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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1218.PDF
458 FLIGHT. MAY 6, 1937. COMMERCIAL — AIRLINES —_= VIATION — AIRPORTS- CIVIL CENTRE : H.R.H. the Duke of Kent breaks the civil air ensign at Ariel House, the new civil aviation headquarters of the Air Ministry. On the wall behind can be seen a relief map of the world's long-distance airlines —present and projected. A description of the ceremony appears on p. 453. THE WEEK AT CROYDON Spring in the Air and Heat in the Pipes : North-Easterns Extend : Wanted —New Airport Handbook MAY came in with good cheer, white cap tops, and a general air of satisfaction at more settled weather. Of course, there was the odd person who had for gotten that May 1 calls for an addition to the laundry bill, and who appeared with "winter dress" so far as uniform headgear was concerned. The established companies, who make their own uniform "issues," were not caught out. We are without lambs at Croydon to herald the advent of spring—or summer—but we noticed the airport fireman to be watering our greensward—officially, one supposes, to test hydrant pressure and his line in hose! Then even the oldest denizens ogled at the unusual sight of the two Imperial Shorts—dare one say Scyllii—taking off almost in formation, respectively Paris- and Cologne-bound. "Quirks and Guildings," too, still play their annual chestnut of circulating the hottest of hot water through our office radiator system now that the warm weather definitely appears to be here. Until the Bus Strike, one never quite appreciated how dependent is Croydon upon the service, but the famous " 194-from-East-Croydon-Station-which-will-land-you-right- at-the-airport-door," being painted red instead of green, is among the missing routes. The strike also shows how lazy is the average visitor to Croydon, for unless there are easy means of access the man-in-the-street will not trouble to visit us. Even so, the joy-ride companies had quite a good week-end, assisted, without doubt, by the usual Cup Final visitors, who flew with Olley's and Surrey's, the latter having their Dragon Blue Mist in service again after C. of A. Parachute Testing The Brian Allen Cessna has been putting in some useful work parachute-testing at Letchworth, where the Irvin Chute is made. Mr. Holmes tells me that he has dropped fifty-seven 'chutes in an hour, -and over seventy in all. A special gear with automatic rip-cord has been made up by Anglo-American Aircraft and Engine Service, and the procedure is to climb to 200 ft. and pull the trigger, when the parachute opens some 20-30 ft. below the machine. It may give prospective users confidence to know that every parachute so far tested has opened immediately. Without undue rush or much notice, North-Eastern Airways have been operating very nicely and to schedule on their Scottish run. Not content with this success they are opening up shortly on another compass point, to the S.E., where they will extend to Le Zoute, in Belgium. To this end they have ordered two new Rapides for late June delivery, and have augmented their staff, Messrs. Roland Falk, Allan Naish and B. Cliff for pilotage, and B. Young as radio-operator. Mr. J. K. Morton, late of B.C.A., has recently joined North Easterns as Air Super intendent, and, talking of this post, I am reminded that Capt. L. A. Walters, of Imperial Airways, has been re ceiving many congratulations on the confirmation of his appointment as Deputy Air Superintendent. Coronation enquiries for night flying still pour in, and, though there are as yet no signs of special decorations in our main hall—apart from the cheery new K.L.M. book ing office (so dignified by the absence of posters and litera ture)—the aerodrome hotel has thus early gone gay with bunting without, while within the smell of new paint heralds some change in colour scheme. Even so there must be many pilots who would willingly have forgone redecoration had additional sleeping accommodation been forthcoming instead. Some time ago we of the airport and our visitors were promised a new edition of the "official airport guide pur chasable in the main hall, price 2d." Sales presumably have not been brisk of late, otherwise the 24,000 odd copies which we last heard to be still for distribution must have been sabstantially reduced. As its pages contain information no longer appropriate to our development, as well as advertisements for flights on aircraft such as the long-since abandoned Avro 504, one cannot blame visitors for refusing to acquire a brochure, the cover of which also pictures a now obsolete aircraft surrounded, on the tarmac, by members of the bustling public. T. A. R. MAC.
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