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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 2125.PDF
544 FLIGHT, 14 December 1950 FERRY FLIGHT TO CEYLON . . . find that the re-fuelling crew wasted no time in replenishing ourtanks. Up to this point we had succeeded in taking off practicallytogether and maintaining tight or loose formation as the mood took us, but as Turley-George accelerated down the runway acloud of sand obscured my view and took some time to drift clear. As I opened my throttles I saw die other aircraft turningon to course over the airfield, and by the time I had completed a climbing turn it was nowhere to be seen. Happy in thethought that I would soon overhaul my companion I continued climbing on course until, at 5,000 ft, I was dismayed to findvisibility in the dust-laden atmosphere rapidly diminishing. By the time I had reached the top of the haze I was flyingat 9,000 ft and the sky was empty for as far as I could see ip all directions. The thought of leaving the little Sokol to fly alone alongthis barren stretch of coast did not appeal to me, and I began scanning the small section of coast visible beneath. I had beenflying like this for nearly an hour when I sighted my com- panion's aircraft, a tiny speck silhouetted against the sand andalmost vertically beneath me. To signal my presence I manoeuvred the Aero 45 until its shadow fell directly in frontof the other machine. With formation regained we set course for Karachi and leftthe coast slowly receding beyond our port wing-tips. Our last view of Baluchistan was of the cathedral-like hills, sculpturedthrough years of erosion by sandstorms. In the gathering haze and above a glass-like sea, the geological strata lent colour to ascene which might have inspired many a Salvador Dali painting. Our arrival at Karachi airport was the signal for a host ofhealth officials to descend upon us, demanding numerous health certificates, while we sat in our closed cabins, slowly suffocatingfrom heat and the obnoxious fumes of an Aerosyl fumigation bomb. Speed and Economy When we were finally settled in our hotel we spent sometime analysing our progress and performance figures obtained on the Sight. Some surprising facts came to light. The Sokolwas maintaining an average T.A.S. of 125 m.p.h. at maximum load, while using only five gallons of petrol per hour. TheAero 45 had done even better; with a load equal to pilot and four passengers, it had maintained the same cruising speed whileusing only 4 gal/hr per engine. At 4,500 ft and with maximum cruising r.p.m. the fully loaded Sokol was giving an I.A.S.of a little over 125 m.p.h. The Aero 45 under the same con- ditions was showing an I.A.S. of 140 m.p.h., with a consequentincrease of fuel consumption to 5 gal/hr per engine. It had become apparent early in the flight that the adjustable-pitchairscrews on the Aero 45 had been set several degrees coarser than that of the Sokol. We left Karachi the following morning with Bombay as ourtarget and Ahmedabad as our refuelling point. We had only three days left in which to reach Ceylon, and had maintainedthe schedule we had decided upon at Brindisi. At Ahmedabad we found luxurious green vegetation and grassgrowing everywhere, contrasting vividly with the barren desert to which we had become accustomed. We learned there that afew days previously the airfield had experienced a torrential rainfall of 23 inches in 24 hours. Before leaving Ahmedabad we sent a cable to Belgaum,arranging for petrol and oil to be available the following day. At Santa Cruz airport, Bombay, we learned in the met. officethat we had little chance of reaching Trichinopoly for a week. The south-west monsoon was still blowing and thunderstormswere raging along our entire route. That night we arrived at our hotel with the setting sun bathing everything in an eerieyellow glow. With Colombo only a thousand miles away it seemed that we were to be denied success after all our efforts. We visited the met. office the following morning, hoping thatthe storms would have subsided during the night. Our hopes were short-lived when the duty forecaster pessimisticallydeclared that in our small aircraft and without radio we would have litde chance of getting further than Belgaum, and diateven to reach it would not be easy. From our maps we noted that Belgaum could be found byfollowing the coast and turning inland along a valley when due west of the aerodrome. This we did, and two and a half hourslater we were being refuelled on the single runway, which was devoid of any of the usual buildings associated with airfields.The local population seemed to be under the impression that we were there for their entertainment, and gathered in their hun-dreds, sitting cross-legged and impassive along the very edges of the runway. They quickly retired to a safe distance whenwe restarted our engines. We were soon climbing between huge cumulus clouds andkeeping an average course which took us nearer and nearer to the gathering thunderheads further inland. Our glimpses ofthe terrain beneath became less frequent, and by the time we were near Bangalore the town was obscured in the dense rainof an approaching thunderstorm. Deprived of Bangalore as an alternative landing ground we began to descend through a longgap in the clouds in order to follow the Cauvery river to Trichinopoly. But at 2,000 ft we were below the overcast andwere soon flying down a clear valley towards our destination. We had only sufficient time to picket the machines in anopen-ended blister hangar at Trichinopoly before the storms broke upon us. The rain came down in torrents and deafeniAgpeals of thunder were accompanied by almost continuous chain lightning which illuminated the road as we drove to thenearby European Club to spend the night. Next morning, however, a clear sky and brilliant sunshine woke us, and weleft Trichinopoly in high spirits. Flying control had instructed us to orbit Ramnad airfield, for the benefit of the flying-controlauthorities there, before leaving the Indian mainland. We were soon flying over Adams Bridge, the chain of islands linking Indiaand Ceylon. As we flew South along the coast of Ceylon, we passedthrough several heavy rainstorms; it was in one of these that I discovered a dangerous feature of the electrical system of theAero 45. The various electrical circuits of this machine are protected by automatic circuit-breakers which throw out theoperating button when they are overloaded. I had switched on the pitot-head heater before entering the rain, and while flyingon instruments noted that the directional gyro was wandering, followed soon after by the gyro horizon toppling. A checkrevealed that the use of the pitot-heater had thrown too great a strain on the system and operated the circuit-breaker. Our arrival at Ratmalana Airport, Colombo, was greeted bya battery of newsreel and Press cameras and a small crowd of onlookers, including several Government officials. After a greatdeal of handshaking, posing and congratulations we retired to the Mount Lavinia hotel for a few much-needed luxuries. The next few days were spent in formally handing over theaircraft and checking out the pilots of the Government Air Academy to which they had been allocated. Much of our spare time was pleasantly occupied as guestsof G/C. F. N. Worthington, commanding R.A.F. Negombo, and his charming wife, who introduced us to the sport ofshooting flying foxes as they flew down to the coast to raid the fruit estates. A fitting climax to this eventful and memorable flight wasprovided by the superlative comfort and incomparable speed of the B.O.A.C. Argonaut which returned us in thirty-six hoursto London. Dec. FORTHCOMING EVENTS 14. R.Ae.S. : " Clear-air Turbulence over Europe " by Dr. G. S. Hislop, B.Sc., A.R.T.C., A.F.R.Ae.S. Dec. 14. R.Ae.C. : Film Show, Londonderry House. Dec. 22. West Riding Aviation Centre : Annual Dinner and Dance. Dec. 29. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : Annual Dance. Ian. 6. British Interplanetary Society : Symposium on the Orbital Rocket. Jan. 10. R.Ae.S. (Brough) : " Problems of High-speed Flight," by H Davies, M.Sc, F.R.Ae.S. Jan. 10 R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : " High-speed Flying," by S/L. J, D. Derry, D.F.C. Jan. 16. R.Ae.S. (Belfast) : " Landing Gear and Equipment," by H. G. Conway, M.A., F.R.Ae.S, Jan 17. R.Ae.S. (Preston) : " Aircraft Materials," by Dr. H. Sutton, D.Sc., F.R.Ae.S. Jan. 30. Society of Instrument Technology : "Machining of Small Instrument Parts, by K.J.B. Wolfe and P. Spear. ten. 31. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge): S. F. Cody," by G. A. Broomfield. Feb 3. British Interplanetary Society : " Interplanetary Orbits," by Dr. J. G. Porter, Ph.D., F.R.A.S. Feb. Feb. 7. Royal United Service Institution : " Flying-boats in war," by A. V-M. P. H. Mackworth, C.B., C.B.E., D.F.C. 12. Institute of Transport : Brancker Memorial Lecture— " Economic Aspects of Airline Operation," by Peter G Masefield, M.A.(Eng.), F.R.Ae.S.,A.F.Inst.A.E., G.lnst.Mech.E., M. Inst.T. Feb. 14. R.Ae.S. (Brough) : "Aero Engines," by A. Cdre. F. R. Banks, C.B..O.B.E, Feb. 14. R.Ae.S. (Preston) : " Testing Aero-engines and Power Plants," by A, C. Lovesey, O.B.E., B.Sc, F.R.Ae.S. Feb. 21. R.Ae.S. (Weybridge) : " Air Interception," by A. V-M. T. G. Pike. C.B., C.B.E., D.F.C. Feb. 22. Institute of Metals (Birmingham Section) : " Metals for Gas Turbines," by J. M. Robertson, Ph.D., D.Sc. Feb. 23, R.Ae.S. : Fourth Louis Bleriot Lecture : "Power versus - Weight," by M. Maurice Roy. Feb. 27. R.Ae.S. (Belfast) : " Aircraft Carriers," by J. L. Bartlett Mar. 3. British Interplanetary Society): "Combustion in the Racket Motor," by Prof. A. D. Baxter M. Eng. A.M.I.Mech.E , A.F.R.Ae.S.
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