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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 1047.PDF
OCTOBER II, 1934. FLIGHT. 1049 AN ANGLO - AUSTRALIAN - NEW ZEALAND ENTENTE : J. K. C. Baines and H. D. Gilman are flying a Fairey " Fox " (No. 62) with Fairey " Felix " engine. and was sent to Aldershot in 1928 on attachment to the Suffolk Regiment. In 1929 he was transferred to the R.A.F. "Refreshed" at No. 2 F.T.S. (Digby), he was posted to No. 101 (Bomber) Sqd. at Andover, under Wing Com. F. H. Coleman, whose adjutant he remained until 1933. Gilman took part in all squadron experiments, including the high- precision bombing of H.M.S. Centurion. Last year, on con- clusion of the annual Combined Exercises, he was sent as assistant adjutant to No. 600 (City of London) Sqd. under the late Sqd. Leader S. B. Collett. Finally, after brief attach- ment to the C F.S. (Wittering), he was posted to the newly formed No. 15 (Bomber) Sqd. at Abingdon, of which he commands "B" Flight. His log-books show 1,560 hr. Gilman has been granted special leave to accompany Baines in the race to Australia. His mother and sister, now in New Zealand, are visiting Melbourne to see the finish. Racing No. 2.—Sqd. Ldr. M. C. McQregor and H. C. Walker (New Zealand) Sqd. Ldr. Malcolm Charles McGregor, D.F.C. and bar, is a picturesque character frequently mentioned in War Birds. He commanded the Flight (in No. 85 Sqd.) in which both Elliott White Springs and the anonymous diarist served. The "Diary of an Unknown Aviator" is eloquent of exploits shared by " Bish and Mac," the former being Lt. Col. (then Major) W. A. Bishop, V.C. The laconic entry: "Bish and Mac got one each " becomes almost monotonous. But McGregor, who arrived in London (via Auckland, Sydney and Vancouver) on September 21, refuses to discuss these war- time encounters. Rapidly blinking a pair of bright blue eyes above a small brown moustache and pugnacious chin, he pleads lapse of memory : says he cannot even recall the name of the New Zealand town in which he was born ; but he knows the date—March 3, 1896. Transferred from A.I.F. to R.F.C. early in 1916, and trained at Oxford, Netheravon and Upavon, McGregor served six months in France with No. 54 Sqd. (Sopwith Pups) beforejoining the redoubtable No. 85 (S.E.5A) on its formation at Hounslow uuder Major Bishop. He remained with thelatter until demobbed in 1919. He then returned to New Zealand. A member of the N.Z.A.F. since its formation in 1921, McGregor has also engaged in various civil activities. He was a partner in the now-delunct joyriding venture, Hamilton Airways. With a DH50 borrowed from the N.Z. Government, lie operated a passenger service between Dunedin and (Christ- church. With a Spartan he made a series of First Official Mail Flights throughout the Dominion. These and many other enterprises ended in 1932 with his appointment as chief instructor to the Manawatu Aero Club. He has flown 3,300 hr. Henry Campbell Walker ("Johnnie " Walker to his friends) was born in Edinburgh on March 15, 1908. Eight years later he accompanied his parents to New Zealand and now resides at Palmerston North. "Captain" of the Manawatu Aero Club, he took his "A" licence there in 1930 and the "B" in 1933. He has flown some 250 hr. Major McGregor arrived in 1his country on the s.s. Aorangi on September 19, and was subsequently supplied with his machine at Reading. " VICEREGAL " : S. L. Turner and T. Neville Stack are flying an Airspeed A.S.8 (No. 58), with Siddeley "Cheetah" VI supercharged engines. Some notes about their machine will be found below. (Flight Photo). THE AIRSPEED "VICEROY" CAPT. NEVILLE STACK'S Airspeed A.S.8, or " Viceroy,"as the type has been named, has been put through itsofficial trials by a Service pilot, who flew down toPortsmouth, so that it was not necessary for the machine to be taken to Martlesham. The " Viceroy " is essentially a. development of the " Envoy," and, although Capt. Stack's machine carries an exceptionally heavy load, and has been strengthened and stressed accordingly, the type is intended as a " pukka " transport machine carrying from six to eight people at a cruising speed round about 190 m.p.h. The machine bristles with exciting features. Or perhaps " bristles " is the wrong word, for it is a typically clean Airspeed design. The two supercharged Siddeley "Cheetah" VI radials, which give 315 h.p. at 7,000 ft., and which, by the way, are the only two of their type at present in existence, are enclosed in "long cord N.A.C.A. type cowlings, with inter-cylinder baffles. Annular oil coolers form the nose of the cowlings. The airscrews are metal Faireys. Spinners are fitted at present, but these, of course, make little difference in front of an engine like the " Cheetah," and we understand that they will be taken off for racing purposes. The nacelles are naturally considerably larger than those behind the Wolseley engines of the " Envoy," and extend rearwards as far as the trailing edge of the wing. To the rear of the 270-gallon fuel tank, which is on the port side of the fuselage, is a small lavatory. A canvas bed, which may be rolled up when not in use, is attached to the starboard side of the fuselage. Forward of the tank is a table, beneath which is the Plessey A.C.44 radio apparatus, with the control unit mounted abov»i the table. Certain of the cockpit windows have been covered in to make conditions more comfortable for the pilot when flying under tropical conditions. Among the interesting items of equipment in the cockpit are the boost controls and gauges for the supercharged engines, Sperry Artificial Horizon and Directional Gyro, Reid and Sigrist turn and bank indicator and the drift sight. Smith's instruments are much in evidence. " Antifyre " extinguishers are provided at strategical points, and a P.B. automatic control may yet be installed. The machine is finished in red and white.
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