FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2115.PDF
514 CONTINENTAL RALLIES . . . FLIGHT walk, then to reverse, forks first, diagonally into the cabin.It may be of interest to record that the motor-bike required its own carnet and, of course, a G.B. plate, but no internationaldriving licence was needed to ride it in France. A manifest covering the bike was called for at Le Touquet, and on theEnglish side a dheck was made in situ (with the aid of a mirror) on the engine and frame numbers. No one asked whether anypetrol was being carried in the tank at any time. As usual we cleared Customs at Gatwick, and not being asbrave as some, filed a V.F.R. flight plan and set off for the short Channel crossing from Dungeness to Boulogne. G-AFLT usuallyflies as sweetly and smoothly as one could wish, but over water she vibrates (or so it seems)—both engine and airframe—with anintensity in direct proportion to the length of the crossing and the inclemency of the weather. On this occasion the London clagwas soon left behind, and by the coast we had clear sunshine and 5,000-odd feet of height. Under these circumstances there ispractically no vibration at all ! Any that there was vanished as Lympne came through strength 5 in answer to my V.H.F. requestto be shepherded across. "Roger Love Tare, call mid-channel," said the Lympne operator, and we knew that we were beingchecked across. After the mid-way call Boulogne came into view ahead, andwe peeled off towards Le Touquet, diving off height and using speed to offset the strong headwind which we now encountered.As we crossed the French coast between Boulogne and Le Touquet at about 1,800ft, we were still able to contact Lympne at strength 3and receive 5s. A handsome plaque presented to the Royal Aero Club guests by the Mayor of Carcassonne. Nearly three inches in diameter, it is inscribed "To the delegation of the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain." A word has already been said about Le Touquet. We wereinstructed to use runway one seven, which is approached across the end of one four, and is a rough grass strip to be used withconsiderable care. We arrived for a late lunch, having coped with Customs, then visited met. and control prior to departure. The French take their flight planning very seriously, and met.forecasting and communications have improved month by month. A call was put through to Tours, more than 200 miles away,regarding our flight, and instructions and clearance obtained in only two or three minutes. On resuming the flight south we coast-crawled to Dieppe infine weather and then turned on to 195 deg M. towards Rouen. Map reading was very easy, and in almost exactly two hours Tourscame up ahead. We amused ourselves by making ground speed checks and found that we were covering ground at the rate of97 miles in the hour. The A.S.I, showed about 125 m.p.h. at 1,500ft, and the Cirrus Minors were turning round at 2,300 r.p.m.This confirmed the forecast headwind of 20/25 kt- At Tours we received radio instructions about use of runwaysand the gliding in progress. The airfield is large and under military control. The two concrete runways, damaged andpatched, are now undergoing major repairs. First it was necessary to check in on the military side, then we taxied over to the cluband arranged for hangarage overnight. A lift to the Hotel Metro- pole—noted for its grill—was arranged by a club official. The Aero-Club de Touraine will shortly have to leave itspremises at St. Symphorien to make further way for the French Air Force, and there are plans to take over instead a satellite fieldnot fir away. Next afternoon there was bright sunshine but, we were told,"much instability." Heavy hailstorms swept by and towering cu and cu nim was to be seen here and there. We bounced onsouth, our track lying conveniently between the storms, until Limoges passed underneath. After this the storms increased, andat one time we feared that we would have to turn back. With Farewells and thanks are said at Carcassonne airfield. Beside the Gemini is an Auster belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Dykes, and the group comprises hosts with their wives, and guests of the Aero Club de I'Aude. some of the highest ground on the flight beneath and angryblack cloud ahead and above, we had a glimpse of the serpentine gorge of the River Lot before spending some ten minutes oninstruments with hail hitting the aircraft with the sound of a roll of drums. When a turn on to the reciprocal course began to seem thewisest action, a slight clearing was noticed, and within a minute or two bright sunsnine pierced the gloom and all was well. Thetown of Brive had presumably passed by underneath, and quite soon we were able to pick out landmarks among the light railwaylines. We noted some remarkable little villages, one with a cluster of ancient buildings, and a church balanced on a rocky ridgedividing a deep river gorge. The name did not appear on our map but the village of Laguepie lay to the south. After that thecountry opened out and Albi passed by to port. More storms covered Castres and the Black Mountain areanorth of Carcassonne, and having sampled one of them we decided to alter course round the back of this one. On roundingthe higher ground we were glad of the decision, for thick cloud trailed right in among the trees on the hill sides. The wind hadnow veered around to the west and aided us on our last few miles. Ahead lay Carcassonne in bright evening sunshine, the towersof the city standing out against the matt brown and green country- side. We circled once, then returned to the grass airfield andlanded. Club members present helped uiload and assemble the "moto," and in half an hour or so the Gemini was hangaredand a car was taking luggage and leading the bike to the Hotel de la Cite. During our stay as guests of the Aero Club de l'Aude we wereshown much of the rich store of ancient buildings and of mountain scenery within easy drive of Carcassonne, and we were alsoconducted over the remarkable Cite itself. Vice-president of the Aero Club is M. Bourelly, a distinguishedarchitect and authority on the ancient buildings. He made the visit of the Aero Club delegation, as it was called, the moreinteresting by his explanations of the styles and periods of the buildings and fortifications. In fact, the Cite can show a fewscraps from Roman days—parts of the cathedral and a mosaic beneath the castle—although much more is the work of theVisigoths who came over the Pyrenees early in the fifth century. The greatest part of the existing fortifications were built in thethirteenth century. For example, between 1255 and 1260 the outer enceinte was added. For the exceptional state of preservationand skilful restorations seen today, thanks are due to Viollet-le-Duc who commenced his work in 1844. For the rally guests the days were all too short to see all thatCarcassonne can offer. Nearby we were surprised to see (from the air) a gold mine, which is producing several pounds of the metaleach day. All round the grape harvest was being gathered into the "co-operative caves." When M. Dudognan, the Aero Club'spresident, could not be with us, M. Bourelly and M. Lasserre, Dr. Gout, M. Busque—all club members—were always readywith their help, hospitality, and—very important—cars. The Mayor of Carcassonne, M. Itard-Longueville, presentedthe rally visitors with a handsome plaque from the Cite, and his speech at the official dinner paid a warm tribute to the work ofthe R.A.F. toward the liberation of France. A brief official civic reception was held, and a second was arranged by the prefecture. In the evenings of Saturday and Sunday, S/L. Turnbull,Messenger, and the author pushed out their aircraft and gave club members and their families rides and demonstrations.Everyone was keen to fly, and their enthusiasm both before and after, not to mention their well-informed comments upon suchmatters as the speed range of the two aircraft, augur well for the future of private flying in France. In passing, it may be addedthat to further the interest in aviation, selected participants in air rallies might be invited to volunteer to fly past or give rides.Occasionally this could be a good thing. When the time came to leave and our thanks were said, wehoped that our Carcassonne Aero Club hosts would visit us in England. To this the replies were most polite but it was madeclear that they could see very little reason to visit a country wiucn had such weather and put up with such a lamentable CUSIHM. The flight home was made for interest sake via Toulouse anaDeauville. It was pleasant and uneventful, as air touring should be.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
