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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0959.PDF
SEPTEMBER 13, 1934. FLIGHT. -961 Commercial Aviation BEFORE DAWN Every morning and in all weathers Paris, and sometimes fog landings the London dailies are flown over to have to be carried out. Here is an impression of one trip 4 .45 A.M. The tarmac at Croydon is gently swept by anone-too-warm wind from a shuddering Air FranceFokker left by itself to warm up. In five more minutesit will be on its way to Le Bourget with the morning papers for Messageries Hachettes, and the steady floodlightfor its take-off is already reflected against the airport buildings. Away by the hangars a Commercial Air Line " Dragon," which is to carry 750 kilos more of newspapers and leather " sausages " for Air France, is being taxied towards the tarmac, and the pilot, who is, incidentally, a director of the company, moves about his business with petrol "chits," and so forth, at a smart trot. Presently, seated on a hard bundle of newspapers just behind the Marconi A.D.6N and the pilot's little entrance, I am being taxied out, the machine is swung down the beam and the throttles opened wide. We are fairly heavily loaded, and do not leave the ground with any alacrity, but in a minute the " Dragon " is climbing slowly over the dimly discernible villadom of Croydon on a compass course for Paris. The sky is clear, but the weather report is not too promising. In the valleys of the South Downs the ground mist lies in lakes, and there is obviously some thick weather ahead. At 4,800 ft. we cross the coast, and immediately run into clouds and heavy rain. The pilot, who has already notified Croydon by wireless, concentrates on the Reid and Sigrist. One could almost hear the monotonous words of the instructor—" Kudder off bank first on the turn indicator, and then correct the sideslip. . . Watch the brandy . . . look at your air speed." Clouds, mountainous clouds, continuous rain, and occasional glimpses of dull grey sea. All very well unless there's a " cold front" to go through; there's half a ton of ice for your leading edges in that. A yellow sunrise is reflected against the edges of masses of grey-white cloud in a picture that Dore could have painted but could never have seen, and through the clouds appears the tiny patchwork of France. The estuary of the Somme is on the left, and Aalt is immediately below us and to the right.Down to a thousand feet. At eight hundred there are clouds still below us, and eventually we scurry along in therain with the ceiling on the tree-tops watching for landmarks. Over Beauvais we see the Fokker as an insect against theskyline. So he was in that stuff with us. Nasty thought. We cannot get a word out of Le Bourget until the Eiffel Tower can just be seen through the haze and Le Bourget itself is. almost in sight. Down over the wireless masts to a full-load wheel landing, and so to the Cafe Astoria. Another newspaper trip done. That sort of thing—in worse weather or in better weather— happens every morning, and only the inhabitants of Surrey ever know, complaining, perhaps, of the aeroplanes that fly over at 5 a.m. Neither is it the whole story. These " dawn pa trailers " have perfected a crude system for fog approaches and land- ings. Hardly safe enough for passenger transport, but a step in the direction in which all commercial aviation must move in the future if it is to compete on level terms with surface transport. " QBI " must not be allowed for ever to keep us out of the air. The system depends on wireless, of course, on the common- sense of the officer at Le Bourget, and on direction-finding. In brief, the pilot brings his freighter directly over the fogbound airport, flies off at 35 degrees for six minutes, turns 180 degrees, comes down to 600 ft., running his generator at intervals so that the control can obtain his bearings, and cuts back his throttles when the operator hears his engines. All being well the machine touches down in the circle. Of course it cannot always work. Once, when there were a number of other machines about, a Commercial Air Line " Dragon " was, so to speak, left groping about without a reply, and with a diminishing supply of petrol, for a long time. The pilot eventually put down in a market garden. He still flies the newspapers H. A. T. A FRENCH " DRAGON " : This Gipsy-Farman, des- cribed in Flight of May 3, will be used on the Air France service between Paris and Biarritz. With five passengers and 220 Ib. of luggage, it has a maximum speed of 130 m.p.h. and a range of 625 miles. Aerodromes in Kalahari Desert Two sites for emergency aerodromes have been surveyed by the Bechuanaland Government, on the Serowe side of Rakops. '*'-•"• • A Winter Service to Ostend Starting this month, a new week-end service to the Bel- gian coast will be started by S.A.B.E.N.A. The Municipality of Ostend has decided to " extend the season " into the winter. : Ceylon's Aerodrome Work on Ratmalana aerodrome has been started, and the ground should be ready for Tata's mail machines in time for Christmas. The airport will be equipped with full hangarage, workshops, storerooms, administrative offices, a fuel depot, and a small customs station. The Isle of Man Ferry Since 1932 Blackpool and West Coast Air Services, Ltd., have been running a fairly regular service between Blackpool, Liverpool, and the Isle of Man. We hear that the company proposes to maintain their service, which is at present twice daily in each direction, during the winter months. . r ,-. ... Northern Airways During September, Northern Airways, of Newcastle-on- Tyne, owned by Mr. George Nicholson, who is well known in coach circles, are operating from Cramlington to Carlisle and the Isle of Man on Mondays and Saturdays, starting from Cram- lington at 9.30 a.m. and from the Isle of Man at 12.30 p.m. A D.H. " Dragon " is being used. Later on it is just possible that the service may be ex- tended to Belfast, but nothing has yet been definitely settled.
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