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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1407.PDF
90 FLIGHT, 20 July 1951 PROFESSIONAL JOYRIDER Looking Back on Nearly 40 Years of Flyint By JOHN YOXALL THE author of this article is "Flight's" "oldest inhabitant." Inthe space available he has reminisced over some trips in just a few of the nearly 300 aircraft types in which he has flownduring the past 38 years. I AM not sure that 60 m.p.h. in an Avro at 500ft wasnot more exciting than ten times that speed in a Meteorabove the clouds. It may be, of course, that by the time my first ride in a Meteor 7 came along I was no longer a tyroat the business ... but everything in its pLce. In 1913, at the age of 16, as the junior member of the staff of Flight, at the princely salary of 17s. 6d. per week, I counted myself lucky to be connected with this new-fangled flying business. Flights in aircraft were not come by easily in those days, and an Evening News placard at Charing Cross, "BOY OF 12 FLIES," brought the highest pitch of consternation. There was I, four years older, in a privileged position—and I had never flown. From that day onwards my immediate boss, one "Pop" Smith, got no peace until he persuaded J. L. Hall to take me up at Hendon in his 50 h.p. Gnome-engined Avro—the pre-504 type. The laced fuselage fabric, the padded leather edge to the cockpit, the smell of burnt castor oil (all the rotary engines were lubricated with castor), the rhythmic engine-torque rock of the biplane on its undercarriage bungee as Hall operated the "blip" switch—all these clearly stand out in memory. Yet the actual sensation of flying, from the moment the on-and-off splutter merged into a steady note for take-off, is forgotten. The gale in one's face and the fear in one's heart doubtless had much to do with this fact. There was a hazy idea of clouds and fields and houses but of Hendon there was not a sign until the steady note of the Gnome engine again gave way to a brrrp—brrrp—brrrp as the Avro landed. Only one more flight came my way before the outbreak of the 1914-18 war. This was a very short circuit in one of the open "box-kites," the enjoyment of which was spoilt by my failing to tuck my trousers properly into the tops of my socks in accord- ance with the standard practice at that time; properly executed, it prevented the draught from blowing directly up one's garments and out at the cuffs where the hands held the interplane struts. Like many other young men of my age, I greeted the outbreak of war with enthusiasm and rather than take the risk of waiting for an opportunity to enter either of the air Services—most people thought the war could not possibly last more than six months— I spent the next three and a half years as an army sniper. There was no flying to be had. Eventually, however, while serving in the Middle East (oddly enough, it was then known as the Near East; it became the "Middle East" only after aviation had shortened the journey from days to hours), I contrived a transfer and the infantryman's uniform was changed for the "maternity" jacket of the R.F.C. In many ways it was fortunate that the transfer occurred in the Middle East, because obsolete types of aircraft such as Maurice Farman Longhorns and B.E.s were still in everyday use there. In the gunner's compartment of an R.E.8 in 1917. The faired-in device on the side of the fuselage is a simple tube with cross-wires top and bottom; it served the double purpose of bomb and camera sight. Illustrated with his "Flight' Photographs The 50 h.p. Avro biplane of 1913, forerunner of the famous 504, which continued in service for joy-riding and training for over 20 years. Flying in the former, one had the satisfaction of lining up theenormous front elevator with the horizon, indeed it held a fascina- tion for both pilot and passenger; and in all the sub-types of theB.E.—2c, d and e—there was an unholy draught which came in over the low sides of the cockpits and whistled round one's back.The leather flying coats of those days were certainly necessary, even in Egypt, if flying above 4,000ft. The R.E.8 was a much-maligned aircraft. It was the first to havetail-trimming gear and pilots were prone to forget to adjust the device properly. The upper wing extensions, which were bracedfrom a very inefficient angle, used to flap in a frightening manner, but none was ever known actually to break in the air. For theR.E.8 we improvised a most effective device for bombing enemy transport on roads. It consisted of a 48-compartment box with achain and sprocket-operated sliding base, cut off at an angle. Each division of the box was loaded with a Hales rifle grenade and,as the aircraft flew up the line of enemy traffic, the observer turned a bicycle crank- to withdraw the base and release thegrenades one by one. One of the training types in Egypt at the latter part of theFirst World War was the D.H.6 which rejoiced in the sobriquet " of "The Clutching Hand." It was in one of these that I first had 'the experience of flying backwards. Up one day during the strong khamsin winds, we found it possible to make headway only by ;diving with engine full on. Landing was finally accomplished by' diving at the airfield and being literally pulled out of the skyby mechanics as we levelled off and were blown backwards. Thirty years were to pass before I flew in reverse again—this time in aWestland-Sikorsky helicopter. A spin as seen from the machine gunner's cockpit of a Boulton and Paul , Bourges bomber. The hangars of Hendon Airfield can just be seen above, the leading edge, at the bottom of the photograph.
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