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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1795.PDF
JUNE 23, 1938. FLIGHT. 619 r . " P (Above) Messrs. Sewell, Spooner (staggering beneath the weight of the Doncaster Trophy) and Nepean Bishop, the successful Brooklands team in Sunday's competition. (Right) The tied-together Gladiators of No. 87 (F.) Squadron. suspected a little showman's licence in that announcement—a test deferred from the morning's duties seemed more likely. But putting aside that quite immaterial point, the fact remains that Fit. Lt. Lucas gave the crowd a treat, especially by his long dives towards* the aerodrome, with the Merlin II laying a trail of black smoke, and his thunderous passages low overhead. A nice selec- tion of aerobatics—upward rolls, " in- verted zooms," and so forth—-showed what the ultra-modern fighter can do. Surprise No. 2 was even more stimu- lating. There was a noise that re- sembled a sheer concussion, a snub- nosed, camouflaged projectile shot over- head, seeming to have appeared from between the trees at the top of the Byfieet Banking—shot overhead, and was now but a rocketing dot to the east. It was the Supermarine Spitfire, which F/O. J. K. Quill had brought up from Eastleigh (Southampton) in a quite indecently small number of minutes—-a single figure, in fact. He proceeded to put up a show which, following that of Fit. Lt. Lucas, must have removed any lingering doubts about the '' aerobatability '' of mono- plane fighters—albeit they do use up a lot of firmament in the execution thereof. After this it seemed too much to expect further inspiration. But a flight of Gladiators of No. 87 (F.) Squadron from Debden, Essex, supplied the im- possible. For at least twenty minutes, possibly longer, they performed tied- together aerobatics that were sheer joy to watch. No matter what the man- oeuvre, whether a dive on the club- house, an upward roll, or a half-roll off a loop, the flagged cords linking the three together never varied their wind- streamed curve; were never pulled taut, never in danger of being broken. A radio commentary by the leader added to the interest. Each time he was about to perform a new evolution he turned his operative "Go ! " into a sort of long-drawn-out war-whoop: F/O. G. H. J. Feeny (flight leader), P/O. R. L. Lorimer and Fit. Sgt. Dewdney were the pilots. A display by Mr. R. O. Shuttleworth's now-famous Sopwith Pup and Hanriot —which included some quite definite aerobatics—brought Saturday's party to a close. Sunday was devoted to the four-club competition, an ingenious affair in which members—three from each club— were first taken up on a general flying test by Sqn. Ldr. R. A. Sprague, a Hendon examining officer, and then put through a ground examination (remin- iscent of the "A" licence oral with its proverbial '' balloon at anchor '' ques- tion) by Mr. Robert Ashton. The prize was the impressive Doncaster Trophy, plus ^25 presented by Mr. F. Sigrist " Flight " photograph. and Mr. C. Frost. The home team —the same trio which had done the Tiger formation—emerged victorious iri the combined result of this ordeal. First: BrooklandsSpooner... Sewell ...Nepean Bishop... Second : Cinque Ports—Dil Port Palmer ...Symmonds Third: South CoastHead BellairsHowell . Fourth : NorthantiSlow ... Linnell ...Wood Flying(max., 40) 3735 32 3730 30 3632 "0 3234 34 Ground(max., 10) 8J6 5 1\C 5 7SI °1 34 4 Total (SO) 1? 37 123J 445 30 35 115J 43 32| 111 35 3R 38 111 A fitting round-off to the week-end was the arrival, on Sunday evening, of Major Al. Williams in the Grumman Gulfhawk. FROM the CLUBS and SCHOOLS HYDERABAD ' Flying amounted to 99 hr. 20 min. duringMay. " A " licences were obtained by Messrs E. K. Jassavalla, Rajeshwer Reddy,Syed Abdul Khader and Major G. M. Dyer. The club has now acquired a Leopard Moth. KARACHI The high winds prevailing at the beginningof May were unfavourable to flying, but later on an improvement was evident, and alto-gether 160 hours were spent in the air. The ground engineering section is gaining experi-ence by rebuilding one of the club's Gipsy Moths. CINQUE PORTS Successful first solos were made by Messrs.Brice and Roney-Dougal, the latter, together with Messrs. Walker and Hutchison, alsocompleting his " A " licence tests. Mrs. [Concluded from page 617.) W. E. Davis and Messrs. Du Port andThyne flew to Brooklands for the Garden Party on Saturday, and they were followedby four other members in club machines. Flying for the week reached 55 hours. HAMPSHIREOne oi the tasks of the Hampshire School of Flying was to meet Major Al. Williamson the Queen Mary and to transport his Grumman Gulfhawk to its hangar for re-assembly. A Leopard and a Moth were present at the Bristol Garden Party on June11. Flying amounted to 80 hours for the week ended June 17, and Sub. Lt. G. R.Greaves and Mr. R. Hamer qualified for their " A " licences. BORDERThe Senior T.T. race was responsible for the considerable going and coming of the "Border Flying Club aircraft over the IrishSea. During the week the Fox Moth made three trips and the Hornet two. Due to C.of A. overhauls only one Gipsy Moth has been in commission for the past fortnightand flying training has been handicapped as a result. Nevertheless, Mr. \V. H. Dixonmade a first solo. PENANG A gratifying increase in flying hours wasexperienced during April in the total of 14 hr. 20 min. Messrs. Halliday and Messermade their first solo flights, and on April 13 the Governor-General of Australia, LordGowrie, paid a visit to the club. Six Vilde- beests from No. 100 Squadron also droppedin. The club is making a point of regular night flying on Fridays and of arranging aspecial fixture for every Sunday.
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