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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0553.PDF
23 March 1951 341 WEATHER PERMITTING... Some Nostalgic "Memories' bf^'the Rotary - engined Avro 504, Backbone of the Barnstorming, BusinessA By STUART CAMPBELL BRANDER Tr"nipQRE so, perhaps, than any other veteraa t^pf'Il last JyI year's R.A.F. Display, the Avro 504 must have brought acute attacks of nostalgia to many spectators. Hundreds of Service pilots received their ab initio training on this endearing type, and there are many others who were once engaged in the joy-riding of circus business (or, as some would have it, "racket"): that fraternity of pilots who, throughout the summer months, persuaded their 504s out of incredibly small fields and, after completing the required circuit, gracefully "swish-tailed" in to a brakeless landing. There are also their ground engineers, who attended to the whims of the 504's rotary engine, Clerget or Le Rhdne, and carried out maintenance and repair work under conditions peculiar to this type of flying. To make as small a circuit as possible without bringing adverse comments from passengers on the subject of value for money was all part of the game, as was the strenuous wing-tip "braking" performed by many of the hard-worked G.E.s— who also, on occasions, acted as "barkers" to attract custom, and even as wing-walking stunt artists. For my own part, memories of the 504 are still particularly vivid, and it is perhaps symptomatic of the modern trend of development that barely ten years after I had applied the last serrated-edge patch to that slender fuselage, with its "artist's palette" rudder, and assisted the last passenger down the ladder that was always used, I was instructing members of the R.A.F. in the maintenance and repair of their first jet fighter. On the rare occasions to-day when a racing car or motor cycle leaves a trace of that aroma of burnt castor oil, there is echoed for me the metallic clatter and "plop" of a Clerget's valve gear during "sucking-in," or its hesitant "blipping" when making an approach. My last engagement as a G.E. on a rotary-engincd 504 was in the early summer of 1935 at Camber Sands, near Rye. Later that year I joined Sir Alan Cobham's circus, whose fleet of 504N Avros were, of course, radial-engined. The 504 used at Camber Sands was something of a mongrel, as an authentic "N" airframe, owing to the scarcity of Lynx engines, had been modified to accommodate a Clerget rotary. This unusual combination gave us the benefit of the many "more modern" features of the "N"-type airframe, e.g., variable-incidence tailplane, Frise ailerons, R.A.F. flying wires and the absence of the "K" type of shock-cord under- carriage with its attendant "toothpick." How often one tripped over the latter item and its snare-like bracing wires ! The itort of a day's work: On the sands at Rhyl, in North Wales. -^ Alpha Flying Services Beg to announce that, owing to the adverse weather conditions prevailing on Sunday last, they have decided to extend their visit at Madeley • until Monday, Ootober 15th. A THRILLING DISPLAY of Stunting, including several additional items will be given N SUNDAY, OCT. 14th LOOK OUT FOR THE O FLYING CLOWNS We particularly wish to draw the public's attention to the fact that flights from 3/6 can be obtained every day from 10 a.m. till dusk, including Sunday. Admission to Ground, 7d. (inc. tax.) CHILDREN 8d—tadadiiif tu. IT is probably true to say that most people now in earlymiddle age received their first taste of flying in the rear cockpits of the faithful Avro 504s used in the 'twenties andearly 'thirties by the majority of the small concerns doing what the Americans call "barnstorming" flying. In thisarticle Mr. Stuart Brander—now with the publicity depart- ment of the Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd.—recalls thosehappy-go-lucky days as seen by a ground engineer with one of those hard-working troupes. Yet it was always handy as a step to stand on while "sucking in," or for use as a lever to bring the e.g. forward when lifting a 504K by its tail preparatory to moving it in or out of a hangar. This rotary-engined "N," however, had but a short life, primarily due to its non-standard fuel system. This consisted of a single "N"-type gravity tank under the top mainplane, and it was not ideal for the unorthodox carburation of a rotary. When the fuel-level was low and steep turns were undertaken, starvation resulted. Nevertheless, the aircraft had received its C. of A. and the original pilot seemed quite happy. After a few weeks, however, a new pilot was temporarily engaged. Though already a claimant to fame by having force-landed a Moth in the Thames at Westminster, the new arrival had had no experience of rotaries. After brief instruction in the art of joint manipulation of throttle and fine-adjustment control and, of course, of the correct use of the "blip" switch, he successfully accomplished observed landings and take-offs, loaded and unloaded. Business was at once resumed and when, as was usual in order to encourage trade, it was decided to carry out a "prop" flight (or, in modern parlance, a "beat-up"), the idea was entered upon with enthusiasm. A low-level flight along the beach, and what was intended to be a steep climbing turn to run the wheels along the roof of the "local," brought a pro- testing splutter from the Clerget, for the tank had not been topped-up since flying had commenced in the morning. Mishandling of throttle and fine adjustment resulted in a choked engine and the necessity for a dead-stick landing. A creditable effort to pull off a downwind landing to avoid the many people on the beach failed—with disastrous results • #PNsJ
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