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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1258.PDF
•472 FLIGHT. MAY 13, 1937. Mr. H.L. Brook Mr. H F. Broadbent FAST from AFAR How Mr. H. F. Broadbent came from Australia in 6 Days by D.H. Leopard Moth and Mr. H. L. Brook from the Cape in 4 days by Percival Gull IN last week's issue were briefly recorded the successful com pletion of Mr. H. F. Broadbent's Australia-England flight by D.H. Leopard Moth and the fact that Mr. H. L. Brook (Percival Gull) was well on his way towards achieving a Cape-London record. The latter effort was also successful, and it is now possible to give details of both meritorious feats. On arrival at Lympne at 6.40 p.m. on Monday, May 3, Mr. H. F. Broadbent had lowered the Australia-England solo record time, held by Mr. H. L. Brook, by 1 day 8 hrs. 55 mins. He managed to sleep for a while during ground stops on the Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and at other times relieved the monotony by reading, but the fact that his aeroplane—• which, we are told, behaved perfectly—is a standard De Havil- land Leopard Moth with Gipsy Major engine and a cruising speed of about 117 m.p.h., is a tribute to the physical en durance of this young Australian pilot in completing the 9,000 miles from Darwin in so short a time as 6 days 10 hrs. 55 mins., even after a delay at Rangoon due to the weather. The daily "hops" were as follows:— Tuesday (leaving Darwin at 7.45 a.m. B.S.T.) : Singa pore—1,900 miles. Wednesday : Penang—395 miles. Thursday : Akyab—1,020 miles. Friday : Allahabad—750 miles. Saturday: Bazra—1,850 miles. Sunday : Cyprus—800 miles. Monday: Lympne—1,900 miles. Some of these mileages were made possible only by a con siderable amount of night flying. On the last morning Mr. Broadbent left Cyprus early and landed at Rome at 8.21 a.m., within half an hour he was again on his way, covering the last 1,000 miles to Lympne and later to Hanworth, where he landed at 8.15 p.m. Mr. Broadbent held the outward record to Australia from November, 1935, but this was lowered by the present holder, Miss Jean Batten, last October, her time, on a Percival Gull, "being 5 days 21 hours 3 minutes. Mr. Broadbent's Leopard Moth had every appearance of being almost as good as new when it was wheeled into the Aircraft Exchange and Mart's hangar at Hanworth. Inside the cowling the Gipsy Major engine was as clean as could be expected after such a flight and the entire machine might just have left the dope shop. Apart from a Sperry artificial horizon mounted on the right and slightly below the normal dashboard, the only non-stan dard feature was the additional fuel and oil tankage and pump arrangement. Behind the pilot's seat were large rectangular tanks holding in all some 64 gallons, while the normal wingroot tanks held a further 24 gallons. The additional oil tank mounted beside the pilot had a hand-pressure pump. Among the components and items of equipment which con tributed to the success of the Leopard Moth's flight were:— Hobson carburettor, E.S.C. crankshaft, B.T.H. magnetos. Well-worthy piston rings, K.L.G. plugs, Petroflex tubing, Shell fuel, Castrol oil, Fairey metal airscrew, Smith's instruments, Sperry artificial horizon, Reid and Sigrist turn-and-bank indicator, Dunlop tyres, Demec navigation lights. Triplex safety glass. Mr. Brook's Contribution Three records were the bag that Mr. H. L. Brook hoped to bring back to his wife and to Harrogate when he set out from Gravesend Airport at 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 25. At first favourable reports of his progress came in. "Cape Flier Passes Rome." "Brook Reaches Cairo." Then came "Anxiety for Cape Flier. This was due to his being forced down by bad weather at Bor, Sudan. Finally " England-Cape Record Abandoned." Bad luck in the form of a broken tail wheel when taking off from Juba for Kisumu had preserved a little longer for Mrs. Mollison her outward record. Immediately on arrival at Capetown Mr. Brook, disappointed but still determined, started to prepare for a new take-off, for the return and both-way Cape records were still to be captured. On Sunday, May 2, at 3.02 p.m. B.S.T., the Percival Gull was off again with nose pointing homewards. A stop at Johannes burg and a 7-55 p.m. arrival at Broken Hill, Rhodesia, were reported. From there- news of progress was received at short intervals from Kisumu and Cairo, and on the Tuesday morning Mr. Brook took off from Wadi Haifa for Brindisi. He arrived there uneventfully and took off again atr 3.25 p.m., with time in hand, but altered his plans and landed very tired at Rome, where, due to* heavy rainfall, a flap was damaged. The aerodrome people undertook to replace the damaged part in time for an early start, and at 5.45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 5, Mr. Brook took off and completed his flight without further happening of note, finally landing at Heston at 3.20 p.m. and giving his Gull into the custody of Airwork, Ltd. The homeward journey had thus been made in 4 days 20 mins., while the overall time for the 13,000-mile double journey was 9 days, 9 hrs. 30 mins. The Percival Gull G-ADZO with Gipsy Six Series I engine was originally flown by Amy Mollison and was new for her Cape flight. As is usual with record machines, a large addi tional tank (in this case of 85-gallon capacity) is fitted inside the cabin, reducing accommodation to a single seat, and a 9! and a 20-gallon tank are located in each wing-root. An extra 3-gallon oil tank is placed beside the pilot. These extra tanks, a collapsible canoe and paddle, an Irvin para chute pack, numerous maps, bottles of lemonade and a Thermos flask reduced cabin space to a minimum. Components and equipment which played their part were :— Claudel Hobson carburettor, Lodge plugs, Amal petrol filter, Tecalemit oil filter, Rotax generator, Eclipse starter, Petroflex tub ing, Shell fuel, Castrol oil, Dunlop tyres, extra tankage by E. G. Brown, Smith's instruments, Sperry turn-and-bank indicator, Sestrel compass, Rotax electrical equipment, Demec navigation lights, Rotax landing lights with Philips bulbs, Thermotank cabin heaters, Aerolux collapsible boat, Irvin parachute.
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