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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0202.PDF
204 FLIGHT, 15 February 1957 ENSIGN CLASS . . . captain had his own ideas about the cockpit layout (hundreds ofalterations were made before the original layout was adopted), the date of delivery came and passed with the prototype only halfcompleted. In consequence it was not until October 1938 that the first machine was finally delivered.About ten months previously, on Monday, January 24, 1938, the prototype (registered G-ADSR) had flown for the first time.During the previous day she had been taxied under her own power from the flight shop, across Hamble Lane, and on to theaerodrome for taxying and brake tests. The following morning saw several hundred people assembled to witness this historicevent, including officials and employees of the company, Pressmen and photographers; many more spectators lined the roadway along-side Hamble Aerodrome. With C. K. Turner-Hughes (chief test pilot) at the controls and E. S. Greenwood as second pilot, the bigairliner was turned round and taxied to the furthest corner of the airfield. Four preliminary runs were made, and on the fifthG-ADSR became airborne. The undercarriage was not retracted, and everything wentsmoothly until the first turn was attempted. Then Turner-Hughes experienced extreme difficulty in applying full rudder and it wasnot until Eric Greenwood contributed his strength as well that the rudder responded. They landed safely after fifteen minutes inthe air; and when Turner-Hughes' account had been heard it was decided to modify the rudder servo before any further test flyingtook place. Two days later G-ADSR made her second flight, when the undercarriage was retracted in the air for the first time.She was then flown to Baginton for exhaustive tests, and later to A. and A.E.E., Martlesham Heath, for Air Ministry and C. of A.acceptance trials. On the fourth test flight, during cabin-noise and heating tests,all four engines cut dead after only one-and-a-half hours' flying. This was a crisis that demanded quick and decisive action fromTurner-Hughes, as a forced-landing seemed inevitable and the A.W. technical staff on board were anxious not only for their own • A typical scene on Croydon's pre-war apron—a gaggle of Ensigns, H.P.42s, D.H.9H (Albatrosses) and a solitary D.H.86A. (Left) G-ADSR, the prototype, takes the air for the first time —in January 1938. (Right) After the second flight: I. to r., Mr. C. K. Turner- Hughes, A.W.A. chief test pilot; Mr. 1. Lloyd, chief designer; Mr. (now Sir Frank) Spriggs, managing director; and Mr. 0. Oliver, general man- ager of Armstrong Siddeley Motors. safety but also for that of their expensive prototype. By anincredible piece of luck R.A.F. Bicester was within gliding range and a perfect dead-stick landing was effected without damage. Oninvestigation it was found that the petrol balance cock was open and the wing tanks on one side closed off, which meant that theaircraft had been flying on one set of tanks only. The trouble was partly due to the very difficult placing—later modified—of thecocks in the roof between the first and second cabins. Imperial Airways christened G-ADSR Ensign, and this led tothe type as a whole being called Ensign, irrespective of individual fleet names. Two variants were built, externally identical butdiffering in internal accommodation, for service on the two prin- cipal routes of Imperial Airways. There were eight of the "Empire"model, carrying 27 day passengers in three cabins or providing sleeping accommodation for 20. Four Ensigns of the "Euro-pean" model (G-ADSW, X, Y and Z) were produced, seating 40 passengers in three cabins of twelve each for short routes, with acoupe for four behind the third cabin. Furnishing was designed by L. A. Rumbold and Co., Ltd., and the interior finished through-out in green and cream upholstery. Both models carried a crew of five: captain, first officer, radio officer and two stewards on theEuropean routes, while on Empire routes a flight clerk replaced one steward. ONE OPERATIONAL FORTNIGHT: CROYDON TO LE BOURGET Reg. G-ADSR G-ADSSG-ADSW G-ADSX G-ADSYG-ADSZ G-ADSS G-ADSV G-ADSW G-ADSX G-ADSZ Dates flown Week Not flown Not flown 11.10, 13,1412,13,14,15 Not flown 10 19 18 17 18 18 11,15,16 Hours to date (hr) ( min) ended Sunday, July 16, 1939 16 300 17 82 170 3 16 55 13 30 53 15 18 Remarks To Croydon by Eric Greenwood on 12th. Septemb 11th: G- service Week ended Sunday, July 23, 1939 20,23 19,2118,19 20,21,22,23 77 10 98 196 19 18 45 50 40 48 Not flown again until sr ADSW substituted on 19th: G-ADSW substituted on service. to test engine DSX made local flight new starboard outer Ensigns first went into service on the London-Paris route inOctober 1938, when G-ADSR flew 27 passengers to Le Bourget in 1 hr 19 min on the 20th. C. K. Turner-Hughes piloted theseearly Paris runs to give instruction to Captains Horsey, Jones and Youell; and, profiting from his experience, they quickly becameproficient in handling controls that were heavier than those of older biplane airliners. Egeria, Elsinore and Euterpe were employed on the 1938 Christ-mas Mail run to Australia, but all suffered divers defects that caused their captains to abandon the attempt: two suffered enginetrouble, while the third reached Calcutta only to retire with an undercarriage defect. Dissatisfied, Imperial Airways withdrew allfive Ensigns and sent them to Coventry for modifications; the sixth machine, Eddystone, joined them later after completingflight trials at Martlesham Heath. An improved mark of Tiger,
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