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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 2015.PDF
JULY 15. 1937- FLIGHT. 85 COMMERCIAL AVIATION THE WEEK AT CROYDON Oxygen as Red-hot News : Syncopation—in Scandinavia and Brixton : Speed and Comfort FUN was had by all last week when the Air Ministry issued a Notice to Airmen about the use of oxygen when flying high. Fleet Street had never heard of it, apparently, except for reviving the presumably drowned, and phones at Croydon went tinkle-tinkle. One very solemn journal decided that, as most British aircraft don't use the stuff, the whole thing was something for "sub-stratosphere flying in the fairly remote future," but had it confidentially from '' an official'' that it was only a matter of putting oxygen cylinders by each passenger's chair. Actually, it is nothing so primitive, for many machines of types coming in and out of Croydon all day and every day are properly and scientifically equipped with oxygen plant. Various European firms which fly the Alps have their aeroplanes so fitted—D.L.H.. A.L.I. (Italian), Swissair and K.L.M., and the last-named company has its Amsterdam-Batavia machines thus equipped, so that comfortable and fast flying can be done at the most efficient heights. The Douglas machines I have seen have the cylinders in the rear luggage compartment, and the cabin is fed through the hollow chromium-plated rail of the lug gage net. From this depend a number of flexible pipes like speaking tubes, one for each passenger. Press button B to get oxygen ; release it, and the flow stops. Swissair and K.L.M. stewards or stewardesses are fully trained in this respect, and the crew in the cockpits have their own supply of oxygen. That is the quite interesting story the newspaper might have told instead of giving the impression that this was some Wellsian dream of the future. Moscow—London Another paper was all worked up because a Mr. de Lown flew from Moscow to London in a day by the regular Aero- flot-A.B. Aerotransport route to Stockholm, thence to Am sterdam and on to Croydon by Scandinavian Air Express K.L.M. /A.B.A. They said he was the first Moscow- London passenger to do it in one day. Not he. Exceptionally interesting, as showing how much indivi dual service and attention counts in air travel, were two passengers last week. One was a blind man who travelled by British Airways from the Continent unaccompanied, and the other was a girl of twelve who came from Cologne by Imperial Airways alone, lunched with great composure at the Aerodrome Hotel, and then went on by Railway Air Services to Belfast, making the whole trip without the least trouble, worry or embarrassment. Air France last week had a cargo of platinum ore via Marseilles from Asmara, Abyssinia ; I can think of several comments on this bit of news, but, like Brer Rabbit, I'm tying low and saying nothing. The Alake of Abeokuta came in from Paris by Imperial Airways, complete again with gold-knobbed golfing um brella supported by a gigantic gentleman in ruby-coloured velvet robes. Some of his subjects, who met "him after a smart shower of rain, knelt down on the tarmac as he disemplaned. Moral for air liner captains and commanded whose crews get a bit up-stage: Get a brolly with gold knobs on and bring them to their knees. Potentates of the boxing ring also arrived at Croydon last week. Max Schmeling, welcomed by his lawyer and Jim Howells, came in by D.L.H. from Berlin, and, thft same day, Jeff Dickson flew over from Paris. Nat Gonella and his band also arrived, having been enabled, thanks to the Scandinavian Air Express, to give three performances in Stockholm one day, take the night train to Malmo, fly to England (arriving at 2.40 p.m.) and give a show in Brixton on the evening of arrival. If you like Mr. Gonella's sort of music, this is one of the immense boons air transport has conferred on the world ; if you don't, it is one of the curses of swift travel in this restless age of ours. Swissair, whose passenger lists certainly warrant the em ployment of larger aircraft, had the first of their Douglas D.C.3 machines in to Croydon during the week. Pilots are delighted with the machine, which (say the experts) has many advantages over the D.C.2 from a pilot's angle. Lastly, heartiest congratulations from all Croydon friends to Capt. Wilcockson, First Officer Bowes and the rest of the Caledonia's crew! A. VIATOR. Imperial Oddments OWING to the fact that Canopus and her sister craft have taken over the African services, the activity of the five Hannibals stationed at Alexandria is confined to the compara tively easy task of flying between Karachi and Alexandria (2,572 miles), twice weekly in each direction. Incidentally, eight of the C " class boats have now flown to Durban ; no special boats appear to have been alloted to this route, and probably all boats based at Southampton will have a turn. Amalthea, Astraea and Andromeda, relieved of their Kisumu-Johannesburg duties, appear to have been taken over by Wilson Airways and are flying between Kisumu and Salis bury. When Hengist was destroyed by fire on May 31 Artemis, which had left Singapore on May 29 to connect with her at Karachi, had to fly on to Alexandria, return on the day after arrival and be back at Singapore on June 10. She arrived on time, having covered over 12,000 miles in twelve days. During the last three months there have been 100 Imperial and Qantas arrivals at Southampton, Durban, Johannesburg and Brisbane, and all but ten of these have been on time.
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