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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1696.PDF
732 FLIGHT, 20 June 1952 PARTY PIECES Small Civil Types, New and Not so New, Entertain at the R.Ae.S. Garden Party FOR its Garden Party this year—held, as usual, at White Waltham—the Royal Aeronautical Society made no special effort to achieve an historical atmosphere: there were no balloon ascents or really ancient aircraft. Instead, the demonstrations were given by a mixture of post-war and immediately pre-war types, plus one or two that in a few more years will qualify as museum-pieces. As in the past, the accent was on the smaller civil aircraft, so that no loud and threatening military noises should shatter the garden- party atmosphere or drown the dulcet strains of the Fairey Aviation Works Band. Even the weather, this time, made some attempt at gracious-ness, heavy cloud at 5,000ft giving way to 6-8/ioths cover, with lengthening spells of sunshine, as the afternoon wore on. A 5-10 kt wind blew from the north, a quarter unhelpful to those pilots who had to give slow-flying demonstrations, for to fly up wind meant approaching the enclosures head-on instead of, ideally, flying along in front of them. The R.Ae.S. president, Mr. George Dowty, announced during the afternoon that Her Majesty the Queen had consented to become patron of the Society. The Prestwick Pioneer G-AKBF (Alvis Leonides) opened the flying by taking, so to speak, a running jump from a standing start. A horse-show hurdle, complete with greenery, stood about 100 yards ahead—but across wind—of where the long-legged steed stood; in the saddle, W/C. N. J. Capper, Scottish Aviation's chief test pilot, dug in the spurs; and his mount cleared the jump comfortably and went on and up at the same startling take-off angle. Thereafter the demonstration was the familiar yet some how always surprising one associated with this aircraft, ranging from the fairly fast to the fantastically slow. The exposition of the Auster Aiglet Trainer (D.H. Gipsy Major I), which followed, was, from every point of view, a model of demonstration aerobatics, especially for such a light aircraft. In five minutes R. L. Porteous put G-AMMS through almost every trick in the book, old and new, and to even the old ones he managed to give a new twist; it was done with the precision and timing of a trapeze artist, aid positioning in relation to the audience—so often a pitfall for otherwise good demonstrators— never once erred. C. T. D. Hosegood made the first of the helicopter demonstra tions. On fami iar lines, it showed the ability of the Bristol Sycamore (Alvis Leonides) to go fast, slow, vertically up, vertically down, backwards and—what still never fails to impress—bodily sideways the full length of the enclosure. After that it was back to slottage and flappery again, this time demonstrated by John (pen and parachute) Fricker with the improbable looking little Zaunkoenig ultra-light, built by technical students in Germany in 1942, and engined with a 51 h.p. four-cylinder Ziindapp. A pilotless aircraft next performed—a 10ft 9in radio-controlled glider built by the Low Speed Aerodynamics Research Association, an independent voluntary body of enthusiasts who, inspired by the Consolidated "aerodynamically similar" research model programme, are working on similar lines in this country. Moni tored by D. W. Allen while N. L. Walker gave a microphone commentary, the glider did more or less what it was told, though its duration seemed a little disappointing. The oldest aircraft present—G-EBMB, the pretty little Hawke/ Cygnet ultra-light biplane built for the Light Aeroplane Compe titions of 1924—next took the air, in the hands of Hawker test pilot Frank Murphy. Its span is 24ft, weight empty 442 lb, and a.u.w. 900 lb. Now with a 36 h.p. Bristol Cherub—it has had a variety of engines in its lifetime—it buzzed happily back and forth at 75 m.p.h. or so. A somewhat younger pre-war ultra light demonstrated was the Aeronca (36 h.p. J.A.P.), G-AEVS, flown by B. J. Snook. He was on home ground here, for the Vintage Aeroplane Club, of which he is a member, has its H.Q. at White Waltham. Veteran glider pilot and instructor John Furlong, with an A.T.C. cadet (F/Sgt. Edgson, No. 155 Maidenhead Sqn.) playing the part of pupil, gave a most informative ground-to-air dissertation via one of the new Pye lightweight V.H.F. installations in the side- by-side cockpit of a Sedbergh Trainer. These sets, incidentally, are being used by the British team in the forthcoming inter national contests in Spain, and Ann Douglas, the team's captain, showed us the neat transmitter and receiver stowed in the luggage-boot of one of the Standard Vanguards which will trans port the party. Air-to-ground range is about 50 miles. Bearing the three-crown insignia of the Royal Swedish Air Force, the graceful yet sturdy-looking Gipsy-Major-powered Saab Safir was effectively demonstrated by Capt. Bissmarck, Assistant Air Attache at the Swedish Embassy. Everything owned by B.E.A. has a knightly or otherwise im pressive name; even so, Sir Balan struck an odd note on the side of a Bell 47B-3 helicopter, G-AKFB (180 h.p. Franklin), displayed by Capt. J. G. Theilmann of the Corporation's helicopter unit. He finished with an impressive high-speed run, nose well down, along the front of the enclosure. Geoffrey Alington—who had earlier put the Tipsy B, G-AISC, through its paces—demonstrated that speedy little Comper Swift (Pobjoy R) G-ABUS with which Throttle Bender Tony Cole has so often confounded handicappers; with no aerobatic C. of A., Black Magic had necessarily to be confined largely to high speed, low-down fly-pasts. There followed a contribution which, though of completely contrasting nature, rivalled that of Porteous for entertainment- "Flight" photographs (Above) The well-remem bered Gloster Gladiator was, perhaps, the aircraft which aroused the most admiration. (Left) A section of the crowd: Mr. Peter Mase- field (and family) and Capt. A. G. Lamplugh may be recognized.
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