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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1090.PDF
FLIGHT, OCTOBER 9, 1931 that they would be going toBalsdean the following week-end. Finally, Dr. Georgii said that itwas the wish of everyone that the competitions would be a greatsuccess. M. Massenet, of France, then translated the German partof Dr. Georgii's speech into French. The Week-end on the DownsSuch a meeting as this Gliding one is largely dependent on theweather for its success, and there- fore no one would gamble on itssuccess in England (except, perhaps, Lloyd's, and then only atvery high rates !). Saturday was not so bad, except that the windwas far too gentle for proper soar- ing on such a site. Balsdean is upon the Downs above Kottingdean, and surrounded by a series ofhills facing in various directions ; the result is that almost any winddirection leaves part of the site blanketed or subject to the down draughts caused by the neighbouring hills.There is one long trough which is admirable for training glides, but unfortunately the wind was across this on Satur-day. On Sunday, however, conditions improved, and the wind was sufficiently up this trough to make some veryexcellent glides possible. All the more efficient machines were taken several miles away to the N.E., where the hillswere higher and formed a ridge from which it was hoped that true soaring flights would be possible. These hopeswere, unfortunately, not entirely fulfilled, although a fair number of extended flights were made, and after an houror so a sea mist came in, killing the wind and cutting down the visibility to about five yards. The interest raised in the neighbourhood by the meet-ing was very large indeed, and the cars which ploughed up the narrow lane to the site, both on Saturday andSunday, must have numbered several hundreds. Even when there is not much to be seen, or for that matterunderstood, of what is going on, a meeting like this has its charm, and no one could fail to benefit from a day high upin the South Downs. The really wise, old hands at the game who had experience of such meetings, brought theircaravans with them. There were several of these scattered about the site, in all shapes and sizes, ranging from" Rice " folding ones up to palatial " Eccles " ones with room for four or more people. Col. Sempill was there witha large square-ended type, and this " home from home " was made the headquarters for the Commission during theirvisit. Such a base brings all the comforts of one's own home (cynics please refrain from saying the obvious) to themeeting, and the most excellent lunch which emanated from this particular caravan easily beat what we usuallyexpect from hotels when motoring. Now for the flying itself. To have followed exactly whatwas going on, what machines were flying in what compe- tition, and to have learnt anything of the results one wouldhave had to sit on the step of the broadcasting van from which such hard working souls as Mr. Gordon England, Col.Sempill and Mr. Yorke Bramble announced continuously. Like most people, however, we were far too interested inthe various machines and what they were doing after being shot into space to stay near the van, with the result that A ONE MAN EFFORT: The "Crested Wren" designed and built by CorporalManual of Hawkinge. It is a beautiful piece of work. (FLIGHT Photo.) we had very little idea of what competition each machinewas flying in. Saturday was disappointing, for the very light wind didnot allow of anything in the way of soaring. There was, however, quite a lot to be seen, and several interestingmachines. There were, of course, many of the usual types, such asZoglings, Priiflings and R.F.D. primary training gliders. Among the more efficient there was a fine piece of work byCorporal Manual, called the " Crested Wren." This was a single-strutted monoplane, not at all unlike a small" Professor "; it is entirely home made and a one-man job, though it looks like the product of some cabinet maker'sworks. The " British Falcon " is another excellent example of the sort of work our men can produce whenrequired. This glider is built to the German " Falke " drawings in the works of Mr. Slingsby, of Scarborough,and is every bit as good, if not better than its foreign prototypes. The " Tern " has already been described atlength in FLIGHT, and on Sunday it performed quite credit-ably. Herr Magersuppe took it up late in the afternoon, and by diving considerably directly after being launchedhe was able to gain sufficient flying speed to carry him on a zoom up and over the opposite side of the hill ; he thenglided out down wind straight across the valley in an effort to gain the distance prize. Whether or not he wassuccessful remains to be seen, as he was rapidly lost in the mist and no one could see where he landed. A little later a member of the London Gliding Clubfollowed suit in the Club's " Hols der Teufel." He did not, however, start from the windward side of the hill as HerrMagersuppe had done, but elected to go straight off the leeward side and down the valley. Such a start meantthat the initial downwash from the hill lost him a con- siderable amount of height, and from the top it did notlook as if he would reach the distance the " Tern " had done.Shortly after this flight the sea mist came down and decreased the visibility to some ten yards in places. Manypeople who had come to this hill by devious and tortuous routes therefore started back while there was stiil sufficientlight to see something of the route. Such grass tracks are, however, hard to follow in a mist, and many fell by SIMILARITY IN TYPES: On the left a beginner's soarer, the Hols der Teufel with a member of the London Gliding Club just taking off. Herr Hirth soared in this machine during the meeting. This machine was designed in 1923 t>y Herr Lippisch, the designer of Herr Kronfeld's " Wien." On the right, a cleaned-up primary where the pilot is to a certain extent enclosed in a nacelle, and bearing a family resemblance to the "Hols der Teufel." (FLIGHT Photo.) 1020
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