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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1844.PDF
958 FLIGHT, 21 December 1961 The Barnstormers. was an Avro 504K biplane, bought from a disposal firm for a fewpounds, a couple of dozen cans of Shell petrol, a few spares for the rotary engine and a bell-tent to house the odds and ends and toserve as a ticket office. Joy-ride Avros were modified to carry two passengers in anenlarged open cockpit behind the pilot. You mounted to this cockpit by clutching the leather padding on its rim and steppingup on two toe-steps let into the fuselage side. The aluminium bucket seats, with leather cushions, were mounted on narrowwooden bearers which also acted as foot-rests. From the interior the structure of the fuselage was quite open to view; lengthwiseran the upper and lower wooden longerons, connected every three feet or so by vertical struts. The rectangular frames thus formedwere diagonally braced with wires. The fabric covering, usually doped a dark green colour, was stretched around the outside andattached by lacing to the struts and longerons. Immediately in front of the pilot's and passengers' cockpit wasfixed a ridiculously small adjustable windscreen which gave prac- tically no protection from the slipstream. Looking forward fromthe passenger's seat one could see the pilot's instrument board, equipped w<th all the instruments which in those days were con-sidered necessary for an aeroplane: airspeed indicator, watch, altimeter, two pulsometers indicating oil pressure, revolutioncounter, cross-level (also called a clinometer), air pressure gauge for main petrol tank, and compass. The flying controls were acolumn, shaped like a ball-headed walking stick, and a rudder bar consisting of a wooden bar pivoted centrally and fitted withaluminium foot-grips. Engine controls were throttle and fine-adjustment thumb-leversmounted on a quadrant on the port side of the cockpit, hand-pump for pressurizing the main petrol tank (which in flight was servedby a windmill-driven air pump mounted on a centre-section strut), three-way petrol cock connecting either the main tank or thegravity tank to the engine, twin-knob tumbler-type switch for oper- ating the magneto cut-out, and a master switch. In addition therewas a push-button switch fitted to the top of the control column— A few Avros gave joy-riders the rare experience of marine aviation. This one, owned by a Capt Storey, was photographed at Paignton, Devon the "blip" switch, used for controlling the engine during thelanding approach. Suppose you are seated in the front cockpit and you are aboutto fly an Avro: you proceed like this. See that the switches are ir, the "'Switch off" position, then pump up correct air pressure.Turn on the petrol taps and open the throttle, moving the fine- adjustment lever about one-third along the quadrant. After tenseconds or so, turn off petrol and the engine is ready to suck-in. The mechanic will call "Switch off"; you answer "Switch off":and he proceeds to turn the engine over nine or ten times. He then calls "Contact"; you switch on and reply "Contact"; and he swingsthe airscrew. As soon as the engine fires you turn on the petrol. You regulate the engine with the fine adjustment until smoothrunning is obtained, at the same time watching the revolution counter and noting that the oil is moving in the pulsometer glass.You then waste no time in taxying for take-off, as a rotary engine must in no circumstances be run-up for more than a minute on theground. The Avro 504K was not easy to fly, and I am sure that the pilotwho had learned on modern trainers would find it a handful. The narrow wheelhase, coupled with the torque effect of the rotaryengine, caused a considerable swing on take-off and landing. In the air the controls were light, sensitive and quite powerful, resultingin exceptional mancevrability, but the modern pilot going into a turn on an Avro would be in for a surprise. On a steep right-handturn the torque reaction of the rotary engine would take charge and he would be alarmed to feel the nose being forced downwards,requiring full top rudder to trim. On a steep left turn he would again have to press hard with the left foot, this time to stop the nosefrom rising. These defects came to be viewed as merits and an Avro-trained pilot was rightly considered to be capable of flying any type of aeroplane. Avro 504s were adopted during the First War bya Service flying school at Gosport, and there, under the inspiration of Colonel Smith-Barry, a standard of flying ability was demandedwhich has never been surpassed. A Gosport-trained pilot was the finest in the world and from this famous school graduated many ofthe barnstormers. There must be dozens who, like myself, caught the air-feverfrom a barnstormer and who later learned to fly and started a career in aeronautics. In the early twenties there were very fewprivate flying schools in the country and for most of us the only opportunity to learn to fly, or to obtain a passenger flight, wasprovided by the barnstormer. Without doubt he performed a valuble service for aviation. More "Local" Flying A SECOND CIRCUIT OF AERONAUTICAL INN-SIGNS By Leslie Hunt MY piece in the August 10 issue about inns with aviationconnections has brought a flow of letters—enough, infact, to justify getting airborne for a further round of visits. The Editor commented that he envied me the researchnecessary for this second feature; but he might have changed his mind had he gone, as I did, in pursuit of The Blenheim at Epsom.Perhaps I should have realized beforehand that this particular sign simply commemorates the late Aga Khan's Derby winner of 1930! Returning for a moment to The Britannia, in Mare Street,Hackney, London (briefly mentioned in the first article), the sign here is noteworthy in that, unlike the majority of inn-boards, itbears two entirely different pictures—in this case they are air-to-air views of a Britannia with a pleasant cloud background. It brightensconsiderably an otherwise colourless neighbourhood, and the brewers are to be congratulated on departing from the customarysign for such a name- the Britannia of our copper coin. In this connection I am told by a reader, Mr John C. Sawtell, that anotherBritannia, not far from the Bristol Bulldog at Filton, makes the best of both worlds by having the airliner on one side of its board andthe lady on the other. As in the case of The Blenheim, another trap for the unwaryinnvestigator (sorry!) is The Comet at Shrewsbury—actually named after a stagecoach which once served that city; and thanks to DerekJames of Whitworth Gloster Aircraft, I now know that the Glocester Flying Machine near the factory is also named after a well-known More Street, Hack- ney, in north-east London, is the loca- tion of this well- executed sign coach which commuted between London and Gloucester (just howmany ways are there of spelling that name?) at a very rapid rate in the 19th century. But for my experience at Epsom I might have been tempted tovisit The Highflyer at Ely—which 1 now know honours a great racehorse of J851. I knew, too, that The Bull at Stony Stratfordhad nothing to do with disciplinarian flight sergeants; but there is an interesting story attaching to this house and the nearby Cock.When coaches to and from the capital stopped to change horses, passengers would go for meals to one or other of these inns, wherethe respective landlords would regale them with the latest news. At the next stopping-place it often happened that passengers fromtwo coaches fed in the same hostelry and exchanged their gossip, only to find that those who had called at The Cock had one versionwhile those who hadpatronized The Bull had a totally different one:
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