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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 1142.PDF
"44 FLIGHT. NOVEMBER I, 1934. THE ENGLAND-AUSTRALIA RACE NOCTURNE: Refuelling the winners" D.H. "Comet" at the Baghdad control. Scott and Campbell Black arrived almost immediately after the Mollisons had left for Karachi. AFTER THE WINNERS Lt. Cathcart Jones and Ken Waller, in a D.H. " Comet" reach Melbourne 4 days, 22 hours and 29 minutes after leaving Mildenhall, and obtain Fourth Place in the Speed Race. How the Competitors in the Handicap Race are faring WHILE the victors were being feted in Melbourne,the less startling but no less remarkable work bythe other competitors in the speed and handicap races had been temporarily forgotten. Cathcart Jones and Ken Waller, with the second D.H. "Comet," were pressing on towards Batavia ; the amazing " Hawk Major," flown by McGregor and Walker, had reached Calcutta, and had, incidentally, made better time between England and India than any other machine of its class; Hewett and Kay were reported at Allahabad with their "Dragon Six"; and the Stodart cousins, Hansen and Melrose, had all reached or passed Karachi. The Dutchmen's second place had, it turned out, been more perilously obtained than was realised. Not only were Parmentier and Moll worried by the small size of Albury racecourse, but the big Douglas had sunk two feet into the mud, and the crew parted with their chances in the handicap race by jettisoning their pay load and in- ternal equipment before flying out and on to Melbourne, which they reached at 12.54 am- (G.M.T.)—71 hours 28 minutes after leaving Mildenhall, at an average travelling speed of 137 m.p.h., and an average cruising speed of 173 m.p.h. Eight hours after the winning D.H. "Comet" had crossed the line, the Douglas was flying in a thunderstorm, and wireless communication was seriously hampered. With a bare hour's supply of fuel Parmentier decided to take no risks, and landed at Albury with the assistance of light provided by motor car head lamps. The performance of the Douglas is all the more inter- esting because K.L.M.'s originally intended to enter two machines in the race. Niver (Stork), as the D.C.2 is called. was to have been equipped with extra fuel tanks, so that it could make non-stop flights between the controls, while the Fokker F.36, with twelve passengers on board, was to have competed in the handicap race. But the Fokker was not ready in time, and the Douglas was left with three passengers, 420 lb. of mail, and a fuel supply which- was not great enough for '' hops '' longer than a thousand miles. The arrangement was a compromise, but, had it not been for the entry of the British '' Comet,'' this machine might have been first in both events. Col. Roscoe Turner's last day's flight was one of trouble. After leaving Darwin he and Pangborn went off, their course, had trouble, and were late at Charleville. A broken oil pipe caused them to put the Boeing down at Bourke, 512 miles from Melbourne, and they eventu- ally reached Melbourne, third in the speed race—3 days 21 hours out from Mildenhall. In spite of a reduced fuel supply, Turner had been making longer " hops " than the K.L.M. Douglas, but his cruising speed was lower, and the Boeing had fallen back slowly throughout the journey. Nevertheless, it was a magnificent effort. A Chapter of Incidents .^rr"T '... The unlucky Shaw, who had forced-landed on the first day in North Spain, had damaged his undercarriage while landing at Bushire : Johnny Wright, with the Lambert Monocoupe, had left Baghdad, and made a forced laud- ing in South Persia, and had been arrested and released-; F/O C. G. Davies and Lt Com. C. L. Hill were still delayed with control trouble at Nicosia, Cyprus; anil Brook, with the Miles "Falcon," was awaiting a new propeller at Tatio aerodrome, Athens. Capt. Stack was*
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