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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1718.PDF
236 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 5TH, 1945 FIREFLY TRAINER substituted for the observer's cockpit of the combat version. The rear seat, which is normally occupied by the instructor, is raised some I2in higher than that ot the front pilot's seat, so that a clear view for take-off and landing is obtained, the instructor being given a sighting line that may be described as "over the shoulder" of the pupil pilot. As with the combat versions Mks. I and V, the new trainer presents the characteristics ot a wide speed range, quick take-off and short landing run. Experienced pilots who have flown and studied the new trainer regard it as of major interest in a tactical training programme, and have recognized that it provides the answer to the psychological factors arising when a new pilot first passes from low speeds to those required for modern combat conditions. Rolls-Royce Sei level l.5O0ft. - 16.000ft. - 20,000ft. - FIREFLY MARK Griffon XII 1.740 b.h.p. 1 I TRAINER liquid-cooled V-12 cyl'nder driving a Ratol 3-blade 13ft. dia. airscrew. AH-up weight - Speeds :— - 283 m.p.h. - 287 m.p.h. - 305 m.p.h. - 300 m.p.h. - 12 000 Ib Climb: 5,000ft. 10,000ft. - 15,000ft. - Take-off in 27kt. head-wind - 350 feet Service ceiling - Range at 5.000ft. - - 28,000 feet - 800 miles 2 min. 5 min. 9 min. engine 35 tec. 45 sec. 30 sec World's Fastest Air Race Vampire Averages 427 m.p.h. Over Three Laps of Lympne Course J THERE is no doubt at all that the success of the some-what experimentally conceived High-Speed race atLympne last Sunday turned every one's mind towards,the idea of a future national event on a really big scale and with useful prize money to attract foreign entrants. Thepublicity value of such a race would be immense. Curiously enough, this particular event—the interest in whichsomewhat overshadowed that ot '..he now historic Folkestone Trophy race—was, it appears, the direct result of a suggestionby Mr. Geoffrey de Havilland that he might be allowed to enter a Vampire in the normal lace. That suggestion started the ballrolling and, surprisingly enough, the various Ministries raised no objections. For the purpose of the race the aircraft con-cerned were " bought back " and insured by the manufacturers concerned, and became for the purpose civil aircraft pro tern.Interestingly enough, both Mr. de Havilland and Mr. Humble had been keen supporters of air racing in pre-war days. Handicapping such very fast and widely differing types canhave been no easy matter, and the fact that all four aircraft arrived within 35 seconds of one another was a very good effortby Messrs. Dancy and Rowarth, who, once again, are back together on this tricky and distinctly thankless task. Inci-dentally—for the benefit of those readers who, having learnt to think in terms of very high speeds, might be disappointedby the "low" figures recorded—it must be stressed that these speeds include the time taken to accelerate from a standstill,get on to course and to make a total of twelve high-speed turns in the course of three laps. Furthermore, the distance figureon which the speeds are based bears little relation to that actually covered. To those knowledgeable in such matters, therecorded speeds must appear to be very high. ' As a spectacle the race was immensely exciting, with thefield closing up steadily to the moment when the Vampire took the lead on the last lap. In contrast to the necessarily some-what slow Folkestone Trophy race, the effect was electrifying, and it w:is only a pity that the first and second places shouldhave needed revision following an accident in starting which was nobody's fault. The slipstream from the acceleratingHornet blew the timekeeper's watch-board over his head at the critical moment, and the Vampire was flagged away early.Although the incident must have appeared as a very serious matter to those concerned in judging and timing, it really didnot affect the success ot the event. From the flying technique viewpoint it was interesting towatch two divergent turning systems at Lympne. While the Vampire and Fury were flown off course towards the turn, so FOLKESTONE AERO TROPHY RACE (Final) Aircraft 1. Supermarine Walrus 2. Miles Messenger 3. Percival Proctor 1 4. Percival Proctor 1 5. Percival Gull 6. Percival Proctor ! 7. Percival Proctor 1 8. Percival Proctor II J. H J.G L. I.D R. Pilot Grierson C. Kennard F. ArnoldA. Reston T. Carruthers ... N. Somers M. Bay ... Temple-Harris ... H1 All min. 7 7 cap 'ce sec. 14 44 34 34 Scr. 48 34 43 Flying Time min. 29 30 24 24 24 24 24 25 sec. 14 34 06 33 08 59 48 16 Speed m.p.h. 121.0 116.0 147.0144.25 146.75 141.5 142.75 140.25 as to cut the point while turning, the Hornet and Seafangwere brought straight to the mark, from which the turn was LYM!»N = HIGH-SPE^O HANDICAP RACF Aircraft Pilot I. Hawker Fury I 1. D.H. Vampire 1 3. D.H Hornet ! 4. Supermarine Seafan^ 32 . W. Humble G. de Havilland G. H. Pike ... M J. Lithgow H'cap Ali'ce min. sec. 2 14Scr.* 1 * 47 1 56 Flying Time min. 10 a10 10 sec. 11 19 Ifi 39 Speed m.p.h. 342.0 427.0 343.5 332.0 * tsomated after starting error. then started. In appearance, at least, the first method seemedto be the more economical one. But the handling of all four was a joy to watch. After the heats ot the Folkestone Trophy race, which hadbeen flown off in gusty conditions on Saturday, the final result, to anyone with a calculating turn of mind, must have seemedalmost a foregone conclusion—and especially so if the wind dropped. And this, in fact, it did, so that, over a closedcircuit and using the same handicapping allowances, the slower aircraft were bound to show better average speeds. Mr. Grier-son's Walrus, already tipped to win, took the lead from the limit man's Messenger during the first lap and increased itsteadily, while both aircraft were nearly a minute ahead of the gaggle of Proctors, the Gull and the single foreign entrant— SIDDELEY CHALLENGE TROPHY RACE Aircraft 1. D.H. Tiger Moth 2. Miles Hawk II Pilot R. Pomfret R. Paine H'cap AM'ce min. sec. 5 25 Scr. Flying Time min. sec. 23 51 18 48 Speed m.p.h. 102.0 129.2.; a Mraz Sokol, which suffered jet trouble on the last lap andlimped home from Folkestone to be out of the race—all ol which crossed the line under a handkerchief of not much morethan a minute in a half-hour's racing. Even the scratch man, with the Gull Six, only managed to pull himself up from ninthto fifth place. And if anyone doubts the truth of the state- ment about average speeds, it is worth noting that, whereasthe-Walrus averaged 114.5 m.p.h. on Saturday and 121 m.p.h. on Sunday, and the Messenger 108.75 an<l n6 m.p.h. respec-tively, the Proctors' speed increased only 2 to 3 m.p.h. Since neither of the two Siddeley Trophy entrants hadmanaged to reach the final, a special two-lap race early in the afternoon of Sunday was'staged for their benefit. For those visitors who had not already been given their fullration of flying, and of high-speed flying in particular, the afternoon was rounded off with demonstrations—quite the bestwe have seen—by all four high-speed competitors. Both as a series of events and as a flying social occasion theweek-end was a tremendous success. Perhaps the Minister ot Civil Aviation, who presented the various prizes, noted the factthat private flying is neither dead nor even very poorly, for all its Cinderella situation. And the Cinque Ports Club, amongall other people concerned, is to be loudly congratulated.
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