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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1219.PDF
752 FLIGHT THE King's Cup Air Race has been flown nineteentimes, and has suffered in greater or lesser degree fromBritain's weather; but never until last Saturday, when the twentieth contest was to have been run, has it had to be postponed until some indefinite date. It was doubly un- fortunate that the other speed events to have been flown on the same day, the whole constituting the Festival of Britain 1951 National Air Races, suffered a similar fate. A propor- tion of the substantial financial support made available by the Kemsley Flying Trust must, it seems, be written off as a loss, in spite of the fact that nearly 20,000 spectators (though not all pajnng) arrived hopefully at Hatfield Aerodrome. Wise as they were in the circumstances, the series of time-postponements and the eventual decision to abandon the day's racing naturally caused the deepest disappointment, both amongspectators and the coundess others, from competitors to grounds- men, who had put in many days of strenuous work preparing forthe great day. The organization was on a prodigious scale, the Royal Aero Club, the de Havilland Aircraft Co., and a score of"sub-contractors," voluntary and otherwise, having planned and installed down to the minutest detail. Many felt that even theS.B.A.C., with its vast Farnborough Show organization, had been rivalled if not beaten. Certainly the enclosures, with their mar-quees and flower-beds and scores of loudspeakers, appeared impressive even in Saturday's grey meteorological pall; in sun-light they would have looked magnificent. The breakfast-time B.B.C. weather forecasts had been hope-ful, and even the mid-morning met. at Hatfield ("6/8ths to 8/8ths low stratus at i,ooo-i,5ooft; drizzle will cease") had echoed someoptimism. The R.Aux,A.F. Cooper Trophy Race having been cancelled a week earlier for Service reasons, the first event in theprogramme was to have been the start, at 1.30 p.m., of the King's Cup and its concurrent weight-category contests. Shortly after Principal mitigating factor in a day of disappointments was the gracious presence of Their Royal Highnesses the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, seen with de Havilland's John Cunningham and Lord Brabazon. Princess Margaret inspected the Comet. WEATHER DEFEATS FESTIVAL noon, however, when the ceiling grew even darker and lower, anew programme order was announced, to begin at 2.30 p.m. The various flying display items were to come first, the Jubilee TrophyRace—the three-in-one high-speed event over the 35-mile "short" circuit—and the King's Cup Race being flown after4 p.m., by which time, it was hoped, things might be better. In the event, even the new running-order was interfered withat the outset, two aero-towed sailplanes which were to have per- formed aerobatics failing to get through from Redhill, thoughthey had made a valiant try. Members of the Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers, however, filled the gap with some demon-strations of control-line, free and radio-controlled models, and then C.T.D. Hosegood took the air with a Bristol 171 Mk 3Sycamore Helicopter—just the thing for a demonstration in one- mile visibility, for it was able to go through most of its repertoirein, so to speak, the vertical plane between the floor and die ceiling, directly in front of the Royal Enclosure. By this time Their Royal Highnesses Princess Elizabeth andPrincess Margaret had arrived. Princess Margaret, especially, must have been disappointed at the subsequent abandonment ofracing, for she had entered two aircraft—the veteran Hawker Hart "MR" for die King's Cup and theHurricane 2c for the Jubilee Trophy, both to have been flown by G/C. Peter Towns-end. Nevertheless both the royal visitors stayed on, and both appeared thoroughlyto enjoy the flying display, handicapped as it was by the prevailing conditions; both,too, displayed a keen and knowledgeable interest in everything they saw. Hosegood having rotated his way up-wards, downwards, sideways, backwards —at about 30ft—and occasionally for-wards, Peter Bugge (D.H. experimental test pilot) took off in the bogie-wheeledComet G-ALYP, itie third of the series and to be first of the B.O.A.C. fleetproper. He contented himself with fly- pasts at moderate and flaps-down speeds,the white upper surfaces of the graceful aircraft, when it turned, looking almostluminous against the leaden sky. At one The dashing Prince Cantacuzene—a romantic figure with a highly practical turn of mind and an xterobatic pilot of the first rank. point, positioning for another pass, he reported over the R/T. thathe had found himself in cloud at 400ft. Next came a contribution by the famous Patrouille d'Etampesof the French Air Force. Many of those present, inveterate demonstration-watchers, had seen them on numerous occasionsbefore, but this is a turn that never palls. Again, it was an ideal one for such a day, for even on the few occasions when the trioof Stampe biplanes is momentarily absent from die central arena their CO., Comdt. Perrier, is sailing past, usually inverted atunder 100ft. When the trio climbed vertically to 500ft or so for their beautiful simultaneous stall turn to starboard (executed without,breaking their tight formation) they were within the cloud-fring< as they cartwheeled. To ask any low-altitude aerobatic artist to follow the Patrouillein a programme is asking a great deal; but Prince "Buzz" Cantacuzene, having been asked, took his 18-year-old Biickerbiplane and succeeded brilliantly, for his act is one in which the element of surprise is outstanding; moreover, he is new to thiscountry. Thus, he takes off from the runway and literally within a few seconds of unsticking throws his aircraft on to its back.Then follows a series of low fly-pasts, some inverted, some right- way-up, with the 160 h.p. Siemens SI1.14A radial purring con-tentedly; and always, when one least expects it, comes some instantaneous roll, or variation on a roll. Most startling of all,perhaps, and commenced from normal altitude, is a lightning one-and-a-half flick, after which he continues inverted. Anothersuperb piece of nonsense is a vertical climb which gradually peters out until the biplane is literally hanging stationary, then gentlydrops its nose round and down—the slowest stall turn we have ever seen. Like a dramatic critic wondering whether he should give awaya surprise ending, one hesitates as to whether it is fair to mention the Rumanian's tour deforce. Yet, since visitors to future displaysmay miss it unless forewarned—as, indeed, some did on Saturday —it should be said that it dotes not occur until the Biicker is onits final approach, at the end of the demonstration. Just as the wheels are about to touch, Cantacuzene gives a burst of engine,gains a few feet of height, then whips over in a sudden flick roll; so far as altitude is concerned, the whole thing could be done underthe roof of a decent-sized hangar. To the lower near edge of the rudder of the well-worn oldBiicker had been added a sheet of light alloy to give extra area, and on Saturday it had been bent in taxying; some of the distortionwas passed on to the rudder itself. Somebody remarked on this before the demonstration. "Yes, I know," said Prince Canta-cuzene, "I do not like it all. It is very bad I think." After
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