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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 1380.PDF
1384 FLIGHT. DECEMBER 27, 1934. WXFE A SECTION FOR OWNER.-PILOTS AND CLUB MEMBERS MY stay at Baghdad was rather more prolonged thanI had intended, but interesting, nevertheless. I findall along the route that one's progress is apt to be retarded by the hospitality of the people one meets, and at times it is only with considerable diplomacy, or at the risk of appearing ungracious, that the journey is continued without undue delay. At Baghdad I met a relative, Air Vice-Marshal Burnett, R.A.F., who is A.O.C. the British Forces in Iraq, and received a pressing invitation to stay. I should like to pay tribute to the efficiency of this fine Force, which is upholding British prestige: so well in the Middle East. The real reason, however, for the fact that I found it necessary to stay here two days may be mentioned as a warning to others contemplating a flight over the same route. Before starting, I had, of course, arranged—through the A.A.—for the required permit to fly through Persia. Owing to the delay at the commencement of the flight, my schedule was consider- ably set back, and it was seen that by the time I arrived at the Persian frontier my permit would, due to a recent enact- ment, have expired. As soon as this fact was discovered, a fresh application was put in from London, and arrange- ments made for the permit to be sent direct to the authori- ties at Baghdad. Official wheels, however, move slowly, NOTES by LORD SEMPILL A.F.C., F.R.Ae.S. Jask by nightfall. The 500 miles between Baghdad and Bushire took me 5! hours, and I landed there to refuel. After a stay of an hour, I continued my journey to Jask— a further 500 miles—along the Persian Gulf, and arrived after dusk. In flying east, one has to bear in mind the fact that one loses roughlv an hour in every thousand miles, and, of course, the twilight is shorter in the tropics. I found, therefore, that a night landing was involved on several sections between Cairo and Calcutta. For night flying in such regions one really needs a searchlight with a generator, and I have several times wished for a supply of parachute flares. It is to be hoped that a satisfactory flare of this type, similar to that in common use in America, which can be discharged electrically from a bracket installed in the side or bottom of the fuselage or by hand through the medium of a special pistol, will soon be approved for use in British machines and produced in this country. I had some difficulty in finding the aerodrome at Jask, although there is a small lighthouse there which is kept up by the British as the Persians have not yet seen the necessity for supplying such equipment for the benefit of those making use of the aerodrome. A Night Landing and on applying at the British Embassy I found that the '"THE ground staff, however, had put out some lanterns nprmit ViaH nnt arrivprl Mr Ocrilvip-TTnrhpe trip Ar-rincr A arranged somewhat on the lines of the svsrem T nrpvinnslvpermi had not arrived. Mr. Ogilvie-Forbes, the Acting Charge d'Affaires, an Aberdonian clansman, was very helpful in my predicament, and I am also greatly indebted to His Excellency the Persian Minister, who spared no trouble to expedite the required permission. He was most courteous and wired at once to Teheran, with the result that on the second day a telegram was received from the capital to say that I might enter the country and land at Bushire. Helpful Officials IN view of the difficulties some have met on the Persiansection, I must record with appreciation the fact that I received every assistance from the officials en route. To avoid delays of this kind, however, it is desirable to arrange one's journey as closely as possible to the proposed schedule and to make application for permits in good time. I cannot pass on without recording my general impres- sion of the airport at Baghdad. This is amazingly well equipped, with an hotel, fine station buildings and han- garage. There are good wireless facilities, and the layout and general equipment could hardly be better. It is quite surprising, after visiting other countries with a much longer experience of aviation, to find such a well-organised aerodrome. Imperial Airways are doing great work, and I have every reason to be grateful to their officials for the ready assistance received all along my route. My permit having arrived, some dates, grapes and pome- granate juice and a supply of water having been taken on board, I set off at 6 a.m. with the object of making arrange th line th syste I previously described in these columns as being quite effective in such circumstances. With the help of these I made a good landing, and was told that I was only the second pilot to have landed at Jask in the dark. There I stayed at the K.L.M. rest house, dining with the,Dutch caretaker and his wife, a Persian cat and two nice Aberdeen terriers. Had there been a moon I had intended to fly the next stage through the night, but as there is no lighthouse between Jask and Karachi, I gave up the idea. I continued on the following day on the next hop of 600 miles to Karachi, where I duly arrived without inci- dent. I occupy my time on the long day flights by writing these notes and by trying to catch up with correspondence. For this purpose I find a pad with a large spring clip, which fits on the leg above the knee, of great assistance. Just before leaving England I was presented with a bottle of fountain-pen ink which dries instantaneously, and this proved very useful indeed when writing in the air. Weather conditions along the route through Persia to Karachi were good. The dreaded sand storms or, more correctly, dust storms, are more prevalent in the spring and summer. The last stage to Karachi took me over the sea for a hundred miles or so, where I had to give up writing and attend to navigation. The presence of various kinds of fish swimming on the surface of the water was very noticeable at this point. I could make out large turtles, some of which must have weighed over one hundred pounds, and also what appeared to be dogfish and crabfish. I reached Karachi after seven hours' flying, gladly enough, as my petrol was getting low.
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