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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1933.PDF
JULY 8, 1937. FLIGHT. RAIN at the PICNIC Bui British Pilots Enjoy Hungary's " Annual " as Much as Ever OF the record entry of seventeen aeroplanes for the fourth Magyar Pilota Picnic organised by the Magyar Touring Club and the Automobile Association, only one failed to materialise, and of the sixteen arrivals in Hungary all except two checked in on the opening day. This promptitude was doubtless due in some part to the arrival competition which had been arranged by the Magyar Touring Club to cele brate its birthday. Those pilots who landed at the aerodrome at Szekesfehervar—near Lake Balaton—on June 15 between the hours of 10.00 and 14.00 were eligible for the competition, which was decided by a draw to select the sealed time. Much to everybody's pleasure, the eventual winners were announced to be Mrs. Morris Davies and Mrs. Macdonald, who, between them, had flown a B.A. Swallow to the Picnic. Another trophy awaited the pilot of the aircraft adjudged to be the most suitable for touring, and after due deliberation by a committee of experts this trophy was awarded to Mr. M. L. Bramson, who was piloting a Percival Vega Gull. The first day (writes a British participant) was spent at Siofok on Lake Balaton, Hungary's substitute for the sea. In many ways the Hungarians are to be envied. The Lake, which is the largest in Europe, is very shallow and in summer is warm enough to encourage the most timid of bathers. (Inci dentally, with commendable adaptability, it. provides an ideal arena for skating and ice-yachting in winter.) Unfortunately, after some six weeks of uninterrupted sunshine the weather broke on the opening day of the Picnic and the aquatic sports were necessarily somewhat curtailed. Boreas and Bacchus The programme on the Wednesday took the party across the lake by steamer to Balatonfiired, where, after lunch, the local wine cellars were visited and sampled. The return journey was made in a gale which whipped up large waves on the lake, and this fact, coupled with the after-effects of the wine cellars, made many well-known pilots look thoughtful and somewhat pale. The next morning, owing to the high wind it was judged prudent to abandon the visit to Mezohegyes, the agricultural centre of Hungary. Instead, lunch was taken at Siofok, after which, the wind having abated, the party flew to Debrecen in Eastern Hungary for the night, according to programme. A sumptuous dinner at the Forest Redoubt Restaurant finished off the day—or started the next, according to individual taste. Friday morning started early with the triumphant playing of a brass band outside the hotel at 05.00 hrs. This was fol lowed by a march-past of what must have been a very con siderable portion of the Hungarian army, in which cavalry and mechanised artillery were well represented. It was later learned that this exceedingly smart parade was in celebration of the Regent's birthday. After breakfast a leisurely start was made for Hortobagy, a spot in the middle of the Hungarian plain and not at all easy to find. Before and after lunch, at a quaint local inn, we were entertained by cowboys who treated large and dangerous-looking herds of cattle with envi able contempt. The casualties were among the British guests, who, in trying to crack fifteen-foot whips, managed only to slash themselves. in the late afternoon the party left for Budapest, landing at the old aerodrome at Matyasfold. On the way into the town the opportunity was taken to lay a wreath on the Unknown Warrior's Tomb, the ceremony being performed by one of the British pilots on behalf of the visitors. Of the two days in Budapest little can be written except to say that they were largely occupied with bathing, eating and drinking. On Sunday afternoon the participants in the Picnic were invited to attend the ceremonial opening of the new airport for Budapest, situated on the other side of the town from Matyasfold. It was arranged that the visiting machines should fly over from the old to the new airport in line-ahead formation (widely spaced!), arriving at 16.30 hrs. and forming the first item in the official programme. It was most unfortunate that it rained on and off during the display. Such weather is apparently unheard of in Budapest in June, but the whole of the programme was carried through without interruption. The first item on the programme after the arrival of the British guests was a pretty display of flying by two gliders towed by air from Matyasfold Aerodrome, and this was followed by a demon stration of formation flying by a squadron of German fighters. These aircraft, which were said to be of Heinkel manufacture, are low-wing monoplanes with retractable undercarriages, and engines approximating to 900 h.p. In general design they appear similar to our own monoplane fighters, if perhaps some what larger. The pilots were said to have only just received their aircraft, and they confined themselves to high-speed dives and turns in separate flights. Next followed a demonstration of formation flying by a squadron of the Austrian Air Force mounted on Fiat biplanes. As the Austrian Air Force was something of an unknown quantity this demonstration was watched with great interest, and it must be admitted that the standard of formation flying and general ability of the pilots reached a very high level. The most impressive display of the afternoon was given by a squadron of the Italian Air Force similarly mounted on Fiat biplanes. This squadron consisted, of ten machines, which for most of the time was split into two flights of five machines each. Immediately after taking off they tucked themselves into the tightest possible formation—about four feet separating wing-tip from fuselage—and, as far as one could see, remained almost immovably spaced whilst they performed slow rolls, half rolls and loops in quick succession. Each flight then indulged in a remarkable display of con verging bombing, and, finally, the two flights united in V formation and approached the aerodrome with the leader level, but each succeeding machine flying on its sides alternately at 45 degrees. The effect was most striking and not a iittle funny; altogether a very fine show which could hardly have been improved upon. The journey back to Budapest (by road) rivalled Hendon at its worst and, consequently, many of the party were some what late in assembling for the final farewell dinner, which brought to a conclusion the fourth Magyar Pilota Picnic. AT A DIFFERENT KIND OF PICNIC—The recent S.B.A.C. Display Banquet. Right to left : Mr. A. E. Chorlton, M.P., Mr. T. G. John, Sir William McLintock, Sir Henry White-Smith, Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, Comdr. Harold Perrin, Capt. J. Laurence Pritchard, Air Comdre. J. A. Chamier and (with back to camera) Mr. G. F. Johnson
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