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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 1111.PDF
FLIGHT, NOVEMBER 3, 1932 S ••:::--:::--:-::'-'.'.: "•': K5S SSSS 5 • : ' AT BELGRADE : Mr. Jojkitch ; Mr. Ballardie ; Mr. Mapplebeck ; Capt. Markitchevitch, President of the Military Commission ; Col. Strange, and three other members of the Commission. The party on the right includes, facing the camera, Lt. Col. Tomic, Commandant of the Belgrade Aerodrome, who is understood to be the senior pilot to have flown on active service in any Air Force in the world. (Balkan War, 1912, in a Bleriot.) Lord, was here carried out ; the flying tests being made by numbers. For this purpose each of the Commission in the machine was given a copy, in their own language, of a schedule designed to show the flying characteristics, not only with full engine power, but also with any combina tion of the three engines. This system was carried out not only at Belgrade, but also at Athens, at which place the machine was still climbing comfortably at 9,000 ft. on two engines only. Throughout the whole journey the mountainous nature of the country emphasised the advan tage of this type of machine and vindicated the principle of the Spartan Company, which is: safety first, with speed and pay load second. Under such conditions no multi- engine machine is considered safe unless it can climb to at least 6,000 ft. on two engines and easily maintain that height in bumpy conditions with full load. Belgrade to Athens At dawn the following morning (October 21) Mapple beck, true to his reputation tor punctuality and thorough ness, chased the party out of their hotel, thus enabling them to make a take-off as the sun was rising from behind the mountains. A head-wind pulled the cruising speed down considerably on this leg, so that the 376 miles to Uskub took 3 hr. 45 min. It was therefore decided to break the journey at Salonika to refuel both men and machine. Incidentally, at this point a - K.N.I.L.M. Fokker and a Greek Airways Junkers passed. The next stage to Athens was taken via the Airways' winter route, as the weather reports ahead were bad. The airport authorities were somewhat concerned for the safety of the machine, as the district was bad for anyone who did not know the route thoroughly. As Col. Strange remarks, Greece seemed to be all either, mountains and sea or just sea and mountains! Tatoi aerodrome at Athens was reached in 1 hr. 50 min. from Salonika, and here the Shell service proved even better than usual (which is say ing a great deal). The local agent, M. Hauthopulos, spared no effort to make everything easy. Athens seems to be a "Charing Cross" of the air, with the Hotel Grande Brittagne the centre of all aerial activity. Here were to be seen the Captains of all the various air liners dining at the head of the tables of their respective passengers— Imperial Airways, K.L.M. Greek Airways, etc. Athens, as a change from hitherto, was really hot, and the following day, October 22, was spent in beautiful weather demonstrating to the officials of the Air Ministry and Greek Airways. These demonstrations were carried out on the same lines as at Belgrade, and once more the Spartan " Cruiser " behaved perfectly. Athens to Pisa On October 23 a start had to be made back to reach Heston in time for another demonstration, and it was therefore necessary to do something over 2,000 miles in three days if this appointment was to be kept. As soon as the sun rose, a start was made for Brindisi, and up the Gulf of Corinth a little better speed was made than the Imperial Airways' " Scipio " flying boat. Corfu was passed at 9 a.m., and Mr. John Lord sighed for a magi cian to change the " Cruiser " into one of his Saro " Clouds " ! A pleasant feature of the Spartan is the ease with which it is flown, and on this leg particularly it was possible to fly for hours at a time without any attention to the controls. Such a characteristic naturally, very greatly lessens the fatigue of the pilot. Visibility was wonderful whilst crossing the Adriatic and the shores of the heel of Italy were in sight ahead, with even the Bay of Taranto beyond, before mountains of Albania had disappeared behind. Brindisi was reached in 3 hr. 25 min., and here the first serious delay since leaving France was experienced ; neither Customs officials nor fuel being available until the authorities, some six miles away, had successfully been summoned by telephone. It was therefore impossible to leave until some three hours had been wasted. The non-stop flight via Rome to Pisa was over a district of marvellous scenery. Rome itself was unfortunately blotted out with heavy cloud, and for the same reason it was impossible to see either Vesuvius or Naples, but the majority of the journey was accomplished in excellent weather. At Pisa the crew of the " Cruiser " were most hospitably received by the Italian Air Force and clouds of mosquitoes, whose attentions were all too personal. Pisa to Paris The next morning, October 24, a start was made at 5 o'clock from the hotel, and the aerodrome left shortly after dawn. One hour's flying sufficed to reach the shores of the Riveria, where San Remo, Mentone, Monaco and Nice were all bathed in sunshine (Mr. John Lord was again heard to sigh for a Saro " Cloud "). Turning up the Rhone Valley, Lyon was reached after a four hours' flight, and once more complicated regulations lost the party two hours before they were enabled to take off for Paris. Continuous rain, low visibility and a gale of wind made the trip on to Le Bourget a very sticky one, taking three hours to complete. In fact, it was only through the good offices of a pilot of the Rapide Azur line, who directed Col. Strange through a gap in the hills south west of Lyon, that they were able to make Paris at all. By this route it is possible to follow a canal which avoids the very difficult country round Dijon, but on approaching Paris beware of the forests of wireless masts. (Continued on page 1039) 1031
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