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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1582.PDF
164 FLIGHT AUGUST 15TH, 1946 SWORDFISH ACROSS THE STATES we reached Omaha without difficulty. Before crossing the berid in the Missouri, where stands Omaha, we saw some sandy bluffs. They were the first hills of any size that had been seen since the Appalachians. It was Sunday evening when the four Swordfish arrived, much to the amazement of a considerable body of Omaha's citizens. Their idea of a big week-end seemed to be to go down to the airport and watch the planes come in. The outfit we were wearing- was the Royal Navy's tropical working rig—khaki shorts and shirts—and this, I think, added to oar otlier-worldliness in their eyes, unaccustomed to the sight of.fully-grown men in shorts. For the first and only time in my life I was asked for my autograph. Omaha, almost the centre of the country, is the town where the trans-continental junction was made. In charac- ter it seems indeterminate, neither of the east nor west. The next morning saw us off in good flying conditions across the sunburnt Nebraskan ranges, climbing now steadily. Lunch this day we took in North Platte—as guests of the local Rotary—a town which takes its name from the shallow, meandering river running through it. On the ground now it was very hot, but .as we flew higher I had to put on more clothes. And we were forced . to fly fairly high. Cheyenne, our next halt, is five thousand feet above sea level. That I shall never forget, because practically everyone I met there told me so. Before we could land at Cheyenne we had to circle for a little, waiting for a moderately severe thunderstorm to pass through. It is not a large city and retains more of the western atmosphere than Omaha. One sees ten-gallon hats on the streets, and those tall, uncomfortable-looking cowboy's boots. The desert is at its gates, but, within those gates; it is the average modern American city. A Peculiar Spa When the flight was being planned at Halifax, a self- styled expert had advised us to stop at Rock Springs. "A pleasant spot," he said, "it's a spa." So the next morning we went there, flying through the passes of the Rockies; not so impressive from the air as I had imagined, but fierce and hostile to the airman. I was glad not to meet any fronts there. •Rock-.'Springs was no spa. It was a mining town. It was also" a snare and delusion. We landed at the airfield marked on the map, but it seemed suspiciously quiet. We found it deserted and unkempt. -Reluctantly we stag- gered off again and made wireless contact with the new airport, not marked on the maps because not completely finished'. The runway we landed on had a sheer drop at the end, so that it was like coming in over a carrier's stern. From Rock Springs to Salt Lake City was a wild flight. The weather was sullen and freakish, and the storms were about again. In the valleys the pilots met with the strongest down-draughts they had ever experienced, and they had difficulty in maintaining the altitude that we needed. We burst through the mountains to the city just •as a storm broke against them from the west. Lightning struck in the town as the Swordfish landed, and the rain poured down. Salt Lake City, like Cheyenne, has its own refrain, heard on every lip. It is "seven women to every man," and seems to be true enough. The city is ugly, architectur- ally, but there must have been a fine, hard-working in the early Mormons, for the streets of this desert ^ are green and pleasant. Over Mormon Cities Our route had to be altered next day. It had been planned to fly directly west across the Salt Lake, but military restriction forbade this. So we went to the north to Ogden, another Mormon city, and thence across the lake and the desert that lies to the west of it. The desert dazzles but, fortunately, our track followed the San Francisco railway that runs across it. The mid-day stop was at Elko, a small mining town in Nevada, where, for the first time, we saw the silver dollars so popular in this gambling State. There were even more in Reno—'' the biggest little city in the "world '' the banner in Main Street proclaims—where gambling is an industry second only to the divorce mill. At Reno we spent the night. It is a lively town but, by this time, we were all glad that the crossing was nearly over. Next morning the Swordfish climbed wearily over the Sierra Nevadas, left the lovely mountain resort. Lake Tahoe, to the left and dropped down into the green and fertile Sacramento valley. Past Sacramento itself we flew and on to the great bay of San Francisco. We touched down at Alameda, the naval air station, thirty-five and a half hours' flying time from Halifax. Our seven and a half days' trip broke no records, unless the continent had never been flown so slowly. Yet the speed had at least one advantage. At no time did the scenery become monotonous, nor did we rush through it too quickly for appreciation. Of the courtesy and kindness shown by the Americans little need be said. Thev were extremely helpful. What rather amazed us was their almost intimate knowledge of our next stop—usually some three hundred miles on. Distance loses its meaning to them. The ratings in our party were so well treated each evening that they slept most of the time that we were airborne. The aircraft were sometimes regarded with amusement, but usually with respect. Their^great war record was sur- prisingly well known. The only "gag" I heard made about them was at the end of the trip. "Well," said a U.S. sailor, as he looked at the struts and wires, "now I know what they really mean by a ' coast-to-coast net- work.' !" THE RADLETT DISPLAY DETAILS of the exhibition and flying display organizedby the Society of British Aircraft Constructors for next month can now be given. The show will virtually be a four-day affair, and will be held at the Handley Page airfield at Radlett, Hertfordshire. More than 200 ordinary and associatemembers of the S.B.A.C. will take part, and the show will be divided into a static exhibition and a flying display. In the static exhibition 187 firms will show their productsof engines, airscrews, instruments, components and materials, and the intention is that Thursday, September 12th, is to bedevoted to the static exhibition and to an inspection of air- craft on the ground On Friday, September 13th, there willbe a flying display of the different aircraft types, products of more than 20 of our leading aircraft firms. The aircraftwill include the latest civil and military types, and the power- plant exhibits will comprise a complete' range of piston enginesand gps turbine units. On Sunday, September 15th, there will be yet anotherflying display, for the special benefit of members and guests of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Neither display is open to the general public. In the caseof the S.B.A.C. admission will be by invitation only, *|te tickets for the R.Ae.S. display must be obtained in adviif,v>»from the secretary, price 7s 6d each. w NEW RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONith the object of furthering the export trade, a newBritish research organization has been established by telecommunications firms, principal of which are InsulatedCallender's Cables, Ltd., and Automatic Telephone and Elec- tric Co., Ltd. Managing director of the new company is AirVice-Marshal O. G. Lywood, C.B., C.B.E., and the authorized capital is ^100,000. Laboratories are now being establishedat Taplow Court, near Maidenhead, leased from Lady Des- borough.
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