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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1315.PDF
MAY 12, 1938. FLIGHT. 461 Back to those happy-go-lucky days : the old-timers' park, w th the Gordon-Bennett Bleriot flanked by two less racy Bleriots. telephone wires, to their not inconsiderable detriment. • And so back to this grim and earnest power-flying business, ap exemplified in the Bristol Blenheim (two Mercury VIII). P'lt. Lt. C. A. Washer gave a most impressive demonstration of this popular (if the word can be so used) medium bomber. His dives, fly-pasts and climbs gave tangibility to such figures as: ''Top speed, 280 m.p.h. at 15,000ft.; climb, 20,000ft. in 13 min." In one long, soaring climb he rocketed straight up towards one of the high-flying sailplanes, and only turned away when—so it looked from the ground—comparatively near. It would be interesting to know how much Mr. Wills (or was it Mr. Hiscox?) saw, and heard, of that little incident. A second tea interval was occupied by demonstrations of historical aircraft, such as can be '' comic old crocks '' only to those too young to recognise and remember the bitter-sweet smell of castor oil and the thratter-thratter-thratter of a rotary engine. It was a brave reunion of veterans, some rebuilt but none modernised. Mr. R. G. J. Nash had a 1909 Bleriot (22 h.p. fan-type Anzani) of the kind in which its designer flew the Channel, together with a positively racy-looking Bleriot of 1911 vintage, actually a Gordon-Bennett race machine capable of over 80 m.p.h. with a 50 h.p. Gnome seven-cylinder rotary. Mr. R. O. Shuttleworth had assembled a Bleriot XIV (20 h.p. fan-type Anzani) ; a 1911 Deperdussin monoplane (25 h.p. Y- type Anzani replacing original fan type); a Sopwith Pup (80 h.p. seven-cylinder Le Rhone); and a Hanriot (no h.p. Le Rhone). . .. _ • -«_.* • Hands-off \ \ r ~ -y :- i Mr. Shuttleworth and Mr. A. J. Edmunds both put up fine shows on the " Dep." making a number of circuits at about 45-50 m.p.h. and several hundred feet, but the Bleriot XIV was sulky, and refused to do more than hop. Mr. Shuttle- worth told us that the Deperdussin can be flown quite easily hands-ofL Sqn. Ldr. A. N. Wheeler flew the Pup and the Hanriot, throwing a loop on the former. Both those war-time fighters had a distinct family resemblance ; the Hanriot factory built Sopwiths under licence. The French machine, in particular, had a climb that almost suggested the modern fighter; it could certainly outclimb the average club trainer of to-day. An interested (and one, suspects, slightly wistful) spectator watching the veterans was Mr. A. E. Grimmer, who in pre- war days owned and flew the Doperdussin and one of the Bleriots. It was in his store-yard that Mr. Shuttleworth found the components with which to reconstruct the machines. The snail of a v.p. airscrew recalled us to the present day ; to watch Mr. H. J. Penrose taking up the Westland Lysander (Mercury XII) at the most incredible angle, straight off the ground ; and thereafter flying it, slow and fast, in equally im- probahle attitudes, all made possible by its slots and flaps ; the latter come into operation automatically at the bidding of the full-length leading-edge slots. Later Lysanders are to have the Bristol Perseus. And then came what was undoubtedly the most impressive moment of the day. The soft, booming roar of 3,000 h.p. of Pegasus XC drew all eyes skyward to see the Short Empire boat Calpurnia approaching at low altitude. She crossed the aerodrome at a bare 100ft., circled, and came along in front of tho enclosures even lower—certainly her keel cannot have been more than 50ft. from the grass. Her pilot—Capt. L. A. Eggles- field, of Imperial Airways—then climbed, made a number of steep turns, and took his charge back whence he had come. No. 61 (B) Squadron departed, Blenheim by Blenheim, to reform above the aerodrome and treat us to a brief display of formation drill; a trio of Mikron-engined two-seater Tipsymonoplanes (Messrs. Brian Allen, Ward and Birkett up) gave a lively display, collectively and individually; and Mr. G. N.Wikner put the Wicko monoplane through some aerobatics (including a spin) which came oddly but convincingly fromsuch an eminently comfortable and civilised cabin aeroplane. The Luton Buzzard single-seater Anzani vee-twin-enginedmonoplane appeared in a new and pleasing form, a transparent cockpit cover fairing neatly into the pusher engine and airscrewmounting, with a large airscrew spinner to complete the aero- dynamic form. Mr. Robert Kronfeld acted as demonstrator, but had been in the air for only a few minutes when he had the wretched luck to crash, fortunately without the slightest injury to him- self. We did not witness the mishap, which occurred on the far side of the aerodrome, but Mr. Kronfeld said afterwards that another machine went into a steep turn immediately in front of him, forcing him into an equally steep turn at a low altitude in order to avoid it. The Buzzard touched the grass with a whig-tip at about 75 m.p.h. and cartwheeled, breaking its tail. Mr. Kronfeld, as we have said, was quite unhurt (which speaks well, in a negative sort of way, for ultra-lights in general), but was naturally upset at the occurrence; he had only tried the Buzzard for the first time that day, or pos- sibly the day before, and expressed himself charmed with its qualities. Thus ended the flying display, but few moved for the car parks until they had seen the grand finale—a vast petrol-fed bonfire piled against a wall of Durasteel. The wall remained a wall and apparently transmitted practically na heat to the far side, in spite of temperature of 2,500 deg. F. or so. This material figured in the static show, which is dealt with on pages 462 and 463. Power quiescent : Bristol engines in the " static'' show, with a sleeve-valve Aquila in the foreground.
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