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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 1190.PDF
FLIGHT, DECEMBER 7, 1933 Trorrv flxft Qlvhs THE HAMPSHIRE AEROPLANE CLUB'S ANNUAL DINNER £~||r—HE eighth Annual Dinner and Dance of the Hamp-VJ III shire Aeroplane Club was held in the South JIL Western Hotel on Friday, December 1, and, as usual, was a very cheery and most enjoyable affair. After dinner was over and the health of His Majesty had been proposed by the Chairman, the Rev. E. Bruce Cornford, and duly honoured, the assembled com pany settled down to listen to speeches. The Mayor of Southampton, Councillor W. D. Buck, set the ball rolling by proposing the toast of " The Club." He expressed the pleasure and privilege he felt at having the honour to propose this toast. It appeared to him that several mem bers of the Club were trying to establish a record by see ing how close they could fly to the chimney-pots of South ampton without fouling them ; however, no complaints had been received. Complaints had, however, been re ceived about Sunday flying, but he himself felt that, if fly ing was prohibited on Sunday, the progress of civil aviation would be seriously curtailed. The Club was founded in the year 1926, the Mayor continued, and they were all very pleased that the founder, Mr. O. E. Simmonds, M.P., was present that evening. The Club had an excellent record, there being 700 members, of which 200 had learned to fly and qualified for " A " licences. If a Territorial Air Force was ever formed at Southampton, the Club would be an excellent foundation. Turning to the subject of the aerodrome, its future was at present in the hands of an aerodrome sub-committee, but he would give his assurance that the municipality were doing everything possible, within reason, to further the growth of aviation in Southampton. Mr. G. H. Winn, in replying to the toast, thanked Lady Bailey for coming down once again. He then confined himself to figures. During the present year 1,826 hours were flown, an increase on the previous year ; one machine alone did 620 hours. Only one machine had been seriously damaged during the year. The number of new members for the year was, up to the present, 69, of which number 63 are pilot members. The number of " A " licences gained totalled 30, a 50 per cent, increase on last year. The Club looked forward to the day when they would have a well-equipped club-house. The municipalities of Bristol, Norwich, Manchester, Hull and Portsmouth had built club-houses, and he felt that it was unlike South ampton to be outdone by Plymouth. The next speaker was Mr. F. D. Bradbrooke, who was called upon to propose the toast of " Civil Aviation." There were people, he said, who lived near aerodromes who could not think why flying was ever invented, and there were other people, like postal authorities, who could not think. The advance of civil aviation, however, was not going to be stopped by such people. Newspapers preached the danger of the roads, and it looked as if aviation might become a very suitable substitute for excessive motoring. Aviation at present seemed to have reached a point when facilities were waiting for further developments, and further developments were awaiting facilities, so progress was bound to be slow. The speaker then drew attention to Imperial Airways, which company was of unbounded value to the Empire, although, so he thought, handicapped by great lack of sympathy and backing from home. (In cidentally, we are sorry to hear that Mr. Bradbrooke does not consider " civil " aviation compatible with " civi lised " aviation. There are politicians who would agree with him.) Lt. Col. F. C. Shelmerdine, CLE., O.B.E. (Director of Civilian Aviation), in replying to the toast, said that he was very glad to hear Mr. Bradbrooke pay a tribute to Imperial Airways, " because it is rather the fashion in this country to decry our civil aviation and to compare it unfavourably with the United States and France and other countries where money is literally poured out. I think that with the sums which we can spend on commercial aviation we are probably getting a better return for the money which we spend than any other country in the world." Lt. Col. Shelmerdine then dwelt upon the pro gress made by Imperial Airways during the past year, the extensions to Karachi, Rangoon and Singapore. By the end of next year, when the extension to Australia had been completed, he hoped that Great Britain would have the longest air line in the world. Later on still it was hoped to extend to New Zealand and to connect up Rangoon with Hong Kong and Shanghai. We were spending less than any other great country, he continued, and he felt sure that we had got to sit up and spend more. The greatest difficulty was the upkeep of aerodromes abroad, and the heavy rain experienced in some countries made runways a necessity. Higher speeds had got to be aimed at. The past year had been remarkable for developments, but further aerodromes throughout the country must be laid down. Mr. O. E. Simmonds, M.P., in proposing the toast of ^Srrfili#CLi \ H M '"•""•"•"•'•'•'^—-"«fln l THE " HAWK SPECIAL " : This is the latest machine turned out for Phillips & Powis, Ltd., of Reading, by Mr. G. H. Miles, and is called the " Hawk Special." Powered with a " Gipsy III " engine, the top speed is in the neighbourhood of 130 m.p.h. Both the climb and take off are exceptionally good, and the machine has a remarkably good outlook forward for the pilot, while the passenger can see the sur rounding country unimpeded, by virtue of the low side-windows. This particular machine is being flown to Cairo by Mr. Stephen Cliff, and when out there he will compete in the competitions arranged during the Oases Meeting. (FLIGHT Photos.) 1242
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