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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0044.PDF
22 FLIGHT. JANUARY 2, 1936. COMMERCIAL /\V/AT/ON AIRLINES AIRPORTS 11 E MORE THAN AN ALTERNATIVE AIRPORT : Gatwick as it will appear when complete. The new station, in the fore ground, and the " Martello Tower " administrative building will be connected by means of a subway and landing runs vary from 1,000 to 1,200 yards. THE WEEK AT CROYDON Christmas Bookings : Being Prepared : Quickly from Australia CHRISTMAS brought the usual rush before the holiday and most of the services from Croydon were fully booked. Then, during the actual days of festivity, there was something of a slump, and afterwards the rush commenced again. The London-Zurich service, for instance, has been fully booked day after day and Swissair Douglas machines never appear to have an available seat. Imperial Airways report full bookings to Zurich for some time ahead. On Sunday last M. Mesmer, the Swissair manager, took a Douglas round to a number of aerodromes which might act as harbours of refuge in bad weather if they were all adequately equipped for the purpose. Flight has often stressed the fact that, if they are to be really valuable, alternative airports should be as well equipped for bad- weather use as the terminals. M. Mesmer was very wise to make such a tour with one of his pilots, for it is no joke getting any big machine into a strange aerodrome in really bad weather. Whilst he was about it M. Mesmer gave demonstration flights at the various places, for he, like everyone using the Douglas, is convinced that you only have to fly once in one of these machines to become an enthusiast. Capt. " Jimmy " Youell, of Imperial Airways, made a quick return flight to Basra and back in the Vickers Velox, carrying a full load of Christmas mail both ways. He took ten days for the round trip and landed at Croydon on Christ- The Need for Fog Approach Equipment : : Hoping for the Worst mas Eve. One of his crew (it would be unfair to say which, because the unfortunate man does not want a continual stream of callers knocking at his door) found on arrival in Paris that he had won a prize in some sweepstake. This proved to be a gargantuan bottle of Cognac some four feet high and stout in proportion. When asked if he had any thing to declare at Croydon, he is said to have produced his prize, with the remark that " he had his little hip flask with him." Airport people anxiously searched their stockings on Christmas morning to see if Uncle Gwydyr, or, perhaps, Aunty Adastra, might have presented them with a radio beacon for Croydon. Recently there have been many days when machines could have got in with such a beacon, but were compelled to go elsewhere for lack of this " every day ' facility. The other day I heard from a junior foreign pilot, of one of the countries where radio beacons at terminal air ports are taken as a matter of course, that during instruc tional lectures young pilots are always warned that at Europe's most fogbound national airport the facilities are so primitive that a totally different flying technique is necessary. Pleasant hearing, is it not? By the way, there is a pretty yarn, which has the virtue of being true, of a D.L.H. pilot who approached Berlin flying high and found his windscreen frozen up solid and with visibility through it about equal to that through a frosted-glass bathroom
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