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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0496.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 27, 1932 the course. Apart from the winner, the performances of Mr. G. Baillie, Mr. Gordon Selfridge, Sir Kenneth Cross- ley, Mr. W. R. Walwin, Mr. R. L. Bowes and the Hon. M. Hachisuka must all be considered as of outstanding merit. This is not meant to belittle the efforts of those other pilots who finished, but only to emphasise the fact that our " A " licensed club-trained pilots of to-day are, when necessary, capable of competing with weather which has been known to beat foreign air-mail pilots. On the first lap Fit. Lt. Stainforth lost much time owing to having misjudged his fuel consumption, with the result that he had to land and find some more. Despite this, however, he carried on and finished the whole course, a fine effort under such bad circumstances, when he knew he had no chance of getting even a place. The second leg brought with it a tragedy which marred the race, for our very good friend Fit. Lt. F. G. Gibbons, with whom we have had the pleasure of flying on so many occasions, lost his life by flying into a tree (see page 477). Ironically enough, the visibility had improved greatly, and his death cannot be attributed to that ; he must have Mr. F. R. Walker, the winner, receiving the Trophy from the hands of Mrs. Shelmerdine ; with this Cup there was also a Reid 8C Sigrist Turn Indicator—a similar instrument to which Mr. Walker used during the race. The winner's " Puss Moth " (Gipsy III) arrives in the rain at Heston. (FLIGHT Photo.) Mr. J. Grierson, " Moth " (Gipsy I), arrives at Heston, second, in still heavier rain. (FLIGHT Photo.) Mr. G. Baillie. the third arrival. His " Moth " (Gipsy I) was fitted with a Standard wireless set by means of which he was able to get the weather reports broadcast from Heston during the race. flown into the tree when looking at his maps, and we can only hope that his untimely death will serve to stir de signers into realising the lack of forward view possessed by the conventional single-engined tractor aircraft. The " Spartan " is certainly as good as any other of this type, but surely the day has come when forward view is as vital a necessity as is speed, reliability, or any of the other points sought after in modern designs. The final leg led the remaining competitors into even fouler weather, and from Potters Bar to Heston many were flying almost completely blind. Luckily for them, the Southall gasometer—generally a menace—served as a landmark which stood somewhat clear of the surrounding murk, and all showed signs of the greatest relief when they arrived—Fit. Lt. Christopher Clarkson's shout was heard by us in the control tower while he was still landing! Shortly after Mr. Walker had landed, there occurred a most regrettable incident. Miss Winifred Spooner came in amid much rejoicing, for she is a most popular pilot, and her gaining a second place would have pleased everyone, but she had not fully appreciated the rules, and failed to cross the finishing line in flight. The judges had no 464
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