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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0954.PDF
54 Mooney's LAP "First" IT is not often possible in these days to score a first since mosteverything now has been done before. But we in Dundas arevery pleased to have had the distinction of being the first to make use of the new ruling on the use of London Airport [Flight, June22]. This occurred more by coincidence than by planning; but, for the record, here are the facts. We were informed by the Mooney Aircraft Co that in order tospeed up delivery of our first Mooney Mk 21 demonstrator they had arranged on our behalf for Max Conrad Aviation to fly theaircraft across, arrival being planned for June 28/29. However, owing to a postal delay the C of A and C of R were not receivedin the United States until June 29. Then everything began to tick over like clockwork, thanks to Walter Moody the pilot. The air-craft departed from Boston in the late evening of June 30 for its nonstop flight to London Heathrow at a gross weight of 2,6501b,carrying in addition to its standard 48 US gallons a further 140 US gallons in two auxiliary tanks.Though a transatlantic single-engine flight is nothing new these days, a nonstop one is still quite an achievement, this one being FLIGHT, 13 July \96\ Mile Dutrieu in 1910 waisted flying suit,helmet and goggles, and tiny patentleather boots; she created a greater sen-sation when she flew a complete lap of thecourse on the dan- gerous 60-mile-an-hour "Demoiselle," standing it on itsnose on landing but escaping quite un-hurt—being the first woman to fly a mon-oplane and the sec- ond in the world tofly alone. It was in Radio Times Hu/ton Picture Library CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. The names and addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. rather special inasmuch as it was the first Mk 21 to do so, the firstone to us, and the first light aircraft into Heathrow under the new ruling. Walter Moody landed on 28R at 1433 local within 3minutes of the ETA planned a fortnight before, having made the 3,300 miles from Boston very comfortably in 20Ahr, leavingenough fuel to make onward continuation to Rome well within reach if desired. At a TAS of 161 m.p.h. she was burning 6 impgal/hr and only used 4 qts of oil, which says a lot for the Lycoming 180 h.p. engine.A fair amount of thunderstorms were encountered in the Gander area but successfully avoided; though snow, rain, and ice wereprevalent throughout most of the flight, on arrival the Mk 21 looked as though it had just popped over from Gatwick. due tothe high standard of finish; no rain or ice chaffing had taken place, and there was not even an oil stain on the cowlings. Walter Moody, who had not had a drink since Boston as histhermos jug was found broken when required, was only a little stiff and still very fresh. This was his third trip across in June. Hehas 18,000 flying hours, which apart from the Air Force is almost all on ferry flying—singles, twins and fours. His longest solosingle-engine flight is 63hr. Next week he will take a single-engine Lake amphibian from the United States to Nairobi. We should certainly like to mention something of the menbehind the scenes. From the Airport Commandant through air traffic, public relations and so on, co-operation, enthusiasm andall-round helpfulness were as much as anyone could ever wish for. I have a sneaking feeling that the Ministry staff at Heathrowwere as keen to see the new ruling implemented (and well imple- mented at that) as were the Business Aircraft Users Associationand Royal Aero Club who were responsible for much of the effort behind making it possible. To all of these gentlemen we say"thank you very much." In conclusion let us all hope that well-equipped aircraft such asthe Mk 21 and others, together with capable pilots, will become a common sight at Heathrow, as I feel sure this will add flexibility tothe arm of general aviation. London SW1 KEITH E. JOHNSTONE Mooney Sales Manager, R. K. Dundas Ltd Helene Dutrieu IN this jet and space age few, if any, modern flying enthusiastscan have even heard of Mile Helene Dutrieu, yet once hername was front-page news for her exploits in the then new art of aviation. Her death in Paris recently must, however, revive nostalgicmemories for those whose interest goes back to pioneer days. Born in Belgium about 1880, dainty, vivacious little HeleneDutrieu was already well-known at the turn of the century in the music halls of Europe for her daring feats in connection with"looping" on a bicycle and taking a plunging leap in an automobile. It seemed only natural that when the aeroplane began to makeits first short flights Mile Dutrieu should become interested. She met the legendary Santos Dumont in Paris in the autumn of 1909and he suggested that she learn to pilot his tiny "Demoiselle." Helene Dutrieu created quite a sensation when she appeared atIssy, the Paris flying-ground, in December 1909 in her very tight- August 1910 that Helene Dutrieu passed the tests for her certificateon a Henri Farman biplane at Etampes, France, thus being the second woman to gain a pilot's licence, the first being Baroness dela Roche some months before. Early in September 1910, Mile Dutrieu flew from the sands ofBlankenberge to Bruges and back carrying a passenger, M Beaud, and circling the famous belfry at a height of 1,000ft—the firstcross-country flight by a woman. In October 1910 she gave exhibition flights at the Burton andDoncaster meetings in England and was given much publicity for her flight over Burton with a passenger. On her return to Francethe same month a sensation was caused by the withdrawal of her licence by the Aero Club de France on the grounds that she carrieda passenger (M Beaud) who in reality worked the controls. Mile Dutrieu at once flew the tests for her certificate, which wasreturned to her. After this she became very much "La Belle Helene" to the early European flyers, and with the possible exceptionof the Baroness de la Roche was widely regarded as the leading woman flyer of her generation. In December 1910 Mile Dutrieu was the first woman to fly for anhour, and later the same month at Etampes she flew 167km in 2hr 35min on her Farman, winning the Coupe Femina. She retainedthis cup in 1911-12 with a flight of 3hr 54min. In Paris just before the first war it was very fashionable to runout to Enghien to watch Helene Dutrieu fly her waterplane over the lake. She would skim over the surface of the water, then risesuddenly to over a thousand feet and finally plane gently down on to the lake—a feat which never failed to enthrall the crowds. She alsogave exhibitions with her Farman seaplane at Deauville and most of the French watering-places, doing much to popularize flyingand no doubt making large sums of money for herself. In 1913 Mile Dutrieu was awarded the ribbon of the Legion ofHonour for her services to aviation at a large reception given by the Aero Club de France. Early in the 1914-18 War she offered to flyas an unofficial scout to warn the French of approaching German raids on Paris, and in 1920 became the head of a motor business atLevallois Penet, apparently having no longer any dreams of aerial greatness. In spite of her much publicized daring she was a most carefulpilot and accomplished all those pioneer flights without any serious accident. The friend and pupil of Santos Dumont and HenriFarman, she outlived nearly all of the pilots of her era to pass away at over 80 in the era of Gagarin's first flight into space. Cambridge NORMAN MORROW-TAIT A "Compassionate" Licence I HAVE received your letters of June 13 and 14. I note that youobject most strongly to the attack I have made upon the standard and integrity of your journal but the issue of June 15has done little to persuade me to change my mind. In your letter of June 14 you say that the answer given by theAttorney-General will be noted in the issue of June 15. After considerable searching I found that it occupied slightly less thanthree lines on page 846, although the matter about which I originally
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