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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1576.PDF
210 FLIGHT, 24 August 1950 First and second places in the Kemsley Trophy Race were taken, respectively, by F. Dunkerley (right) and I. A. Forbes. On the right, the winning Gemini. AIR RACING IN WALES Kemsley Trophy Race and a Flying Display Held at fmrwaod Common, Swansea (Illustrated by " Flight " photographs)i ABACKGROUND of grey^kmdcapped mountains, acold, salty wind and the iP?ltl*>iiiiliil.LU^j I 1 1111 Inof the large crowd of spectators lent a characteristi- cally Welsh atmosphere to the '' grand air pageant organized by the Swansea and District Flying Club last Saturday, August 19th. The programme included the annual international air race for the Kemsley Challenge Trophy. Fairwood Common, formerly used by the R.A.F., was the venue, and a more suitable airfield would be diffi- cult to find. Its three black, tarmac runways and large flying control building stand out well against the all- prevailing green of the Welsh countryside—a great facility for visiting and demonstrating pilots, and at the same time, with its " Service " air, a reminder of the potential national value of the club flying movement. After the meeting had been declared open by Lady Whitten-BrQwn, flying began in earnest at 2.30 p.m. with a grand fly-past of visiting aircraft. Having fully enjoyed 15 minutes of this aerial merry-go-round, the guest pilots gave way to Auster's Ranald Porteous, who delighted the audience with his demonstration of "one-point landings" in two or three directions at the same time—this normally followed by a startling climb and some very polished aerobatics. In complete contrast to Porteous' tight circles in both the vertical and horizontal plane were the sky-consuming manoeuvres of a Meteor 7 and Vampire 3 from No. 614 Squadron (County of Glamorgan) R.Aux.A.F., based at nearby Llandow. The '' local boys '' gave a versatile per- formance in spite of the relatively low cloud. This was followed by what inevitably proves to be the highlight of any programme on which the event is billed—a brilliant display of airmanship and skill by the celebrated Patrouille D'Etampes. The performance of the Stampe biplanes on this occasion was particularly fine in view of the strong wind which sometimes gusted to about 20 knots. A breath-taking bunt in formation, and Commandant Per- rier's inverted flying some 20ft above the runway, brought gasps of admiration from the crowd. On landing, the four French pilots were besieged by autograph-hunters and were seen to be still hard at work with pen_ind programmes overan hour later. An exhibition of exit positions used for parachuting was given by Major Terence (" Dumbo ") Willans, followed by type demonstrations of the pre-war Cierva C.30 Autogiro and of the Chrislea Skyjeep, flown by Guy Baker and Donald Lowry respectively. By this time the entrants for the Kemsley Trophy Race had taken up their starting posi- tions and as soon the the Skyjeep had landed the first com- petitor was away. Most of the aircraft competing for the Kemsley Chal- lenge Trophy had already shown their form at earlier events in this year's series of National Air Races, so it seemed reasonable to expect a close, accurately handi- capped finish. Also, the race was flown round three 27.66- mile laps of a seven-sided course virtually super-imposed on the coastline of the Gower Peninsula, so that navigation was greatly simplified. Once again, however, the unexpected happened: the Trophy was won in runaway fashion reminiscent of Somers' victory in the 1949 King's Cup Race. Visibility was good but there was a strong gusty wind when—just before 4.30 p.m.—the first competitor took off. This was D. C. Jemmett, flying his familiar cream-finished Hawk Trainer. Dunkerley's glistening Gemini followed the Hawk Trainer as it disappeared over the green slopes out- lying the northern border of .the field, and the one and only remaining Miles Nighthawk, flown by J. Forbes, took off about a minute later. Similar intervals separated the Nighthawk, Lashbrook's well-tuned blue Proctor, Somers' KEMSLEY CHALLENGE TROPHY RESULTS Pos. 1 2 3 S 6 Start Order 2 3 7 5 6 4 1 Competitor, aircraft and engine. j F. Dunkerley (Gemini la. Cirrus Min. I!)J I. A. Forbes (Nighthawk, Gipsy Six II) ! N. F. Duke (Hurricane 2c, Merlin 20) i J. N. Somers (Gemini til, G. Maj.lc) C. G. Alinjton (Sparrowhawk, G. Maj. Ic) W. I. Luhbrook (Proctor I. G. Queen II) \ D. C. Jemmect (Hawk Tr.lll, G. Maj. I) • Handicap m. 4 5 20 7 8 6 *. 25 37 8 2611 33 Speel m.p.h. 162.5162 295 168.5 172.5 163 * Forced-landed on last lap.
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