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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0508.PDF
422 FLIGHT APRIL 15TH, 1948 Circuit of the Earth Record Attempt New Zealand Pilot Plans to Fly 26,000 Miles in lVA Days in a Proctor I HPO secure an official round-the-world record, that is, one-*• recognized by the international organization, the F.A.I., it is necessary to conform to certain simple regulations includingone that the overall average speed, making no allowance for time on the ground, must exceed 100 km/hr. Although severaltime records for flights round the world have been set up none of these has received official recognition. The route laid downfor an official record flight includes observed stops at London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Karachi and it is. alonga track passing through these key points that Capt. A. A. Mansfield, a young New Zealand pilot, is due to set out fromBlackbushe today, April 15th, in an attempt' to be the first to capture this record. Capt. Mansfield will use an ex-R.A.F.Percival Proctor III with D.H. Gipsy Six engine which has been converted to civil use and fitted with special Jong-rangetanks, giving it a range of about 1,200 miles, by Field Air- craft Services, Ltd. Murphy V.H.F. radio has been fitted. The shortest official distance round the world would be 19,396miles, but in view of the range and height limitations of such a light aircraft it will be necessary for Capt. Mansfield tomake detours extending this distance to approximately 25,826 miles. The Royal Aero Club has undertaken arrangementswith all national aero clubs at essential checking points en route so that observers shall be present when the Proctor passesthrough. In the course of this attempt it may be possible to establishseveral official point-to-point records, the particular ones aimed at being London-Montreal, London-New York, Tokyo-Paris,Karachi-London, and possibly a Tokyo-London record. Arrangements for the supply of fuel and food have been madethrough Esso (Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd.) and J. Lyons, Ltd., and an emergency ration package of the type supplied to the Services during the war, costing approximately 27s 6dand weighing 16 lb will be carried. Some idea of the physical endurance needed for this attemptmay be gained from the fact, that Capt. Mansfield plans to spend only six hours out of each 24 oil the ground, of whichlour hours will be for sleeping. He hopes that if the flight progresses favourably he may be able to extend this rest periodbut there is also the possibility that to achieve the objective- it may have to be reduced during the final stages. To attempt such a flight solo and in a light aircraft mavseem to some people adventurous to the point of being loot hardy. However, Capt. Mansfield has quite exceptional ex-perience of flying, and more particularly of operation over tin- greater part of his round-the-world route, and his recordattempt, which is no sudden overnight idea, must be regarded as following on the tradition of the many British pioneerswho before the war brought credit to themselves, their aiJtaaft and this country by flying to the most distant points O^atearth on similar types of aircraft, several, in fact, which were the forerunners of the Proctor, made by the same company. The longest over-water flight will be 1,196 miles from Attuin the Aleutian Isles, to Nemuro, Japan, but this will not be flown as a straight leg, the course being bowed to the Northto follow the line of the islands as far as possible. The pre- vailing winds over the entire route have been carefully studiedand advantage will be taken of them wherever this can be done. Capt. Mansfield is familiar with most of the route fromhis extensive experience as an R.A.F. and commercial pilot. The only stretch which is new to him is the Atlantic crossingHe prefers to make a considerable deviation on the leg from Bangkok to Rangoon, flying via Singapore rattier than the moredirect route over the mountains. R.Ae.S.—MEDALS AND AWARDS '""PHE Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society have awarded-»- the following medals which will be presented at the Wilbur Wright Lecture to be held on May 27th. The Gold Medal,the Society's highest honour, has been awarded to Sir Bennett Melvill Jones, C.B.E., A.F.C., F.R.S., Hon. F.I.Ae.S.,F.R.Ae.S., for his outstanding work in aerodynamics. The Silver Medal has been awarded to I. I. Sikorsky for helicopterdevelopment, and the Bronze Medal to Miss F. B. Bradfield, O.B.E., M.A., F.R.Ae.S., for her work on aeronautical researchTo Sir William T. Griffith, D.Sc, F.R.I.C, F.Inst.P., F.I.M., goes the Simms Gold Medal for his Paper on high-temperaturealloys for gas turbines. The George Taylor (of Australia) Medal has been awarded to Dr. J. W. Drinkwater, D ScWh.Sc, and W. G. Glendinning, B.A., A.F.R.Ae.S., for their Paper on the risk of fire and methods of its prevention. TheHon. Sir Ralph Cochrane, K.B.E., C.B., A.F.C., has won the Edward Busk Memorial Prize for his Paper on "The Develop-meHt of Air Transport During the War," and W. M. Widgery, F.R.Ae.S., the R.38 Memorial Prize for his Paper, " Pressuriz-ation of Aircraft." The Branch Prize has been awarded to A. N. Clifton, F.R.Ae.S., and J. A. Kirk, for Papers readbefore the Southampton and Belfast branches respectively. DEATH OF COL. the younger generation FRANK LAST fROM ROCHtSltK: the io/ent " Southsea," last of ths Short flying boats to be built at the famous Rochester works, where Short Bros., Ltd. (now Short Bros, and Harland, Ltd.), have been established since 1915, was launched on April 8th. She is seen after the launching ceremony. SEARLE '"TO th younge in aviation the name Frank-•- Searle will be almost unknown, but those who recall the early beginnings of civil aviation after the first world warwill remember him well, first with the old Aircraft Transport and Travel (A.T. and T.) and later with Daimler Hire. Whenthe four existing operating companies, Daimler Airways, Handley Page, Instone Air Line, and British Marine AirNavigation Co., were amalgamated into Imperial Airways, Col. Frank Searle became the first managing director. He waslater succeeded by Mr. Woods-Humphery. Col. Frank SeaVle, C.B.E., D.S.O., died last week at hishome in Bournemouth and was cremated last Thursday. When the second world war broke out, he came out of his retirementto take up a post with the British Power Boat Company at Hythe and Poole, and as deputy chairman and managingdirector lie brought unbounded energy into the production of motor torpedo boats, gun boats and high-speed rescue vessels ULTRA LIGHT PROGRESS lecond Annual General Meeting of the Ultra LightJrcraft Association, held at Londonderry House, nn April interesting nejj^of current developments was g$lte. G/C. E. L. Mole, chairman s thedesign sub-committee, said that con- struction of a new British design, theHerald, was well under way by Hants and Sussex Aviation, Ltd. The Heraldis a low-wing cabin single-seater of 800 1b a.u.w. and 29ft span. It will have a40 h.p. J.A.P. engine and the intention is that kits of parts will be made avail-able for group construction by U.L.A.A. members. G/C. Mole said that the position withregard to engines had considerably im- proved. The Association had, throughthe Kemsley Trust Fund, been able to buy a batch of J.A.P. engines. The twomain types of engine the Association would need in the future were one ofbetween 40 and 50 h.p., and another of between 25 and 30 h.p. for motor gliders. The Association considered that amodified Certificate of Airworthiness would be benficial and a draft of sucha Certificate had been prepared by the A.R.B
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