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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0544.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 5, 1931 HESTON SPRING CRUISE. .E Second Spring Cruise for members of Heston Air Park ended on Sunday, May 31, after a successful tour of France. The organisation was carried out by Airwork, Ltd., with the assistance of the Societe Generate des Huiles de Petrole, the French Branch of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The S.G.H.P. took the greatest trouble to ensure immediate fuel supplies at every point of call, and even presented members of the Cruise with a mounted map of France in a leather envelope, with telegraph forms, telephone numbers, addresses, and complete instructions to be used in case of forced landing. Maps and aerodrome information from the A.A. reduced navigation problems to a minimum. Nine machines started, the pilots and passengers being: Pilot. Mr. H. N. St. V. Norman. Mrs. G. Vereker. Miss F. Crossley. Miss A. Barton. Mr. S. Davenport. Mr. Downes-Shaw. Hon. L. O. Russell. Mr. R. Faulds. Passenger. Mrs. Norman.Mr. G. Vereker. Mr. Bamber. Mr. Graham Dawbarn. Mr. Madle (Airwork Mechanic). Mr. Roskell. Mr. N. B. Fuller (S.G.H.P.) Mr. Blackwood. The first rendezvous was for lunch at Douai, where the party was received by M. Jacques Breguet, a representa tive of the French Air Ministry, and a number of French private owners, among whom was Mr. Dick Farman. In the afternoon the party proceeded to Rheims. This being a Military Aerodrome, they received a charming welcome by officers of the 12m(" Regiment, and afterwards drove into the town and visited the remarkable Roman cellars of Messieurs Charles Heidsieck et Cie. An unfortunate misadventure occurred when Miss Barton made a forced landing to inquire her way. On starting up, the machine ran away, and finally turned on its back. After examination by the Airwork Ground Engineer, it was decided to send the machine to England for repair. The following morning a stop was made at Beaune, which has an excellent landing ground very close to the town. The Hotel de la Poste lived up to its reputation in providing a delicious lunch " arrose de Grands vins de Bourgogne." In the evening the party landed at Lyons, where they had some difficulty in finding their way to the hangar owing to the fact that the grass in most places appeared to be up to upper wing-tip level. The next stage carried the party to Marignane, the land and sea Air Station for Marseilles, where an excellent luncheon was shared with members of the local Aero Club and officers stationed at Berre. Shortly after leaving Lyons, Miss Crossley, who had little more than 25 hrs.' solo flying to her credit, gave an excellent display of air- manship. Her engine failed owing to a broken connect- ing rod, and she had to make a forced landing. For- tunately, she was within two miles of the emergency landing" ground at St. Rambert d'Albon, and had just sufficient height to reach it. Her approach and landing were observed by members of the party, who agreed that she showed perfect judgment. Arrangements were made to deliver a new engine to St. Rambert through Imperial Airways and S.T.A.R. Considerable difficulty was encountered in overcoming obstacles raised by the Customs Authorities, and a heavy deposit had to be -y • ibefore the new engine could be cleared. The machine'U-T. ready for flight by Thursday evening, the accident haviiTpoccurred on Monday at midday. ° The party were met at Marignane by Mr. Edward Bretwho won the Coupe Zenitbe on Mr. Alan Butler's King1' Cup Moth. He accompanied the cruise to Cannes Magnificent appartments were arranged at the Hotel dAnglais, and later in the evening everyone adjourned u the Palm Beach Casino for a cocktail "in the new Cerrl.'Nautique. and dinner. The following morning the crukr- proceeded to Avignon. After the formal welcome by thePresident of the Aero Club, a group of exquisite creatures in the peasant dress of the district was discovered in thehangar. The " contadines " offered bouquets to the ladies of the party, and proceeded from then on to captivatethe remainder entirely. Luncheon was served out of doors under the trees by the river side, almost opposite thefamous Pont d'Avignon and the Palais des Papes. The party were extremely reluctant to leave at last for thebeautiful old town of Nimes. Here a quiet day was spent at the new Hotel Imperator. During the afternoon, by thecourtesy of Mr. Harmsworth, the party visited the famous spring where Perrier water is found and bottled. The pro-gramme allowed for arrival at Carcassonne just before sun- set, and the first machines to start got through withoutdifficulty. Owing to the advent of a bank of fog from the sea, however, four machines turned back and went on toCarcassonne early the following morning. The next stopping place was Toulouse, where there isan excellent aerodrome. After an excellent casulet the party proceeded to Bordeaux. On the way from the aero-drome to the town a visit was paid to the famous chateau and vineyard of Haut Brion la Mession. An inspection wasthen made of the claret cellars of M. Jean Calvert. M. Calvert, who personally conducted the party,told a remarkable story of a bet which he had made and won that the contents of his cellars were sufficient to offera pint of red and a pint of white wine to every member of the population of the British Isles ! At dinner that even-ing a delightful surprise was found in the form of a number of bottles of excellent claret which had been sentto the hotel by M. Henry de Beaufort, who had been responsible for introducing the party to M. Calvet. The following day the tour proceeded to Poitiers for alate luncheon. In the afternoon an aerial visit was made to the principal chateaux in the valley of the Loire. Itwas agreed that a delightful impression of these fine old houses can be gained from the air, and that this is prob-ably the best of all ways to visit them. At Tours that evening Miss Crossley rejoined the party, having flownfrom St. Rambert with her new engine. The party assembled for luncheon the following morningat a pleasant little restaurant at Vouvray. After lunch there was time for a visit by road to the Chateau ofChenonceaux, and a strong following wind enabled every- one to make a punctual arrival at Orly. Departure on thelast day was somewhat delayed in order to allow members to examine some of the French touring aeroplanesassembled at Orly, and to receive the good wishes of the Federation Nationale Aeronautique, who had been of suchimmense assistance in organising the tour and arranging special prices for its members at the various hotels. The journey to Heston was broken at Le Touquet, wherea special final luncheon had been arranged at the Hotel de Picardy. A new version of" the Avian, which is now at Heston. It belongs to Cellon, Ltd., and has a 7-cylinder Genet Engine. (FLIGHT Photo 506
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