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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0074.PDF
FLIGHT Britain's Test Pilots No. 18—R. E. M. B. Milne, A.RC-, A.RR.Ae.S-, F.R.Q.S. Over 9,000 flying Jours apart. Milne with his SopwithCamel at No. I Fighting School, Turnberry in 1918, and climbing-into an Airspeed Oxford in 1947. ROBERT MILNE has now completed just over thirtyyears' flying since he first came to this country asa trumpeter in Lord Strathcona's Horse, Royal Canadians, in 1916. On arrival in England his unit was incamp near the Air Gunnery School at Hythe in Kent, and as a change from sounding '' Water your horses'' and'' Lights out,'' young Robert used to watch the flying at the school. This was his second contact with things aero-nautical. His first had occurred in 1911, on July 1st sports day, at his home town at Cannington Manor, Manitoba,where a Miss Stinson arrived by air and gave a flying dis- play. This impressed the eleven-year-old schoolboy verymuch, and a mental resolution was made that flying was to be attempted at some future date. Opportunity to gratify this desire came when he was allowed to transfer from Strathcona's Horse to the RoyalFlying Corps, and he was posted to No. 43 Training Depot Station for flying training on Maurice Farman Shorthorns(80 h.p. Renault) and Avro 504s (80 h.p. Monosoupape Gnome). Milne's flying hourage be- fore qualifying as an instruc-tor makes interesting reading ; in these days. He did 2|hours' dual on Shorthorns be- fore going solo; four hours'solo each on Shorthorns and Avros; and a graduatingflight of 10 minutes on a Sop- with Pup, before beingposted for a course at the School of Special Flying(Southern Area)—the fore- runner of E.C.F.S. Thecourse at S.S.F. included three hours' flying, and Milneemerged with his first in- structor's ticket — categoryA.i—and less than 14 hours in his log book. Impossibleas this may seem to-day, it The flying-off platform overthe forecastle of H.M.S. Vindictive as it was duringthe Baltic campaign of 1919. Other ships had plat-forms over their broadside turrets.
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