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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0378.PDF
d FLIGHT. FEBRUARY II, 1937- Venice from the air. Capt. Macmillan, flying in thick fog, did not obtain this view. the rain and mist-filled air, but before long we were above the clouds and heading eastward in the direction of the North Foreland at a height of 2,300 feet, and climbing slowly. Nearing Manston Aerodrome we saw ahead a Hawker Hind, which changed position from the starboard side to the port and for a time flew alongside us as we maintained a steady course. There was not a bump in the sky as we crossed the North Sea at a height of 4,250 feet; and after what always seems to me a most monotonous trip we picked up the delta country of the flat coast of Holland, and soon afterwards glided down to Rotterdam Airport—a run of exactly an hour and a quarter at a speed of 165 m.p.h. from take-off to touchdown. When we got out to stretch our legs the air felt raw and cold, for the cabin heating in flight was almost too great. Nine minutes later we were off again, straight from the tarmac towards the high wooden fence that runs round the airport of Waalhaven ; again I noticed the long run of the Douglas before she unstuck. Just after the wheels were off the ground the second pilot in the front seat pumped vigorously, presumably to raise the undercarriage, which he evidently thought was better up as we approached the high wood fence. Or perhaps Mr. A. Plesman, the efficient managing-director of K.L.M., provides a bonus for his pilots on fuel consumption which makes them want to raise the undercarriage to reduce resistance at the earliest possible moment. Fifteen minutes later we glided down from a height of 1,000 feet and landed at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. I was bound for Berlin and, after clearing my passport, there was just com fortable time for a light lunch in the ex cellent restaurant at Schiphol. But there was not time for a regular meal. When I sat down and the waiter asked me what I would like to have, I looked at the clock and asked him what I could get quick and hot. In the self-same way that I remember every time I have made a quick lunch at Schiphol, he suggested: "What about bacon and eggs, sir? " Knowing their excellence, I agreed, and made a quick meal off a plate of them cooked in the Dutch fashion and served in the dish in which they were cooked. In Mufti The time for starting was nearly up when I finished. Calling the waiter for my bill, I asked him if time was not a bit short. He pointed to the burly back of a man sitting at the table in front, and said : " It is all right. There is no need to hurry. That is your pilot sitting there.'' '' Why is he not in uniform ? " I asked. The waiter smiled. "Oh, because he is a reserve pilot, not one of the regular Luft Hansa pilots. But he has an over coat and a uniform cap." It was a reminder of the German sys tem of putting Air Force pilots on civil aircraft to learn their way about Europe under all conditions of weather. Soon after, we climbed into Junkers Ju.52 D-ANAL and sped swiftly from the ground, with the remarkably quick start and rapid climb of that aircraft: up and off on to the straight-line course for Hanover. At a speed of 137 miles an hour we climbed gradually to 3,300 feet, with the engines running (according to the tachometers) at slightly different speeds. The port engine gave 1,900 revs., the centre 1,800 and the starboard 1,860. Soon the altimeter recorded 4,000 feet and then 4,600. We levelled out to cruising speed, making 168 m.p.h. over the ground, down wind. The wind was light. The sixteen-seater was full. In the forward cabin, where I sat, there was an electric cigarette lighter and an ashtray at my right hand, for in German-run aircraft of this type smoking is permitted. Halfway to the Dutch frontier we flew over clouds ; soon they spread entirely across the flat countryside; the flight became a monotonous droning journey over a landscape of grey and white, until we saw the low range of the Hartz mountains projecting above the clouds. We came down through the clouds about five miles short of Hanover, flying blind for only a few minutes, crossed the airport, turned in what seemed an unneces sarily wide circuit, and landed one hour seventeen minutes after leaving Amsterdam, an average speed of 160 m.p-h made good. We taxied in to the airport buildings, tumbled out of the machine and walked into the administration building- All
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