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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0406.PDF
414 FLIGHT, 30 March 1961 Sport and Business . . . in 4min lOsec, and a Skylark to 2,000ft in 2min 20sec. The gliders belong to the Imperial College Gliding Club. Also reported on the same occasion was a period of aero-towing during which the tug was inverted. FOREIGN TOURING organized this year by the Tiger Club includes the following trips: April 1-2, Berck Aero Club rally; April 29-30, Turbulent tour to Berck and Beauvais; June 18, Sunday lunch outing to Berck; and August 12-20, foreign tour including the Pyrenees. On May 13-14 there will be a Tiger Club barbecue at Redhill Aerodrome to which foreign club-members will be invited. THE FUTURE of the Governor-General's Cup Air Race in SouthAfrica now appears dubious in view of the Union's forthcoming change to republic status. The organizers of the 1961 race, mostlyloyal monarchists (writes a correspondent), have decided that if this year's race is to be the last it shall certainly be the best. Thedate chosen is May 26-27—the last weekend before the republic comes into being. On past occasions the race has been very well organized. Handi-capping has been so accurate that, after a thousand-mile flight, ten aircraft have reached the finishing line in as many minutes and£1,400 in prize money has been decided in a few seconds. Aircraft are timed individually at maximum throttle over a ten-mile courseon the day before the race, and have their take-off times set accord- ingly. After the first day's run the handicapping is adjusted, and thelast 500 miles or so provides the real competition. Competing aircraft must be propeller-driven, must have a still-airrange of 450 miles, and must have a maximum speed of over 100 m.p.h. Most of the machines are American and such namesas Cessna, Piper and Beech are as well-known in South Africa as in other countries. The British contingent usually includes an Austerand a Tiger Moth, while hotted-up "specials" are popular but so unreliable that they have not met with much success. Entries arefairly evenly spread between all classes of aircraft from executive to agricultural machines, and club trainers to converted fighters. The course, 1,175 miles long and passing through all four prov-inces, is divided into two stages of 625 miles on the first day and 550 on the second. Refuelling and check points are designated, andfaulty navigation can lose a lot of time. Most successful entrants in the past have carried a navigator (there is no limit on the numberof passengers or crew). The route has required much detailed planning because it includes few landmarks other than the checkpoints and, at the same time, has a good sprinkling of airports to act as diversions—a compromise which is not easy to arrange. Afurther factor in the selection of this year's route has been the decision to enable clubs in country districts to play a greater partin the planning than in the past. Is this a chance for Rover to prove their light turboprop in theCurrie Wot ? Could Beagle make a startling debut by winning the race with their first prototype? Although this may be ratherhopeful, there is certainly an expanding market for light aircraft in South Africa and a race of this kind could provide valuable publicityfor any company hoping to tap this market. Prize money is excellent by African standards—£700, £400, £200 and £100 for thefirst four places on an entry fee of only £10. The chairman of the Durban Wings Club, Mr Graham Wulff,who is also a member of the executive of the Aero Club of South Africa, has promised to assist overseas competitors in every possibleway. Enquiries concerning the race should be addressed to the Aero Club of South Africa, Box 2312, Johannesburg. N i f • .._ '•••••'' ••••• "" ""*" S (REFUEL) <&•—, KIMBERLEY / i. \ ../ ) T .-" (RF.FUEO '•• (CHECK) 85 mites^Tzaneen ; POTGIETERSRUST^*^ \ ,......--•••' / \115 mlles ; / 11O miles / r \ I \ (CHECK) X (START) 1 >Nelsprb \ JOHANNESBURG-/ /,•-•,. .... BARAGWANATH / . (c/*,/cJ\ / ,_,,^/ZBO miles "• Jzto mi|es / (CHECK) ; / / HARRISMITH. ,-- / ^^^>S^5 miles 17Dmil« -^^ •••• >^LADYSMITH-2Z°JI^^^^^12O miles (NIGHT-STOP) J. LADYBFIAND ' \ /S^=§ (CHECK) / ) /^5SES Route for this year's Governor-General's Cup Air Race, organized by the Aero Club of South Africa and described in an accompanying news item A POPULAR EVENT in the club calendar since 1954 has been theinternational air rally held by the Channel Islands Aero Club at Jersey Airport. This year's event is being held from Friday, May 5,to Sunday, May 7: a charge of £6 6s per person is being made (covering all accommodation, meals, entertainment, transport andairport dues from arrival to departure). Entry forms should be returned to Channel Islands Aero Club (Jersey), c/o L. W. Ross-Gower, 27 Hill Street, St Helier, Jersey, not later than April 25. The RAF are providing an escort for flights from the UnitedKingdom to Jersey. There will be prizes for sealed-time arrival, a concours a"'elegance and a general airmanship competition. TheCI Aero Club has nearly 320 members; about 40 are flying or learning to fly. Last year, the rally drew some 60 aircraft frompoints all over the Continent. A RECORD SHIPMENT of 37 light aircraft has been made fromthe United States to Australia. The aircraft are all Cessnas, and the shipment was made to Rex Aviation Pty Ld at Bankstown, NSW,the Cessna distributor for Australia and New Guinea. STATISTICS for I960 in the annual report of the chairman of theBritish Gliding Association last month included the following:— A total of 24,400 hours' flying had been reported by the clubs,from 164,997 launches. Compared with the 1959 figures, this showed a decrease of 2,976 hours and an increase of 7,457 launches.There had been 4,749 pilots flying during the year (an increase of 463), in 337 gliders—which included 74 two-seaters and 90privately owned aircraft. A total of 38,032 cross-country miles had been flown. Gliding holiday courses during the year totalled186 and were attended by 1,687 pupils. The numbers of gliding certificates issued, which exceeded those for 1959 in each category,were: 613 As, 617 Bs, 388 Cs, 99 Silver Cs and 17 Gold Cs. The attractive two-seater formerly known as the Morrisey 2150 is now going into production as the Shinn 2150A, a product of Shinn Engineer- ing Inc of Santa Ana, California. Improvements over the original version are claimed, and production should get under way next month. Cruising speed is 135 m.p.h. on the ISO h.p. Lycoming engine, and the basic price is quoted as $8,950
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