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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0944.PDF
946 FLIGHT. .., • SEPTEMBER 13, 1934. WHO'S WHO IN THE MACROBERTSON RACE • Introducing Some oj the Competitors (Continued from page 918) * Racing No. 48.-R. A. Hosier (U.S.A.) " Airmindedly yours" ,'as he signs himself) Russell A Hosier was born in 1902 at Huntingdon, Indiana—with the Right Idea. At 17 he buili his first airplane on Pop's farm !and, if you please, "learned to fly on this ship without pro- fessional instruction." Since then he has flown 7,380 hr., probably more. In his latest letter, dated August 25, Russcomplains that " things have been sort of going slow in every way '' ; his '' Hosier B "monoplane, entered for speed and handicap events, was not yet completed and little could be said about it, except that it is a " flying-wing " plane o, high-wing type; wing area about 225 sq. ft.; of very clean design ; internally braced in allparts, and with retractile under carriage. Its engine is a 500 h.p. Curtiss-Wright D12,water-cooled, 12-cyl. "V." And he hopes to have a lot of news for us later. Hosier obtained his sportinglicence in 1925 and transport licence in 1928. He was for three years test pilot with theWoodson Co. (Bryan, Ohio), 1 and later with Sikorsky, whose; transatlantic type landplanes he test-flew and helped to construct. From 1929 till 1931 heoperated taxi services at Toledo and Detroit. In the last four years he has rarely missed a national air race. For the 1923', American Air Derby he designed and built his own entry. One of its features was a single-wheel landing gear. Racing No. 60.-J. D. Hewett and C. E. Kay (New Zealand) These two New Zealanders, who arrived in London on August 24, are no strangers to the Old Country. Both have served with the R.A.F. James Duff Hewett was born on January 18, 1891, in a near-Auckland district which is spelt Kihikihi and pronounced " Kee-kee " to avoid confusion with kai kai. which is Maori for "food." The R.Ae.C. gave him its certificate in June, 1916, two months after his transfer into the R.F.C. Whilst serving in France with Nos. 4 and 23 Squadrons he was awarded the C. de G. Post-war he put in a year with No. 20 Squadron on the Indian North-West Frontier. Thence, with rank of Sqd. Ldr., back to New Zealand. One of Hewett's brother officers in No. 23 was " 2nd Lieut. C. K. Smith," now- adays better known as Air Com. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. In 1924 Hewett joined the N.Z.A.F., of which he is still a member. Since 1927, when he bought one of the first Moths " seen in the Dominion (a " Gipsy I "), his connection with aviation has been mainly commercial, as managing direc- Mr. R. A. Hosier. Mr. C. E. Kay and Sqd. Ldr. J. D. Hewett. tor of Falcon Airways, Ltd., Auckland, which has its private aerodrome at Oraki. Hewett has flown some 4,000 hr. Now in his 44th year, he is perhaps senior to every competitor in the race. Cyril Eyton Kay, Hewett's co-pilot, is also his fellow- citizen. He was born at Auckland on June 25, 1902. In 1925 he obtained a Short-Service commission (F/O.) in the R.A.F., and was sent from England to Egypt, where he promptly developed enteric and was invalided back after three months in hospital. Between 1926 and 1929 he was with No. 5 F.T.S. (Sealand), No. 2 Squadron (Manston), and, as navigation officer, with No. 26 at Catterick, after a course at Calshot. In 1929, with F/O. Harold Piper, Kay obtained special leave and flew from London to Sydney in a Desoutter I monoplane. The flight was interrupted for three weeks by a forced landing on the island of Western Baronga, off Burma. Returning to England in 1930, Kay took an Instructor's course at the C.F.S. (Wittering), and was posted, until the end of 1931, as instructor to No. 2 F.T.S. (Digby). He then left the Service, but remained in England until the end of 1932 as demonstra- tion pilot with a commercial company. In 1931 he visited the Wasserkuppe and achieved the distinction of being the first Britisher to secure the "C" gliding certificate. During the last two years he has continued civil flying in New Zealand. Both he and Hewett are married. Delivery of the "Dragon Six" now being built for them at Stag Lane is promised for the end of the month. Racing No. 35.-R. J. P. Parer and Q. E. Hemsworth (Neiv Quinea) Raymond John Paul Parer was born in Melbourne onFebruary 18, 1894. Early in 1916 he was transferred from A.F.C. to R.F.C. and served in the Central Despatch Pooluntil the end of 1919, when, as previously narrated, he teamed- up with the late Lieut. J. C Mclntosh and made the second flight from England to Austra-lia. Parer corrects the state- ment in Flight (August 30) thatthe journey occupied six months. It was eight! On return to Melbourne in1920 he engaged in various joy- riding and semi-commercialaviation enterprises until 1926, his most notable exploit duringthat period being the first pas- senger flight from Melbourneacross the Bass Strait to Tas- mania and back (in a DH4).This route is now operated as a Government subsidised ser-vice. In 1926 he took the DH4 toNew Guinea and has remained there ever since. His initial' venture was the Bulolo Gold- fields Aeroplane Service; his next the Marlae (Port Moresby-Lae) Air Service. The com-pany of which he is now managing director absorbed its two predecessors and is registered as Pacific Aerial Transport, Ltd.,with headquarters at Wau. It operates a Junkers W33, Fok- ker F.Vila, modified DH9, and "Moth" ("Gipsy I").Parer, by the way, was first to fly across New Guinea. Godfrey Ellard Hemsworth, co-pilot in the race, was bornin Sydney on January 2, 1910, took his A and B licences with the local branch of the Australian Aero Club in 1931, and hasbeen flying for Parer's New Guinea company for the last three years. The Fairey " Fox " in which they are competing was boughtfrom the Hon. Mrs. Victor Bruce. It is being modified at Hanworth by W. S. Shackleton, who has cleaned it up veryprettily and expects to complete the job before the end of September.Parer and Hemsworth arrived in England from New Guinea Mr. R. J. P. Parer.
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