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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1052.PDF
APN2- ^ 80 FLIGHT, 15 July 1960 Great day for the two Turbulents—they finished first and second in the King's Cup. John Severne (foreground) passed Clive Francis on the third lap and led him home by 51 seconds "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS IT had all the proper ingredients: those little yellow pylonswhich William Faulkner immortalized in a.novel; tents andcaravans bulging with competitors and non-combatants; a hundred or more light aircraft of every make and vintage; RoyalAero Club officials loaded with badges and arm-bands and businesslike expressions; a Coventry bookmaker shouting the oddson the King's Cup; and a cumulus-laden summer sky alternately dispensing sunshine and rain: all adding up to the Coventry AirPageant, National Air Races and Lockheed International Aerobatic Competition at Baginton last Saturday. Both before and after the air races and finals of the aerobaticcompetition there was a varied flying display, ranging from the magnificent Hunter groupings of Treble-One Squadron to joyousindividual antics by Ranald Porteous in the smart new be-spatted Auster Aiglet, from the lordly posturings of a Valiant and aBritannia to silent manoeuvrings by red Olympias of the Coventry Gliding Club. All this amounted to a sky virtually gyrating with aircraft frommorning (when the King's Cup competitors were practising) till evening, and it says much for the day's organizers that everythingwent pretty well to schedule. The weather was continually un- certain, but only once (around 3 o'clock) did a really heavy showerdrive spectators to shelter; for the rest of the time there was a continually changing cloud background, with a ceiling that nevercame too low to incommode proceedings. Timings were good (Treble-One, for example, arriving immediately the King's CupRace finished and in a burst of brilliant sunshine) and John Blake "Flight" Gemini's-eye view of Crabtree's Gipsy-Gemini pulling into the vertical for the Hunningham turn ! Climax at Coventry RACES, AEROBATICS,, PAGEANTRY King's Cup finds a Royal Winner Royal cup for royalty's pilot: victor's laurels are bestowed on John Severne by Aid Mrs Pearl Hyde, chairman of the organizing committee of the RAeC kept up a well-informed and fluent commentary,being given a deserved break during the Treble-One and CFS Jet Provost items, which were described by their own commentators.The Jet Provosts, while less spectacular than the 16 Hunters, owed them nothing in the matter of precision flying; and theirfluorescent surfaces and flame from their smoke cartridges stood out strikingly against the dark clouds. USAF aircraft alsocontributed to the display, with a KB-50J/Destroyer/Voodoo/ Super Sabre air-refuelling demonstration and a fly-past by T-33s.A Chipmunk of Nottingham UAS flown by Fit Lt G. M. Cullen, gave three excellent aerobatic performances; and low-level aero-batics (including an inverted circuit at 300ft) were brilliantly displayed by Peter Phillips in the Bishop Tiger G-ANZZ. During the morning, a bulldozer chewed nonchalantly away atthe red earth where Baginton's new runway is to be; and in her remarks at the end-of-the-day prize presentation Alderman MrsPearl Hyde, chairman of the Coventry Aerodrome Committee, referred with pride to next year's pageant—"when the runway isgoing to be finished." Certainly all those who contributed to the 1960 display deserve the thanks of 100,000 spectators (or howevermany the final tally reckoned): for the variety and movement were continuous and exciting, and the flying standards high. H. w. The King's Cup Under the "power bulge" on the cowling of John Severne'swhite Turbulent G-APNZ is a twin-choke Solex carburettor. This, coupled with Porsche cylinder heads, careful port-polishing andtuning by Derrington and selective aerodynamic modification was one of the major factors that enabled him to win for the Duke ofEdinburgh the 28th King's Cup Air Race. He led the second man home, CUve Francis in the green Turbulent G-APZZ, by nearly aminute—this in spite of apparently throttling back on the last lap. Francis' triumph too was convincing; he led the pack—headed byBailey's Magister—by another long interval of 54sec. The two Turbulents thus ran complete rings round the handicappers andeveryone else. Undoubtedly a spot of gamesmanship in the elimin- ating rounds of the Nationals—flying at less than full throttle inthe London - Cardiff and short circuit races at Rhoose—accounted for these runaway wins. While John Severne's victory was a mostpopular one, these tactics spoilt the race as a spectacle (the slide- rule and stopwatch men had confidently selected the winner on thesecond lap) and raised again the thorny controversy of whether or not to throttle-bend in eliminating heats. The remainder of thefield finished pretty well en masse, with a very close race for third place. Of the 21 competitors who faced the starter's flag all but Brian
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