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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0006.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 6, 1933 with himself when he had done so. But when it became a matter of swarms and swarms of " Moths," " Avians," " Bluebirds," etc., the said man on the aerodrome, in the words of Lewis Carrol, " fairly lost heart and outgrabe in despair, when the third (score) repetition occurred." It was all a very natural and a very desirable development, but it inevitably robbed the race of much of its interest. Yet it so happened that the first win by a " Moth " (in 1926) provided the most exciting finish that the King's Cup has ever seen. On the last lap only seconds divided a " Moth," flown by Broad, from a Vickers " Vixen," with Napier " Lion," flown by Scholefield, and when the winning machine first appeared as a speck in the blue, it was not possible for a moment to say whether it was the big one or the little one. Had this finish been at Manchester, there would have been large excited crowds to see it. As it took place at Hendon, only a handful of enthusiasts were present. It was the finest King's Cup Race ever held, but it marked the beginning of the lessened popular interest. This year a very sensible effort has been made to weed out the "outsiders" in early laps, so that there may be a good chance of a close finish at the end. The proprietors of Hatfield aerodrome, the De Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd., have made strenuous efforts to attract a crowd to watch the event, and certainly it is a very easy run in a car or an omni bus to Hatfield along the Barnet by-pass road. Probably thousands of cars pass the aerodrome every week-end, and the drivers who have done so in the last couple of months must have noticed the little '' Tiger Moth '' (of the more ancient vintage) hoisted high above the wall by the aerodrome. Those who go to see the final lap should see good sport, and may see quite an exciting finish. Civil flying has developed as we always hoped that it would. It is no longer a stunt, but an everyday matter. We must rejoice that our hopes have been fulfilled, but when it comes to a modern handicap race, we can hardly help regretting the cheerful old days of the " Gnu " and the " Kangaroo." Once more it gives us pleasure to welcome to British shores that fine air leader, General Italo Balbo and a body of gallant Italian airmen in sea planes. It was with a different purpose that he brought an equally gallant band over T je .. in 1929 for a Schneider Contest. Then "Flight18" tne mSn courage of the Italian pilots aroused our admiration as much as their poor luck evoked our S ^mpathy. The 24 sea planes which flew from Italy to Lough Foyle are engaged on an enterprise probably even more hazardous than a Schneider Contest or an attempt on a high-speed record. Already, even before the wing reached the British waters, bad fortune has afflicted them, and we join with them in mourning a fatal accident. We trust that better luck will follow Control of Private Flying them in the more difficult stages of the flight which lie before them. The Italian airmen are well aware of the difficulties which they will have to overcome. We may recall here that an Italian airman, Signor Locatelli, attempted a world flight in 1924 in a Dornier " Wal," and was forced down in the North Atlantic by sheer inability to see where he was going. The flying boat was damaged by the seas, but the crew re mained in it for three nights, and then were picked up by one of the U.S.A. cruisers which were assisting the world flight of Lowell Smith and Nelson in Doug las seaplanes. Absit omen! General Balbo knows, however, that fogs may be met between Ireland and Labrador, and already bad weather reports have lengthened his stay in Ireland. Caution is to be applauded, for the Atlantic can be merciless, and no unnecessary risks ought to be run. Everyone will be greatly relieved when Gen. Balbo and his men are safely in America. We heartily welcome the action of the Secretary of State for Air in appointing an independent Com mittee to consider the regulations governing private flying. The official announcement will be found on another page. It is certainly a strong Committee. Lord Gorell is a former Under-Secretary for Air, Capt. Balfour is a very active member of the Parlia mentary Air Committee, Mr. Gordon England and Col. Moore-Brabazon have had experience of the early days of flying when there were next to no regulations, Mr. Everard will be an extremely sound representative of private flying of the present day, and the S.B.A.C. will be well represented by the acute mind of Mr. Handley Page. FLIGHT has often expressed its opinion that there are too many regulations about private flying, which have come to mean restrictions. The certificate of airworthiness is one point on which we feel that reform is necessary. Its cost is too high, and we hold that the certificate in its present form is unneces sary. A discussion of the certificate is specifically mentioned in the Committee's terms of reference. It is significant that a membsr may be added to the Committee to represent insurance interests, and we have often stated our opinion that the insurance interests are, in the long run, the best guardians of safety in the air. The recent A.N.D. II, which forbade the flying of experimental types without the permission of the Air Ministry, seemed to us the last word in official obstruction. It was certainly time that something was done about it all, for serious dissatisfaction was growing fast. We are very glad that Lord Londonderry has taken the initiative in arranging for an enquiry into the whole matter, and we hope and believe that the result will be a great stimulus to the design, manu facture, and flying of privately-owned aeroplanes. New Registrations AMONG the latest aeroplanes to be registered is a " Monospar " (2 Pobjoys) for Mr. J. C. Cantrill. Mr. Cantrill is in charge of the aviation department of the Cellon works, Kingston-on-Thames, so no doubt the new machine will have a " specimen " finish when it first appears in public. A Miles " Hawk " has been registered to Lt. Col. W. Duncan and a D.H. " Dragon " to the Anglo-Persian Oil Co., presumably for transport in Persia, where the company makes a great deal of use of aircraft. Finally three of the new D.H. " Leopard Moths " which will be seen in the King's Cup Race are down as being owned by Sir Derwent Hall Caine, Mr. A. S. Butler, and Mr. A. H. Youngman. 656
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