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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 2223.PDF
AUGUST 12, 1937. FLIGHT. 155 The Outlooks A C on The King's Cup F ROM the final list of entries for the King's Cup air race, to be flown on September 10 and II next, published on p. 167, it will be seen that 31 entries have been received. This compares with 28 entries for last year's race, so that the changes made in the regulations and courses do not appear to have brought about any marked improvement. There was a time when we could count something like 100 entries for the King's Cup race. That was a bit too much of a good thing, and imposed too great a strain on the organisers. But it is a far cry from 100 to 31, and this year's entry list cannot be regarded as satisfactory as to numbers, however excellent it is as to quality. This is all the more surprising as, in addition to this year's race being the first for a cup to be presented by H.M. King George VI, the prize money reaches the very gratifying aggregate of ^2,000, thanks mainly to the generosity of Lord Wakefield of Hythe. When the regulations were first published last April, Flight pointed out that this impressive total will benefit six competitors in addition to the actual winner of the race, and expressed the hope that private owners would feel that never was there a King's Cup race so well worth entering for. British private owners do not appear to share that view, more's the pity. An analysis of the entries list brings to light the some what surprising fact that three manufacturers share 21 of the 31 machines entered, two more of one type being no longer built, and the remaining eight being all products of individual designers and constructors. Capt. E. W. Percival heads the list with a total of nine machines, six being Vega Gulls and three Mew Gulls. Next comes Phillips and Powis with eight Miles machines, of which three are of the Whitney Straight type, and the others are single Falcon, Hawk, Magister, and Sparrow- hawk types, plus one newcomer, known as the Hobby. What that is Miles alone knows at the moment! There is no telling what form a Miles Hobby will take. The British Aircraft Manufacturing Co. will be repre sented by four machines, two Eagles and two Double Eagles. The Comper Swifts are, of course, out of pro duction now. Speeding-up C OMPARED with previous races, this year's King's Cup promises to include a greater percentage of fast machines. Probably the fastest will be found to be the De Havilland Comet which is to be piloted in the race by Mr. Clouston. This, as a point of interest, is the actual machine in which C. W. A. Scott and the late Tom Camp bell Black won the England-Australia race in October, x934- The speed is probably in the neighbourhood of 230 m.p.h. unless engine changes have since been made. The three Percival Mew Gulls are very much in the same class, and it is likely that these four machines will start very close together, assuming that all four manage to get into the Final. As the eliminating contest has been designed to weed out one-third of the entries, and the slowest third at that, there is every reason to expect to see these four fast machines in the Final. How fast is the new tiny T.K.4 designed and built for the race by students of the De Havilland Technical School no one knows at the moment. This machine, an illustrated description of which appears in this issue, has not yet been fully tested, having but recently made its initial flight tests, but Sqn. Ldr. Clapp pleads guilty to "guessing" at 215 m.p.h. From the fact that there are fast machines entered, it does not, of course, follow that the race will be won this year by a fast machine. The Final (but not the eliminat ing contest) is a handicap race, and, theoretically at least, the slower machines should stand just as good a chance, unless strong head winds are met on the day of the race. Nevertheless, the fact that several really fast aeroplanes are flying in the race always adds a great deal of interest and helps to bring spectators to the different controls along the course. Getting Experience r HE long-range flying boats are quietly making his tory. Last week-end the British boat Cambna covered the distance from Botwood, Newfoundland, to Foynes, on the Shannon, in 12 hours, and a few days before the American Sikorsky Clipper had covered, for the first time, the distance during daylight hours So far everything has gone smoothly, as one was entitled to expect it would during the relatively fine summer weather. While rejoicing that the earlier flights should prove so relatively easy, it is well to remember that much still remains to be done before we have the experience neces sary to ensure all-year regular commercial operation. The great advantage of the present experimental flights is that they enable the ground and air crews to become accustomed to working together during the most favour able conditions. Flying Boats' Range J17ITH Caledonia, Cambria, and the American YY Clipper making regular non-stop crossings of the Atlantic, apparently with the utmost ease, one hears with more than passing interest of the cruise of four London flying boats of No. 204 (F.B.) Squadron from Plymouth to Gibraltar and Malta. It is not long since it was a bit of a feat for a flying boat of the R.A.F. to make a non-stop flight between Plymouth and Gibraltar, but fortunately that time has passed. The Saro London is a very fine long-distance machine and, which is a very important point, it is roomy and comfortable inside, but naturally it has to carry full military load, excepting bombs, when on a cruise, and is not a mere flying petrol- tank. Comparison between the R.A.F. machines on duty and the experimental. Short Atlantic boats would lead nowhere. It. is, however, well known that Air Ministry policy is never satisfied with present performances, but is always looking ahead and providing for something better. The designing firms are equally wide awake, and usually the drawings for a new type are on the board before the previous one has gone into production. Presumably it will never be necessary for the R.A.F. to possess a boat equipped to fly the Atlantic, but boats which can cover the distance between any two neighbouring refuelling bases in the British Empire when carrying full military load and perhaps bombs as well at a speed greatly in excess of present standards are an ideal which will surely be reached in the near future. DIARY OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS—PAGE 161
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