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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0997.PDF
FLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 18, 1931 posi office with high-speedtelegraphic machines had been installed there under the direc-tion of the very helpful Mr. Willis, who wanted lots ofwork and would do anything to help any journalist who wasminded to give him some. There was also a line of tele-phone boxes, some of which had been privately hired byindividual newspapers. The flying folk began to gatherthere, some from Kyde, some from London, some from localnewspapers in neighbouring towns. Mr. Victor Painebrought over a load <)1 notabilities from Calshnt inhis speed boat, and some of them looked very green whenthey landed, and told stories of the perils of the deep. Ilearnt afterwards that what they suffered in coming wasnothing to what they went through on the return journey.The wind had got stronger, and they rocked to and fro,and began to stagger like drunken men, and were attheir wits' end. I quote from memory, and a memory not sogood in this respect as that of Mr. Handley Page. Before long down came therain again, and up came the fog. Out by the Courageouslay two " Iris " flying boats from Mount Batten, rockingmost uncomfortably at their moorings. Someone said thatthey had brought over some French pilots or other nota-bilities to see the last Schneider. Someone else said that the flying boats had said that those on board themwere very seasick. One of them taxied about, much as a man with toothache tramps up and down to relievethe pain. Then one of them took off and flew, but was soon lost to sight in the fog. The fog came down inwaves, sometimes lifting again for a space. Sometimes the Courageous was clearly visible, and then in a few LADY HOUSTON AT CALSHOT: The generousdonor of the subscription which enabled Great Britain to build defenders for this year'sSchneider Contest being received at the Air Base by Sqd. Ldr. Orlebar, Captain of the BritishSchneider Team. By the side of Lady Houston is Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Lambe. minutes she would be entiretyblotted out from our sight. At intervals the committee atCalshot broadcast intimations that they would make anotherannouncement in a few minutes. At last at 12.30p.m. the fateful decision was taken that the contest was offfor the day. Nothing else was to be expected. It was truethat Capt. Jackson had fore- told an interval in the after-noon when the average wind velocity would be about 15m.p.h., but gusting up to 25 m.p.h. That did notsound nearly good enough, and the cancellation was the onlypossible course to take. The tragedy was that crowds muchlarger than had been expected had gathered at all pointsalong the course. In 1929 the crowds, large though theywere, had not come up to expectations. This year, when comparatively few hadbeen expected, the public decided that it wanted to see• the last Schneider, even though there was to be norace. The said public got very wet, and departed dis-consolate when the postpone- ment was announced. A post-ponement is a horrible event in Schneider history. Thepilots and the rest of the team have been keyed up, and theyhave to relax and then key themselves up again. Thepublic is disappointed, and innumerable arrangements areupset. All the elaborate business of clearing the course had to be taken off and then put on again. The mereputting out of the signalling arrangements is a complicated business which takes some two and a-half hours to putinto force. The worst feature about it all is that no one knows for certain whether another postponement will benecessary next day. The horrible possibility of day-to-day postponements all through the period of six weeks began NOTABILITIES AT CALSHOT: From left to right—Mr. Sidgreaves, managing director of Rolls-Royce, Ltd.; Com. J. Bird, of the Supermarine Co.; Col. the Master of Sempill ; Air Chief Marshal Sir John Salmond, Chief of the Air Staff ; Sir Philip Sassoon, Under-Secretary of State for Air ; Col. Sir Francis McClean ; Group Capt. Nanson, O.C. Calshot, and Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Lambe. (FLIGHT Photo.) . ..:. :..:,::- •• - •". ..•..•• 935 .....„.,,. c
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