheme of red, black and gold, and named " TheFlying Carpet." Like most of its fellow countrymen it is fitted with brakes and a tail wheel instead of a skid. Private owners were dropping in and out all day on Satur-day, and the aerodrome began to look really busy, giving just a foretaste of the coming season. A great deal ofcomment is being caused by the state of the aerodrome, which is really justifiable, but to be fair to the authorities, it is anhonest endeavour to improve things, and as in all improve- ment schemes, a certain amount of inconvenience is bound toarise for a time. All the Joyriding companies seem to have had a brisk week-end, and judging by the machines up and down there is room for them all, and anyway, competition is good. Miss Maisie Proctor, who gained notoriety by flying toBerlin and back with Boyd and Connor, is now undergoing instruction for her " A " licence with Henderson AviationBureau. There is quite an interesting article appearing in that weeklyperiodical " John Bull " for February 21, about Croydon. For once it is quite a reasonably sensible article, and can beread without the usual feeling of disgust that one has as a rule, when reading an article by someone who thinks he knows allabout aviation, but in reality knows nothing. The traffic figures for the week were: passengers, 301 ;freight, 28 tons. P. B. CORRESPONDENCE [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns.'] AIRCRAFT S.O.S. SIGNALS [2358] The " Emergency Communication between Aircraftand Ships " under the section " Air Ministry Notices to Air- men/' in your issue of the 20th inst., is of particular interest tonie, in view of the suggestion embodied in my letter in •t'UGHT on January 2, dealing with the question of emergencycommunication between aircraft and the public. Though, ot course;one can hardly describe any unit of the Fleet as thepublic," it does bear "out my theory that there should be generally recognised emergency signals, so that there should°e no danger of aircraft in distress failing to have their condition appreciated. '•h Ith *ul;ther reference to land aircraft in distress, perhapsi-ne Air Ministry will go a step further and issue a similar «Vi S° that such aircraft will be able to fire recognised_ gnais i.e. signals that will be easily recognised by air officials, in tlS a^d lay Public alike. Green Very lights, as advocatedand +1 Ve Notice> would be equally practicable on land, ttas enable assistance to be quickly forthcoming. Also, it seems to me that there should be appended to the usualemergency lists in telephone booths and in places where public telephones are used, the name or names of the nearestaerodromes. This, I believe, is already the case where the telephone booths of certain road patrols are concerned. Itnecessar\', the lay public could be " educated " into recog- nising and acting on these signals by means of the wireless," talkie " films and the Press. It ma)' interest your readers to know that the emergencysound signal of the new Mobile Police Force was " taught " to the public via a " talkie." How much more useful then,will it be to use this medium (or any other) in teaching the public how to help in aircraft emergencies on land and at sea. Our R.A.F. pilots protect us in time of war, cannot thepublic try and protect them and their non-Air Force colleagues in time of peace ? MARY KNIGHTLKY Golders Green, N.W.I 1.February 22, 1931. 191
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