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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0261.PDF
FLIGHT, MARCH 20, 1931 SERVICE SALESMEN : Officers from H.M.S. Aircraft-CarrierBritish Aircraft at Buenos Aires. "Eagle," who demonstrated BUENOS AIRES The Prince Opens the Exhibition "WORDING to plan, as indicated in our last issue,His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales opened the British Empire Trade Exhibition in theRural Society's grounds at Palermo, Buenos Aires, on March 14, under ideal weather conditions. Priorto the opening ceremony, the Prince was entertained at a luncheon by the British engineering and transport institu-tions, after which the Prince, accompanied by President Uriburu, proceeded to the Exhibition grounds, where hewas greeted at the gates by Pipers of the Cameron High- landers, who escorted the party to the British GovernmentPavilion, where the opening ceremony took place. We need not dwell here upon the Prince's two stirringspeeches—one in English and one in Spanish—for they have not only been fully reported in the Daily Press, but wereals^ broadcast in this country. It is only our intention now to record that this historic fact was accomplished withsuccess and midst scenes of enthusiasm and splendour, and to give a resume of various happenings concerning moredirectly the aviation side of things. After the Prince had declared the Exhibition open—which fact was signalised by a flight of pigeons coloured red, white, and blue—he, together with the President andPrince George, made a tour of the Exhibition. During this tour, the Prince was enthusiastic in demonstrating personallythe various features of the British aircraft exhibited, and gave the President his personal experiences in flying. At theconclusion of the tour—which was a very thorough one—the Prince said, " I am very pleased with all I have seen, andI am sure the Exhibition will be a success." In the evening the Prince was the guest of honour at abanquet of the Chamber of Commerce after which the Princes attended a ball on board the aircraft-carrier Eagle. Dancingproceeded until after 3 a.m. on March 15, but in spite of all the crowded events up to that time, the Prince of Wales andPrince George left by air on a flying tour of the northern provinces at 2.30 p.m. that afternoon ! The Prince usedhis own " Puss Moth," while Prince George obtained the loan of another " Puss Moth " from the de Havilland AircraftCo. During his visit to H.M.S. Eagle, the Prince of Wales conferred the C.B.E. on Capt. Marcos Zar, Director of NavalAviation. Within a few hours of the public being admitted to theGovernment Pavilion at the British Empire Trades Exhibition wnich opened at 10 a.m. on Saturday last, three sales ofa<- 'rly A000 in value had been concluded at the De Havilland st-nd. Two actual show machines were sold, a Gipsy Moth and a Puss Moth, the purchasers being willing to await deliveryuntil the Exhibition closes next month. The third sale was of a Gipsy Moth to the Bieckert Brewery, Buenos Aires, whichalready owns two similar machines. The increased aerial activity arising directly and indirectlyin connection with the Buenos Aires Exhibition during the last few weeks cannot but have some effect in making Argen-tina " Airminded "—or the whole of South America might be included as a matter of fact—with, it is to be hoped, beneficialresults for the British aircraft industry. That the demon- strations and performances of British aircraft in the Argen-tine and elsewhere in South America have created an excel- lent impression is apparent, but what has given the greatest" leg up " to " the cause " in South America is the aerial activity on the part of our Prince.To emphasise this point, let us quote from the Buenos Aires Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, who says :" One fact in connection with the visit of the Prince of Wales is his readiness to use air travel for any and every pos-sible occasion. Flying, to the great majority of the inhabi- tants of the Argentine, is still more or less of a great adven-ture. " The lack of concern with which the Prince has taken tohis private 'plane as confidently and unhesitatingly as other people take to their cars has opened the eyes of the publicto the value, comfort, speed, and safety of this form of loco- motion. His example has done more than a thousand cata-logues or exhibition flights and stunts. The favoured few who have had the privilege of sharing his flights are nowfervent advocates of the advantages of air travel. " Point to the moral of his example is given by the wonder-ful display of British 'planes in the Exhibition, and attached to the aircraft-carrier Eagle." Thus, while it is certain that our Royal Ambassador will,by his visit and enthusiasm, increase British Trade in South America, we feel convinced that the aeronautical side willmaterially benefit by his efforts—provided our aircraft industry follow up the good impression created.It now only remains for us to record the following aeronau- tical happenings in the Argentine during the past few days.Prior to the opening of the Exhibition, the Princes flew, on March 13, from Mar Del Plata to El Paloma aerodrome,Buenos Aires, the Prince of Wales taking over the controls himself during the flight, and circling over the city at about4,000 ft. before landing. Previous to this, on March 12, the Prince took up a friend, Senor Mitre, in his " PussMoth." 245 B2
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