FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1938
1938 - 2066.PDF
56 FLIGHT. JULY 21, 1938. be another instalment of the ragged front, for Wills was able to fly in rather the same manner as had Cooper. He landed at North Weald Aerodrome (32 miles). Thi' daily prize on the Wednesday was given for a goal flight to Lymprie Aero drome, which meant flying 40 deg. across wind. The morning was clear, with very small, flat cumulus, which started to appear as late as half-past ten, showing the presence of an inversion above them. Christopher Nicholson, in the Rhon sperber, was the only pilot to arrive at Lympne (96 miles), which was partly obscured by a thick haze. Three others tried to reach the same goal but landed short. Mrs. Joan Price, in a Rhon- bussard, reached Sittingbourne (70 miles) in very thick haze, which was so bad near the Thames Estuary that at 3,000ft. she could see only directly below her. Sqn. Ldr. P. M. Watt flew round London to the west, via Brooklands, in an effort to avoid the murk, eventually landing at Cranbrook (72 miles in a straight line, although he had travelled nearly 100 miles in his detour). Vyills landed the Minimoa ten miles from Can terbury (76 miles). Flight " photograph. Maj. Alan Goodfellow, Sir Francis McClean, and Mr. J. R. Ashwell-Cooke—all pioneer sponsors of gliding in this country—with Dr. Dewsbury in the Rhonsperber. " Fliglit " photograph. Promising cumulus : Mr. Philip Wills, inveterate long-distance pilot, prepares the beautiful Minimoa returning for a beat along the ridge t< gain height for the next lap. Friday was similar, and no cross country flights of any note were made; again there was an overcast sky and an almost complete lack of any but me chanical lift. The day ended with Fit. Lt. R. H. Shaw leading in the Seager Trophy race by three laps. The forecast for Saturday morning was excellent, and pyjama-clad competitors were to be seen rigging machines at 6.30 a.m.'in QBI conditions, which re mained most of the day. The occlusion which had passed over on Friday had come back to pay another visit. By the evening the Derby Club's new Kirby Gull, piloted by G. O. Smith, had caught up Fit. Lt. Shaw in the race for the Seager Trophy. Shaw was flying the Grunau Baby No. 5 brilliantly, cutting everything as fine as he dare and flying only just above the stall to get the best out of the machine. In order to keep equal with the more efficient Gull he had to leave the lift area very low without waiting to gain any extra height. In variably he would return to the hill 150ft. below the top and work his way up again in a way that seemed almost The most creditable flight of the day was undoubtedly that of the little H.17, which has a span of only 32ft., and had not been flown • with any great success in this country; piloted by F. T. Gardiner, it flew 73 miles to Stowmarket, which proves its worth as a serious sail plane. Other pilots flew to all the local vil lages and visited other pilots in neigh bouring fields while harassed retrieving crews vainly tried to get the trailers up impossible hills, along impossible lanes, and through impossible gates. The total cross-country mileage for the day was exactly 1,000. Thursday, again, was not a success as regards weather, and club entries tried to pile up duration marks in the rain. Aero-towing was carried out all day, and sailplanes were dropped at the 1,oooft. cloud-base. The race for the Seager Trophy started in the afternoon, the course being the hill-top wind-sock and the control tent near the club-house, which involved gaining enough height by hill-lift to strike out on a complete lap, " Flight " photograph. Competing at Dunstable—the Tern, built by the Airspeed Company in their York days. Family resemblance is seen in the rudder.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
