FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0099.PDF
•JANUARY 23RD, 1947 FLIGHT 8r LIGHT-PLANE PARADE An Auster Autocrat performs against a lowering sun in a January sky. An Interesting Informal Meeting of Many Aircraft Types ENTHUSIASTIC response to the invitation by theInformal Light Aeroplane Committee to manufac-turers and owners to attend an informal meeting re- sulted in a very interesting and instructive day at WhiteWaltham airfield last Saturday. The weather was mote than kind, and the reception of aircraft and invited visitorswas in the hands of Mr. Ronald Malcolm and the West London Aero Club, who provided an excellent lunch andlater tea for the quite surprisingly large gathering. First, however, it might be useful to explain what theInformal Light Aeroplane Committee is. It was formed with the object of trying to lay down certain guiding linesfor the design of future light aircraft. Its chairman is Mr. Peter Masefield, Director-General of Long-Term Planningand Projects at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Committee includes representatives of the Royal Aero Club,the Air League, owners, the technical Press and several other aviation interests. The Committee has drafted specifications fbr six models of four basic types, and has discussed outline requirements f a further two types. The meeting at White Waltham had been called with a/view to getting together as many representative types as possible, foreign as well as British, so as to assess theirgood and bad points from a practical point of view. The aircraft were inspected on the ground during the morning,and after lunch most of them were adequately demon- strated.At the lower end of the power scale were three Tipsv types: the little pre-war open two-seater, the even smallersingle-seater with* Douglas Sprite engine, and the Belgian Belfair enclosed two-seater which was exhibited at Parisand which had been flown over here from Belgium by Mr. Dickon in a gale of wind with no trouble at all, thusshowing that this is a very practical little machine. This was the first aircraft to be built in Belgium after the war. Slightly larger types represented were the Auster Auto-crat and Arrow, and the Chrislea Ace. Miles Aircraft were represented by almost every type, ofwhich the Messenger, Gemini and Aerovan are in produc- tion, and an interesting side-by-side two-seater prototypewith tricycle undercarriage and a canopy over the cockpit. A range of de Havilland types was on view, includingsuch old-timers as the T.K.2, Moth Minor, Tiger Moth, Hornet Moth and Leopard Moth, but also the Dove trans-port and, most interesting of all, the Chipmunk DHC-i, the Canadian-designed and built trainer, which created avery favourable impression by its attractive lines and Flight " IMPORTED FOR EXPORT : The controls and instrumentpanel of the Helliwell-Globe two-seater, ftjuch of the tr parent cabin roof is stained blue as a protection" fiuiii lfie~sun.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
