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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1980.PDF
28 FLIGHT. JULY 7, 1938. Private Flying round with the picnic and entertain the guests, and M. S. Magyar, who took part in the great flight from New York to Budapest. Throughout the picnic the organisa tion, was superb. Maps giving compass courses and distances between the aero dromes and full details oi all the landing grounds en route were distributed to the pilots, in addition to instructions in the event of a forced landing, including the 'phone numbers of the aerodromes. To save carrying money, books of tickets for all the events of the tour were handed to each participant. We were even told how to sunbathe without per sonal damage, a necessary warning in view of the intense heat ! Wherever we went we were escorted by Cornelia Jirkovsky, a charming Hungarian girl who acted as interpreter, guide and friend to the party. Her beauty and efficiency were the subjects of general admiration. After a morning spent in and beside Lake Balaton, the time all too soon came to depart for Szeged, the second largest town in Hungary, to see the religious celebrations of the 900th anniversary of the death of St. Stephen, first king of Hungary. The take-off from the little stubble-covered aerodrome at Siofok pre sented difficulty for the larger machines. Mr. Abbott sent his two Vega passengers by train to Budapest to be collected next day, while Mr. Beaumont, after1 sending on the luggage in advance, just scraped off in the Dragonfly with a "do or bust " effort. Mr. Butler, in the v.p.-airscrew Vega, transported his pas sengers to Szeged in relays. Infringements Szeged is near the Jugo-Slavian fron tier, and pilots were duly cautioned about its proximity- However, after taking-off next da ', Mr. S. Davenport accidentally set his compass at 150 deg. instead of 15 deg., and flew for 20 minutes before he realised his error and returned to Hungary. Another pilot, on his way to Miskole, near the Czecho- Slovakian border, was also reported to have transgressed the frontier, but neither episode caused an " international incident."- Continuing the tour, the slower machines were sent off first to enable the "air swarm" to arrive more or less simultaneously, but despite this pre caution, the" very full programme dropped behind schedule after landing at Miskole. The coaches carrying the paily arrived three hours late at Mezokovesd, the centre of the embroidery industry, and the mayor, leading citizens and more than 100 peasant girls, taking part in the St. Ladislaus' Day Fair, had waited patiently in the boiling sun to welcome as! After an interesting visit to the fortifications at Eger, where a garrison held out for 45 years against the Turks in the 16th century, the night was spent in the cool mountain resort at Lillafiired. The heat during the day was terrific, and One of the minor trials for British participants in the Picnic is the adoption of a suitably unselfconscious expression when holding a bouquet of wild flowers—a snap at Hortobagy. the crews discarded as many clothes as possible. Mr. Grant found it more com fortable to fly shirtless, only donning this garment when coming in to land! On a visit to Hortobagy, the " Wild West" life on the " puszta," the Hun garian Steppes, with its cowboys, shep herds, flocks and herds was seen at its best. The famous '' Bridge Fair'' whither peasant families bring their horses, cattle, sheep and wares to market twice a year, was in progress. Here, as at other stopping places, the party were greeted by prominent local citizens, and each was presented with a bouquet of wild flowers. One pilot had the misfortune to damage his machine seriously on land ing. His passenger, who had never been up before, said it was a lovely landing. Neither was hurt, but here again the Hungarian hospitality was demonstrated. Although it was one of the most out-of- the-way parts of Hungary, the machine was dismantled, taken to the military aerodrome, 40 miles away, where air force mechanics set to work and carried out the repairs, including broken longerons, within five days, charging only for materials used. With this exception, all the machines arrived safely at Budapest, whe-e the party was welcomed by His Excellency, the President of the Magyar Touring Club, M. Ivan Rakovszky. Generally speaking, the three days and nights at Budapest were turned into six days, sleep being cut down to the minimum—whether it was dining aboard a pleasure steamer on the glittering Danube, seeing the wonderful buildings and sights by day, swimming in the famous wave bath at the Hotel St. Gellert—where a klaxon sounds and they turn on waves the size of small Atlantic rollers—dining on the St. Margaret pleasure island, or sampling the un rivalled night clubs, the consensus of opinion was that Budapest was, as they say in America, just swell. A farewell dinner was given by the Hungarian Touring Club and memorial plaquettes and other souvenirs were dis tributed. "Nevertheless," as the pro gramme stated, " the gipsy band did not play sad departure songs, for guests bidding farewell to us do" promise also to come back again in a year." M. Quittner spoke to this effect, and Mr. J. Beaumont thanked the touring club, M. Elischer and Miss Jirkovsky for their hos pitality, and the Hungarian Air Force for the privileges they accorded us. He added that Mr. Evans, of the A.A., was hoping to arrange a return party in England. Others who made pleasantly brief speeches were Mr. Davenport, Major A. A, Nathan, Mr, Appleby and Miss Jirkovsky. Prizes consisting of valuable porcelain pieces were presented to Mr. Butler (Vega) for comfort and Messrs. Beaumont and Waters for timely arrivals. All thanks for a wonderful holiday are due to the Magyar Touring Club and to the Royal Aero Club and the Automobile Association for advance organisation and co-operation. For those who consider that such a picnic is a pleasant holiday, there is a similar air party in Hungary starting on August 7. Jfcfct* ^>i^*«f*IWU»
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