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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1373.PDF
AUGUST 4TH, 1949 FLI G HT 137 Introduction to Spain experienced a head wind but frequently had a light followingbreeze. The only time we had to think about drift was on the last and most difficult leg to Pamplona when a variablebeam wind tried to put us off track. Another feature of the flying was that, speaking in general, the air was a good dealsmoother than one would have expected, bearing in mind the heat and mountains. On this Friday flight north to Madrid we flew through onerough patch between the Toledo and Porzuna mountains, but Pamplona at an altitude of about 1,500ft above sea level.Our stay at Pamplona during its week's festivities of San Fermin was completely different from anything so far ex-perienced. In the first place, we were billeted in private houses and apartments. Some pilots also stayed at the seminary, andfor the ladies there, was the equivalent known as Servicio Domestico. Meals were taken at the local hotels, and it wasnothing short of miraculous how, for instance, the kitchen of the little Hotel Maisonave turned out hundreds of well-cooked meals at all times of the day and night. The celebrations continued non-stop and, of course, -all thePamplonians were on holiday. There were bands, parades, Sthere was a period of spectacular lift which in a few minutes . fireworks, a fair, and dancing^ and, for the men, a great deal ofparried us up from about 5,000ft to over 7,500ft into smooth thirst quenching. In addition, of course, there was the bull aii". There was a corresponding down- . current area a little later which madethe Gemini feel as if it were labouring Sander an overload. ': There were no official functions Quring our eecond day in Madrid, so we spent an enjoyable evening look- ing round the city and its shops. Later, after an excellent dinner in the Garden of the Ritz Hotel, we had our first early night of the tour. It was as well we did, for there was no sleep to be had in Pamplona. At this time we heard more of the excellent and generous services ren- dered by the three doctors in the British contingent, Drs. Hamp, Ryan and (Mrs.) Ercolani. Fortunately, there was no serious illness but several people suffered from throat troubles and internal upsets. On Saturday everyone took off for the last 200-mile 'hop" of the rally to Pamplona on the North-Western border of Spain inland from San Sebastian. Weather was again excellent and we were able to establish our course as we passed over Madrid with its vast bull ring and over Barajas, the principal airfield to the North- East of the city. After this we flew for a hundred miles without a single reliable fix, and were somewhat relieved to find Soria coming up in its right place to starboard. There was a certain amount of cloud to cope with on the last part of the journey, which took us between several 6,000ft and 7,000ft peaks in the Moncaya Mountains, and we were pitched about for a while as we finally descended towards Calahorra and Larraga which gave us our two final fixes before Pamplona showed up ahead. Noain field was the smallest we used during the rally, and it was reputed to allow a 900-metre run in the direction of the prevailing wind. It is situated a few kilometres south of Some snapshots taken in the bull-ring at Pamptona during the performance to which all Rallyists were invited. Below is the opening procession of "matadors," "banderilleros " and "pica- dors " attended by their " chulos." (Upper right) The process of tiring and teasing the bull begins. So far his only injury is caused by the pin which auaches a rosette to his shoulders. (Below) A second pair of banderil'as is skilfully emplanted as the bull charges. Noain airfel'd at Pamplona. fighting. We saw a bit of everythingin the two days' stay, and the good- natured high spirits and tirelessnessof the young Spaniards impressed us very much. To express a personalopinion: the fireworks were the best I have seen and the killing of bullswas revolting. The chasing about and clowning with young cows whichwent on in the bull ring early on the Sunday morning was most amusing.Later on the Sunday there was some flying by the enthusiasts, andMessrs. Rice, Hickman and Larsen gave rides to several Franciscan monkswho were their hosts at Pamplona. On the Sunday evening there was afarewell reception and dinner at the most impressive premises of thetennis club at Pamplona. A threat of rain, following our experience atMadrid, led the Duke to order dinner indoors (in the Pelota courts). Most handsome and generous prizeswere presented, and Aero Club mem- bers, and in particular our Gemini, were particularly fortunate.The principal flying prizes were for regularity and navigation during the week's tour, log books having been collected forexamination on arrival at the airfield. , France (Norecrin F.BEBE flown by M. and Mme. Prost) received one principalprize, England (Gemini G-AFLT) a second. Aircraft team prizes went to Italian Iacchi 308s and French-flown Sokols,and Mr. Larsen and Mr. Thomasson, of Denmark, in their KZ-III were also prize-winners. The wine-tasting competition c 9
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