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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0929.PDF
SEPTEMBER 6, 1934. FLIGHT. L-shaped, with a longest run of 3,050 ft., and it is situated£ mile from Newtownards and 9 miles south-east of Belfast. The buildings will extend in the shape of an arrow-head witha permanent terminal building replacing the existing club- house, which is, incidentally, a very pleasant one. It is one of the first eight civil aeronautical ground radiocentres in the British Isles, and the station is operated by the Air Ministry and will be situated in the terminal building,from which the transmitter, housed separately about 50 yd. away, will be operated by remote control. Weather reportsand information regarding aircraft movements will be avail- able on request, the station being in direct communicationwith other civil air stations. It will also provide wireless directional guidance for aircraft crossing the Irish Sea. It may be useful to note the alternative routes for visitorsto Ards. The route involving the shortest sea crossing is by Blackpool, where there are two aerodromes, and the SolwayFirth to Fortpatrick, and thence 21 miles across the North Channel to Donaghadee and Newtownards. The conspicuous Commercial Aviation Scrabo Tower which overlooks the airport is visible on a clewday during the greater part of the crossing. The total distance by this route is 360 miles. It should be realised, however, thatthe Solway Firth crossing is in itself 22 miles and involves flying over considerable stretches of deserted country on eitherside of the Firth, which also attracts a considerable amount of bad weather. An alternative is to fly via the Isle of Manto Newtownards from Blackpool or Liverpool. This means two long sea crossings, one over 60 miles to the Isle of Man,and another over 40 miles to the Irish coast, although it is very much shorter in total distance. Yet another way, witha 70-mile sea crossing, is via Bristol, Haverfordwest, and Wex- ford. This route from London has the disadvantage thatCustoms must be cleared at three points, Croydon, Heston or Bristol, Kildonan for the Free State, and Newtownanls.In addition to this the wireless meteorological and direction- finding services from Newtownards which are available acrossthe Northern sea routes are no use to pilots making the Southern crossing. CROYDON Surrey Flying Services : Some Olley Charters : Aerial Lifeboats Coast Service : Mail Contract Injustice The South FIRST of all I owe to Capt. W. Armstrong an apology forinadvertently leaving him out of the people I mentionedlast week as posing, more or less gracefully, for the Croy-don " veterans' " photograph. We all remember Capt. Armstrong Hying D.H. 16, D.H. 18, and many other earlytypes. Then there is Surrey Flying Services, Ltd., a firm whichwas founded fourteen years ago and has been faithful since then to the Airport of London, which is Croydon. " Surreys "undertake charter work, joy riding, and instruction for ground engineers, as well as pilots' licences, and in these lattertypes of training their reputation stands high. This com- pany has recently taken an office in the main hall, wherealready a considerable amount of business has been done across the counter. On Monday, August 27, they had a tele-phone call from Newcastle requesting them to collect a pugilist in London to do duty for a fellow boxer who had" married a wife, and therefore he could not come." The substitute, a Canadian, by name Paul Schaefer, rushed to Croy-don, where pilot "Timber" Woods awaited him, and was flown to Cramlington in 2 hrs. 5 mins. Next day he flew backwith S.F.S. to London in remarkably dirty weather. On Wednesday, August 29, the 7 a.m. K.L.M. machinecarried H.R.H. Princes Ingrid of Sweden home aftei a short visit to this country. The Princess had her car driven up tothe aeroplane and embarked without fuss or formality, thanks to the courtesy of H.M. Customs and the emigration officials.It is. perhaps, an apt moment to mention the helpful and con- siderate attitude of these officials on all such occasions. Olley Air Service, Ltd,, held a "race week-end," carryingno fewer than six leading jockeys, as well as several weil-known trainers, to Ostend on Sunday in three flights. They had thesatisfaction of seeing their passengers ride 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the big race. Our old friend "Bill" Ledlie, made a re-markable flight to Geneva and back in a day. Before going he had arranged to play a match at a golf links an hour's cardrive away from the Airport, and on mentioning his trip to his opponent the latter bet him a comfortable sum he wouldnot keep his appointment or win the match, supposing all that flying could not be done in a day without physical exhaus-tion. "Bill" arrived on time and won his 18-hole match with ease. • Capt. Olley's American " flying family," who have not usedtrains at all for six years, apologised for going to Southamp- ton by train recently, because the children wanted to try thetrain as a novelty. I recently combed London for a han- som cab to give my schoolboy son a taste of the queer, old-fashioned transport. Everybody ought to travel in a coal- driven train at times, for fun. Col. Shelmerdine, the O.C.A., flew by Railway Air Services,Ltd., to Belfast, for the opening of the Ards Airport at New- townards on August 31. In time this airport may be one olthe most important in Europe. A total stranger has been ringing up the various companiesat Croydon, remarking casually that he has invented a detach- able cabin for air liners, complete with giant parachute, andwhat about it? The wiser managers have referred him to the Air Ministry, expecting him to become involved in a corres-pondence which will keep him busy foi years. One manager is said to have counter-attacked by suggesting that a medium-sized three-motor aeroplane, with folding wings, might be fitted into all four-engined aircraft so that it could fly awayif anything happened The airport is positively infested with partridges at present,no less than eleven coveys, one containing at least a dozen birds—or should one say six brace?—having been countedfrom the Control Tower with powerful glasses. On Friday last I flew from Croydon to Newquay by ProvincialAir Lines, Ltd., in a " Dragon," and although we called at Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Haldou and Ply-mouth, the total journey took only about three hours. This must be one of the most attractive flights in England, with thered Devon cliffs, Dartmoor, and the strange Cornish landscape. The organisation of the flight was good throughout, and thepilot was smartly uniformed and courteous, as well as obviously knowing his job thoroughly. It would seem to be a very diffi-cult route to fly, but this company has kept surprising regu- larity for over six months. I was astonished to find that nomails were being carried. It seems that the G.P.O. requires a probationary period from most operators. It may be just andright to give the mails to Railway Air Services, Ltd., the day they commence operations, but it cannot be direct or fair todeprive another company, and, incidentally, the public, of the mails, after six months' running. I have heard it said that R.A.S., Ltd., can obtain mails atonce on any new route because it is familiar with G.P.O. methods. Complete nonsense. It is the business of theG.P.O. to hand mails to the company at the starting point and to collect them at the airport of destination, and it isthe company's business to fly them from place to place. This question of internal air mails appears to need attention A. VIATOR. f The First "86" for Qantas During the week the first Express Air Liner for the Aus- tralian Air Mail Service has been undergoing trials in the hands of Major Hereward de Havilland, Captain H. S. Broad and Mr. Waight at Hatfield. This machine is the first of the dual control type with an extended and very impressive nose. Captain L. J. Brain, Chief pilot of Qantas Empire Airways, who is going to fly the machine to Brisbane, was an interested spectator. From Calcutta to Port Darwin We have received from the Shell Company a most thorough air route schedule, in neat loose leaf form, which they have produced to cover the last leg to Australia. Every kind of information can be found in the 132 pages, and plans given of all the aerodromes on the route, with the facilities provided. Similar schedules are to be brought out later for the Cairo- Calcutta and the Darwin-Melbourne sections of the Australian route.
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