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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0279.PDF
FLIGHT, AUGUST 3, 1933 The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all case A REAL " ROUND-THE-WORLD " FLIGHT 28691 It is quite obvious that to establish a long distance time record for comparative purposes the flight should start and finish at the same point as the previous record, although the intervening route need not necessarily be the same. . in the case of Messrs. Post and Gatty s record m June, 1931 and Mr. Post's recent breaking of that record, both Hights started and finished at New York. The routes were approximately the same, and a genuine record, therefore, has been set up from New York and " Round the World " to New York again. V correctly described " Round the World record, how ever, would be a different matter. The circumference of the world at the Equator is approximately 25,000 miles, but Mr. Post only covered some 16,000 miles in his flight, due to the fact that the whole of the route lay between 45 deg. and 60 deg. N. latitude. The farther north the latitude of the route lies the shorter will be the distance round and the better the chance of breaking the record. If a " Round the World " record is to be established the flight should be along a route the mean of which is a line of greatest circumference. The Equator lies mostly over water, and a flight along 0 deg. latitude might be impossible, but by confining the route to such a line within a belt extending from 20 deg. S. to 20 deg. N. latitude, such a flight would be possible, as the Hawaiian Islands would break the largest expanse of water. A record of this description would be really worth estab lishing, and I should welcome the privilege of being allowed to offer a trophy, and am in touch with the Royal Aero Club. ALEXANDER DUCKHAM. London, July 31, 1933. [We are extremely glad that Mr. Duckham has raised the point about the difference between a real " Round-the- expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of s accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns. World " flight and the so-called world flights which have been made. The first flight to be so named, it may be remembered, was made in 1924 by American pilots on Douglas machines with " Liberty " engines. Actually starting from Santa Monica, California, the real world flight was reckoned to have begun at Seattle. Here the start was made on April 6, 1924, and the route lay via Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Japan, Hong Kong, Saigon, Bangkok, Rangoon, Calcutta, Allahabad, Karachi, Bushire, Baghdad, Aleppo, Constantinople, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Paris, London, Brough, Kirkwall, Reykjavik, and thence via Greenland and Labrador to New York, Wash ington, Chicago, and across to California again, and finally up to the starting point at Seattle, which was reached on September 28. This route, although not being strictly along any great-circle line, covered a much greater distance than the Post and Gatty route. The longest of all was, however, Kingsford Smith's in the Fokker monoplane Southern Cross. This was not a single flight, but more strictly speaking a series of flights by which Kingsford Smith circled the globe in the true sense of the expression. The first of these flights was from California to Australia, via Hawaii and Fiji Islands, and was made in the period May 31, 1928-June 10, 1928. The next stage was Sydney- Croydon, and was made in the period June 25, 1929- July 10, 1929. The third stage was made the following year, from Ireland to Newfoundland, on June 24-25, and then the final stage was completed by flying across the American continent from Newfoundland to California, which was reached on July 4, 1930. What Kingsford Smith was able to do in several stages, and with long in tervals, should be possible of accomplishment in a rela tively short time with modern engines and equipment, and so it will be seen that Mr. Duckham's trophy can be offered witli every confidence that it will be won.—ED.] BOOK REVIEWS " Air Force Law in a Nutshell," by Capt. P. ]. V. Rippon, I.A., retd., late Fit. Ft., R.A.F. Gieves, Ltd., Portsmouth.) Obtainable from FLIGHT Office. Price 4s., post free. Of all the many books which young R.A.F. officers are supposed to " read, mark, learn and inwardly digest," none causes greater gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair than that well-known blue volume called " Manual of Air Force Law." To find a way about this book requires the patience of a saint and the peculiar brain of a cross-word addict. Capt. Rippon, who has forsaken the noisy life °f an Air Force officer for the more sequestered calm of the Inner Temple, has rendered a great service to officers by condensing Air Force law into a little booklet of some 50 pages, howbeit also in a binding of blue. " Air Force Law in a Nutshell " is not couched in legal phraseology, it is simply worded and simply laid out, therefore much more palatable and useful than its great-grandfather the official R.A.F. text volume ; after all, every R.A.F. officer cannot be txpected to be a legal specialist—God forbid ; true, his duty lies in the air, but there is air and air, hot air, for instance, is most obnoxious to a pilot—it has no lift. " Nine Lives," by John Tranwm. (John Hamilton, Fid.) Obtainable from FLIGHT Office. Price 9s., post free. Mr. John Tranum, the parachutist, is a friendly and latraliar figure in British aviation, and is accepted as the "J practised and skilful in his sphere of entertainment. has had a long innings—twelve years—in stepping into e with his bundle of silk, which may be taken as a testimony both to his ability and the parachute. Sensi-lv t- and apprehensive observers may wonder upon the reed of philosophy that men like Tranum use to combat t e bogey of uncertainty that hovers over their lives. The 1 is that a philosophy is not particularly necessary, f-ause parachuting with modern equipment is as safe as 1 flying. The inventor of an approved type of cy ci* is positive that there is no reason why a para should fail in normal conditions. Experience amply supports him. One has only to become familiar with a parachute pack to allow credit for this opinion. If the ring is pulled vigorously, there is no conceivable technical reason why the pack should not fly open and stream out the canopy. Although the pose of a dare-devil and all the irresponsi bility that such a title implies naturally attaches to John Tranum, he is actually a considerate and deliberate-think ing man. There is an unexpected air of apprehension in his normal expression, which some may think is engen dered by his work, but which actually derives from com mon shyness. Nevertheless, it is an air that suggests the right attitude towards his work, and instills more confi dence in his spectators than a cocksure attitude would do. Tranum is the writer of his book " Nine Lives," which makes thrilling reading for the lay mind. He is a Dane, but most of his air experience was obtained in America, as his American accent will confirm. Parachuting is only a selection in his repertoire. He is a pilot, has crashed machines as such for films, and generally embraced every antic in the skies that film producers can conjure up. " Back stage " views of thrilling films in course of pro duction are interesting parts of his book. Tranum is naturally proud of his recent world's record in the long-delayed jump class, when he fell freely for 17,250 ft. before opening his Irvin parachute, and it was perhaps his major contribution to the art of parachuting. The parachute display is now a permanent feature of air meetings, and possibly the biggest draw from the financial viewpoint, and as long as Tranum is in the pro fession he has it in him—as his book unintentionally shows —to remain a leading exponent. He has original ideas for improving the spectacular appeal of aerial antics, but perhaps we shall not see the best of them until the official regard becomes more tolerant. While many people in the aviation world may deprecate the circus element now pre valent, it has come to stay, and it will in time require great artists in aerial showmanship, for which the modest but daring Tranum has a flair. 789
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