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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 2297.PDF
AUGUST 19, 1937- FLIGHT. r$y COMMERCIA THE WEEK AT CROYDON Satisfactory Appointment : Floods : War on the Pigeons : Sweden Comes Through AN appointment at Croydon which has given considerable satisfac-k. tion is that of Mr. J. W. S. Brancker to the post of Im perial Airways European area mana ger—the position formerly held by the late Mr. Wolley-Dod. All who knew and admired the late Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker, with his forthright methods and absence of official " dilly-dally," will especially welcome his son to Croydon, and it is interesting that Mr. Brancker will have much to do with the representatives of various foreign air lines, for wherever he goes in Europe he will be doubly welcome on account of his father's high reputa tion amongst chiefs of foreign air traffic companies. Early last week the successful Russian polar flyers came through Croydon via Air France and were met by a large and enthusiastic crowd of their fellow-countrymen and women, who, despite a downpour of torrential rain, said it with flowers on the tarmac and with prolonged cheers. Mr. "Tommy" Nash, of Nash Aircraft Sales and Hire, is yet another recipient of the Coronation Medal. With Capts. Youell, Jones and Percy and Sgt.-Major Flannigan he makes the fifth known airport recipient. There may be others, of course, too shy to mention it. Croydon Bore Floods again caused fun and frolic by submerging the road leading to the " C" hangars. Cars did the usual bow- wave stuff past the petrol pumps, whereupon an irate gaso line vendor was seen to emerge from one of the small huts and start to bale wildly with, I think, his green pork-pie hat. His theme song (after Chesterton) is obviously " Oh! we don't care where the water goes, if it doesn't go into the gas." Hangars, of course, were flooded feet deep, as usual, and it's a pity that nobody took an air photo of the roaring torrent rushing down the embankment which leads it nicely into them. There was a picture of the not half so interesting Severn Bore in one of the papers—a phe nomenon, by the way, which bores nobody and does not leave alleged "adequate accommodation for aircraft and staff " inches deep in mud full of newts and young eels. I say that the accommodation is alleged to be adequate, and if highly adequate rentals are any criterion it certainly must be. Talking of floods reminds one of the dove out of the ark who could find no place for the sole of her foot. Air port pigeons plant so firm a sole on the tarmac that one of them, according to an official circular, "luckily" (but not for the bird) did not fly as the aeroplane approached it and was run over by one of the wheels. The word " luckily " appeared to concern the danger to. airscrews. Why not metal ones? After all, "other days other methods," and some sort of corkscrew-nosed shrimp or other marine monster was the bane of the wooden walls of old England at one time. Anyway the official commu nique goes on to say that the authorities fully appreciate the attraction which these birds have (though actually they ar e a scruffy bunch, inferior in cleanliness to the clay variety, and are, I believe, when cooked the most indiges tible food known to man). We are urged to discourage them—if necessary by destruction—which, if sudden and done with a spanner is a bit discouraging. Finally, the authorities "cannot help feeling that they are out of place at an airport." Probably the pigeons feel that an airport is out of place at one of their oldest hereditary feeding grounds. Anyway, if a wooden chock whistles past your ear next time you visit us it will be someone discouraging a pigeon. Nor must you mind if there is birdlime rooting you to the tarmac; this cannot be worse than the discarded chewing gum which does the same for you inside the main hall. On Wednesday, August 18, A.B. Aerotransport were due to start regular operation to and from Croydon for the first time. The K.L.M. ,/A.B.A. "Scandinavian Air Express," which has been operated by the two firms con jointly—the Scandinavian firm flying to and from Holland from its base and the Dutch carrying on from Holland to England—will, in future, be flown all the way by A.B.A. No doubt the Dutch company, with commitments all over Europe, increased Far Eastern services in view and, inci dentally, with seven daily services each way between Hol land and England, will be glad to hand one of them over to A.B.A., and people over here will be glad to welcome Swedish aircraft and pilots. I am informed that Imperial Airwavs are now permitted to carry passengers to Rome by Empire services, and it is now possible to fly to Rome, space permitting, by such means. The experience would be an interesting one, com parable, perhaps, to taking a short trip to Cherbourg or Hamburg on one of the big transatlantic steamships to "see what it is like." A. VIATOR. Scandinavian Interests LIEUTENANT DAM of D.D.L., recently told a Danish pro vincial newspaper that his company and the D.L.H. were interested in the opening of a new Hamburg-Esbjerg- Aaiborg-Gothenburg service. At the same time, Norwegian plans are afoot concerning another new Scandinavian line from Esbjerg to Stavanger. According to Mr. Scha^fer, the Copen hagen representative of D.L.H., the German company is also interested in the Norwegian project. With increasing traffic on the Copenhagen-Esbjerg line the leading North Sea port of Denmark is becoming an important centre. A recent novelty launched by the D.D.L. has done much to popularise the service—to wit, so-called "Air Week ends" offered at an inclusive price of 85 Kroner. This amount pays for the round trip by air and for hotel accom modation at Fano. The D.D.L. is using one of its 3-engined 16-seater Fokkers for this purpose and all seats are being booked up in advance. - •
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