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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1010.PDF
FLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 18, 1931 before he was undtr the rules it was necessary to taxy for two minutesand then take oft again to fly the race. Half an hour was allowed between the first take-off and the start of therace, but, although that seems a long time, it would not have been so had the pilot stopped the engine while carry-ing out the taxying test. Boothman did not do so, how- ever, and with perfect judgment just kept sumcient steer-age way on to allow him to circle round and get into the right position for the second take-off before the twominutes was up. The time taken in the take-off was allowed to count in the taxying time, so Boothmanactually started his second take-off about 1 min. 35 sec after landing, taking some 40 sec, again v-*— *• -• in the air. Then came the real start oithe race, with all its attendant thrills. First, there was a widesweep over Calshot, and then the dive down towards the startingline off Ryde Pier. Following this with almost monotonousregularity came the seven laps of the course. We on board theHomeric were able to see nearly the whole course, and could fol-low him as he flew in an apparently effortless fashionaround it at some 340 m.p.h. It was this effortlessness whichseemed to strike people more than anything else. Watchers onthe cliffs above Seaview say that * '• he came at them in a mannerwhich almost suggested that he was propelled by the wind. Thisidea was no doubt enhanced by the fact that at such speeds themachine approaches onlookers very much faster than the sounddoes, and therefore one is not forcibly reminded of the fact thatit is propelled by an engine until it is almost past.Throughout the race his turns were wide, and comparativelygently made. This method is the result of much experiment andcalculation, and has been found to lose least speed.From our point of view, the race was eventless, though notthrill-less, for no one could have failed to feel a thrill when it wasfound that we were watching a machine lap at 340 m.p.h. Weseemed to have been a source of annoyance to the pilot, however,and to have led him to think that he had completed the coursebefore he had done so, as is shown in his own log book re-port, which follows: — " Take-off from pontoon good.Flew round and landed O.K. Ticked over 1 min. IS sec.Took 20 sec. to pull up and 40 sec. to take off. Opened upand took off. Got a bit of a hammering from my own pre-vious wash. Turned on to Ryde and started the course. Instruc-tions were to fly at a water tem- perature. After one and a-half laps water temperatureO.K. at full throttle. Water then started to rise, and I ran throttled until seventh lap, when I opened throttlefull bore after the final turn at Ryde Middle. On about the third or fourth lap I decided to give Southsea a missowing to bumps. Turned rather too much in to the left. Engine ran like a clock. Machine perfect, but slightlyport wing low. Worried at end of sixth lap because Homeric blew off black smoke, and I thought I hadboobed ' on lap-counting. Felt rather worried about petrol on last lap in case I was actually trying to do aneighth." Incidents on board the Homeric during the actual race were few, and, apart from the fact that most people thought the race had started when the " Atlas " and later the " Firefly " flew round, about 12.45 p.m., to clearthe course, there was little to report. At least, two men enjoyed it to the full, although somewhat selfishly, fortheir snores were a considerable distraction during the race! The World's Speed Record The news that Fit. Lt. Stainforth was to make an.attempt on the world's speed record was passed round shortly after Boothman had landed. This could not takeplace for some time, as the officials had to be transported from Ryde to Lee-on-Solent and the timing apparatus pre-pared for the runs. During the wait F/O. Snaith was sent up in the Fairey " Firefly " seaplane, and he put upa simply magnificent aerobatic display. The pity of it was that•.....,. -,. — he did not do it farther down towards Southsea and HaylingIsland, where the large crowds were gathered. They would havethen felt that a real attempt was being made to entertain them.However, those who had glasses could follow him, and it certainlywas a wonderful show. About four o'clock Fit. Lt.Stainforth came out on the S.6B., S.1596, with the ordinaryracing Rolls-Royce engine, for his attempt on the three-kilometrerecord. Throughout, his was an exhibition of the most perfectjudgment. Under the rules he was allowed to dive from aheight of 400 m. (1,300 ft.), and had to fly the course at a heightof not less than 50 m., which height must be attained . not lessthan 500 m. before entering the course. It will be seen, therefore, thatsuch a series of flights calls for the most accurate judgmentpossible. Stainforth made five runs, twcwith the wind and three against it. The course lay from Lee-on-Solent to Hill Head, on the eastern side of SouthamptonWater, so that his flights either end of the actual course carriedhim over Ryde on the one hand and Southampton on the other.In the Homeric we were lucky, for when on the southern end ofthe course Stainforth flew right over our heads on several occa-sions, and at least twice we were able to appreciate his speed whenhe came directly for us and grew from a mere pin-point to a howl-ing dark-blue engine with wings on. Our best view was as heentered the course from Lee, and then we were able to see theexactitude of his judgment. His dives were obviously made so asto obtain the very utmost speed when entering the course, and,with this end in view, he pulled out so slowly that it was impos-sible to say when he started to do so. The smoothness with which he decreased his height from some 1,200 ft.to about 150 it-, was phenomenal to watch. Above him there was the official " Atlas," carrying thesealed barograph and an observer. This machine flew at the prescribed height of 400 m., and witnessed the factthat Stainforth did not start his dive above them. This was an innovation, for it has been found that the accelera-tion of the S.6B. was far too great to allow a barograph to function satisfactorily when carried in it.On the second run, when with the wind, which was blowing somewhat across the course, he attained the im-pressive speed of 388.67 m.p.h. (625.49 km.p.h.). The timing apparatus is of the photographic type, andnow that these have been developed, it is possible to issue 948 HEADING FOR THE LINE: Stainforth'sSupermarine Rolls-Royce S.6B snapped while getting ready to enter the speed course. (FLIGHT Photo.) i
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