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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0673.PDF
MAY IST, 1947 Sound fit in an Auster : Spme LightAfrica " i on to the ground than it did into the tank, and someone from flying control waved us in over soft ground two inches deep in water, and afterwards told me I should have looked where I was going! However, we found an excellent hotel iHotel des Etrangers) in town which had. been an old tA.F. rendezvous during the war, and here met the British Consul—a very likeable old gentleman. We found that in all the countries we visited except British territory, it was never possible to take off at first light in the morning. Either the taxis let us down, or we weren't called on time, or the chap with the key to the hangar was still in bed. Ajaccio was the classic example of this, and we considered we were lucky to be airborne at 8.30. Full-load Climb It is worth mention that the total weight of luggage, spare parts, extra petrol, together with Bond and myself, came to seven hundred and thirty pounds. Considering this, I thought it a good effort for the Auster to climb to 7,000ft in 25 minutes after taking off from Ajaccio. We flew over cloud the whole length of Sardinia until about ten miles north of Elmas. Having experienced a tail wind the whole way, we decided to press on to Tunis without landing at Elmas. On reaching the North African coast we encountered a 30 m.p.h. crosswind which gave us over 30 deg of drift, and landing in this wind proved a tricky business. The flight of 365 miles from Ajaccio to Tunis had taken 3 hr 25 min, giving an average speed of 112 m.p.h. The airfield at Tunis is a large, busy and efficiently run airport. Ajaccio had not notified them we were coming, and from the French officials' tone of voice I should imagine there were going to be a few large rockets despatched to that little airfield in Corsica. After an excellent but extremely expensive lunch we set course for Castel Benito. We flew low the whole way to benefit from the strong ground wind. It was very bumpy, and we were glad to cut across the Gulf of Gabes where it was much calmer. Being back on British-con- trolled territory once again made a great difference. Shell staff had us refuelled and tucked away in the hangar in a matter of minutes. Castel Benito Airfield is still in the hands of the R.A.F., and very efficiently so; we were pro- vided with good accommodation and meals at a very low price. Every assistance is given to civilian aircraft land- g"here. and it was the same at all the R.A.F. airfields along the North African coast. ,, , Strong Winds Next morning we were able to make an early start, and with the help of a tail wind reached Benina, flying over Marble Arch, in 4 hr 40 min. The distance was 534 miles. Taxying at Benina was very difficult, as the wind was so strong that it kept weathercocking the aircraft into wind The flight to Tobruch (El Adem) was over 200 miles of landmarkless desert. The only indications we had of the approach of El Adem were the increasing num- bers of trenches, gun emplacements and other debris of the battlefields. The wind dropped considerably on the way, and after much hard staring at the shadows of clouds dritt- ing over the ground, I made several alterations of course to allow for the decrease. We had started from Benina with 35 degrees of port drift, but finished at El Adem with a direct tailwind. In these circumstances it was proD- The approach of El Adem, Tobruch, was heralded by increas-- ing numbers of trenches, gun emplacements and other debris of the desert battlefields. Nice has one good runway situated on the west seashore.The only building is the control tower. ably more by luck than judgment that we made the air- field dead on course after two hours' flying. On landing we again experienced the helpfulness of the R.A.F. in refuelling and providing us with accommodation and meals. One thing I noted in particular on the flight along the North African coast was the excellence of the met. reports. From Castel Benito to Cairo the forecasts proved to be accurate in every detail. As the Auster was fitted with a long-range belly tank, I always flew on this one first until the engine cut. The longest running period on this i3£-gallon tank was 3 hr 45 min on the El Adem-Cairo hop. Landing at Almaza becomes a very complicated business once you are safely on the ground. Customs, immigration and control authorities are very thorough and, we thought, officious. My kit, together with Bond's, was literally ran- sacked by a very disagreeable gentleman of the Egyptian Customs. The Shell agent, as at every place we visited, was extremely helpful, and piloted us through all the neces- sary departments with the least possible bother. We spent two days in Cairo while the aircraft was given a 50 hours' inspection by Misr Airworks. After once again having our neatly packed kit turned upside down a.t the Customs we set off on a Sunday morn- ing for Luxor, digressing for a few moments to take some photographs of the Pyramids. The airfield at Luxor is in the hands of the Egyptian Air Force, and, although there was one runway dead into wind, the "T" was on the other. Not wishing to run foul of the authorities, I landed cross wind, and the wind was so strong that as soon as we lost flying speed it caught the tail, and with full brake and rudder the aircraft still ground-looped to star- board. Luckily we were on the right-hand side of the runway, and just shot off into the soft sand, thus avoiding any damage to the aircraft. Flying to Wadi Haifa is a matter of keeping the Nile in sight the whole way. We were not expected by the small detachment of R.A.F., no signal having been sent from Luxor. I was informed by the officer in charge that we would
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