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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 1502.PDF
674 FLIGHT. JUNE 20, 1935. ALMOST The new Secretary of State for Air, Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister (left), F/O. W. Hammerton (Vice-Chairman, Royal Air Force Club) and Lord Trenchard (President) watching the flying. (Flight photograph.) ALTHOUGH rain all but spoilt the second half of the programme at Hatfield last Saturday, when the • Royal Air Force Flying Club held its annual display, the result, considered as a display of flying, was undoubtedly a success. Sir Philip Cuifliffe-Lister, the Secretary of State for Air, arrived in the D.H. "Dragon Rapide," which has been allotted to No. 24 Squadron for communication purposes on such occasions as this. He was accompanied by A. V.-M. F. W. Bowhill, Sir Christopher Bullock, and Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, and was welcomed by F/O W. A. Hammerton, Vice-Chairman of the Committee; Marshal of the R.A.F. Lord Trenchard, the President of the Club ; and the Club Committee ; Sir Philip Sassoon, Under-Secretary of State for Air ; Air Chief Marshal Sir Edward Ellington, Chief of the Air Staff; Lt.-Col. F. C. Shelmerdine, Director-General of Civil Aviation ; and Capt. E. C. Johnston, Controller of Civil Aviation in Australia, were also present. The programme was rather long, but of excellent character. It started with an amusing relay race between teams of in- Royal Air Force Flying Club Display at He for Air Makes His structors from the Bristol Reserve Training School and the De Havilland School which resulted in hectic riding of bicycles and skidding of " Tiger Moths " round wireless masts. Flt.-Lt. H. Bailey, from the North Sea Aerial and General Transport Co., Ltd., who run the Reserve Training School at Brough, then inverted a Blackburn B.2 Trainer, and al though it was announced that his fuel feed was not -functioning satisfactorily, he seemed to remain inverted for the majority of his time. A climbing roll from an inverted dive was perhaps the piece de resistance of his display. The next item was a foretaste of what may be expected at Hendon at the end of the month. A flight from No, 25 (Fighter) Squadron, flying Hawker "Furies," gave a demonstration of the pitch of perfection to which flight aero batics have been brought in the R.A.F. Loops or rolls in any sort of formation all seemed the same to them. Change of formation, either during a loop or in a very tight turn at low altitude around the aerodrome, was equally perfectly done and words cannot express the beauty of their display. A climbing roll while in " squa.dron vee" formation was, perhaps, the best of their manoeuvres. Mr. F. Coveney jumped from Mr. L. Irvin's Stinson "Reliant" when over the aerodrome, and with the help of an Irvin Airchute landed "right on the spot" in front of the enclosures. Event 4- put our hearts into our mouths at the take-ofl and kept them there until after the landing. The reason was the hectic display by F/O.s G. King and V. Moon, flying instructors of the De Havilland School. They threw their '' Tiger Moths '' about in seemingly impossible fashion and, watching the expression on Capt. de Havilland's face, one wondered whether he wasn't just a bit worried at having produced a flying machine which permitted mere man to take such liberties with it. The whole item looked more like a demonstration of aircraft strength-testing than anything else. No. 600 City of London (Fighter) Squadron and No. 601 County of London (Fighter) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, then came over in formation, and Mr. K. Hole, at the micro phone, hurriedly called people out from their tea in the clubhouse to see them. Their flying was, as it always is, hardly distinguishable from that of the R.A.F. No. 43 (Fighter) Squadron then put their Hawker " Furies " through a display of squadron air drill which was as good as anything we have seen for a very long time.
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