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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 2331.PDF
^ 224 FLIGHT. AUGUST 27, 1936. COMMERCIAL /\/IATION AIRLINES AIRPORTS THE HOLIDAY RUSH : An unusual sight at Croydon on a recent Saturday, when the Swissair Douglases carried a record amount of traffic between London and Switzerland. THE WEEK AT CROYDON Spanish Rumours : Potentates : The Logical French : Seventeenth Anniversary of the London-Paris Service : Aerial Abracadabra TOWARDS the end of last week the authorities did what they could have done (presumably) at the start of the Spanish trouble, and put an embargo on ex port of civil aeroplanes to Spain and Spanish Morocco. Probably it was time, for there were queer stories about spares from Woolworth's. Anyway, the whole thing ended up with a queer state of affairs, in which an aeroplane, sold to a French buyer and ready to start for Le Bourget, with all its papers in order, was detained " on suspicion," though the whole transaction and the flight itself seemed to be thoroughly within the law. The story that one small aeroplane, no doubt destined for work over the firing line if a Spanish purchaser could be found, had the legend "Buy me and stop one" painted on it, is not verified. Everyone became slightly hysterical over the whole business, and wild rumours cir culated. One was about a mysterious foreign passenger who lost ^20,000 bearer bonds on the way to Croydon. Scotland Yard were said to be enquiring. What actually seems to have happened is that a perfectly ordinary pas senger arrived at one of the London air stations in a taxi and took the passenger coach to Croydon. On arrival he found he had left his brief case in the taxi. Naturally. Scotland Yard lost property department was notified and the thing was recovered the same evening. All it con tained was business papers. Capt. " Jimmy " Youell arrived one day with the Short Scion Senior for inspection by Imperial Airways, Ltd., and trial by some of the other pilots. It reminds one of a scaled down Empire flying boat, except, of course, for the landing gear. Fitted with four Pobjoy Niagara engines and carrying nine passengers, it seems well adapted for smaller air routes, and it certainly gives an impression of comfort for passengers and efficiency in performance. There was considerable activity amongst Press photo graphers and scribes last Wednesday, when H.H. the Maharaja of Mysore, wealthiest man in the British Empire, travelled from London to Amsterdam by K.L.M., and thence to Berlin by D.L.H. He and his suite, sixteen in all, together with a mysterious image said to be of fabulous price, occupied the whole machine—a Fokker F.20. Special food was ordered for the party, and the steward had implicit directions regarding its serving. The Dutch line seems to specialise somewhat in Indian notabili ties, for quite recently passenger lists have recorded the name of H.H. the Maharaja cf Jaipur, H.H. the Maharaja of Baroda, and Mr. Krishnamurti. The latter is, or was, looked upon by many as a kind of Messiah, and in the past was often seen at Croydon with the late Mrs. Annie Besant. Homing Devices There was a consignment of carrier pigeons from Buda pest to Croydon by K.L.M. last week. On arrival they were released, and set off home again in a south-easterly direction. Recently there were hawks of the kind used m falconry imported by air to Croydon. If these occasions were combined and both hawks and pigeons released at the same time, we might see a spot of sport at our airport, which is dull enough, heaven knows, now the Spanish business is over. A really sensible announcement has appeared in the French newspapers to the effect that Air France pilots with ten or more South Atlantic crossings to their credit, or who have flown over a million kilometres on regular air routes, will be granted an honorary first-class navigators certificate. Logical as ever, the French say that if a man has practised the business and navigated in a first-class manner for ten years or so, he must be a first-class naviga tor. Our idea is to penalise thoroughly practical men ny
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