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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0253.PDF
FLIGHT International, 15 February 1962 255 Some 30 of the accidents occurred away from aerodromes. There were three ditchings, three cases of collision with the ground while living in cloud or bad visibility, and five alleged engine failures. The remainder were precautionary or forced landings due to approach- ma darkness or bad weather or becoming lost (or any two of these reasons), or to shortage of fuel. The primary cause of most accidents in this group is inadequate p re-flight briefing—a failure on the part of the pilot to get a route or area forecast, a failure to plan his route and allow sufficient time to reach his destination before nightfall, a failure to take note of high ground adjacent to his intended track, or to allow an adequate reserve of fuel. When calculating range, an accurate knowledge of the fuel con sumption of the aircraft at different heights and power settings is required (and this may vary considerably with individual aircraft of u type), or the safety margin, or reserve, may be severely depleted or even exhausted. Two contingencies to be considered and planned for prior to iake-off are "lost procedure," and a plan for diversion or return if deteriorating weather is encountered. However, every pilot gets lost some time during his career and, if he has no alternative but to put down in a field, his best insurance against damaging himself and his aircraft is a thorough knowledge of precautionary-landing procedure and practice. Base for Seaplane Club The Admiralty have now granted condi tional authority for the Seaplane Club to operate from the RN Air Station, Lee-on-Solent—the condition being that the club first obtains a civil aerodrome licence from the Ministry of Aviation for the water. The club's Tiger Moth is now being fitted with its float undercarriage, under Mr J. Rose, at the Rollason Aircraft and tngines factory at Croydon. In the near future the club committee is to appoint a flying committee and a team of instructors In the Air, on the Air OR, THERE'S NO BUSINESS FLYING LIKE SHOW BUSINESS FLYING LISTENERS and viewers must occasionally wonder how it is that a popular entertainer appears in, say, a sound-radio programme at lunchtime and then in a TV show on the evening of the same day, from a studio perhaps 400 miles away—and this when a look at the Radio Times or TV Times shows that both appearances are "live." The natural conclusion is that intelligent use is made of BEA's internal services, and in many instances this is indeed the case. Occasionally, too, top-line artists find the cost of specially chartered aircraft a worthwhile proposition. But today there is a growing coterie of entertainers who have found that actual ownership of a light aeroplane provides the best answer to their ever-present prob lem of having to be very nearly in two places at the same time. Older readers may recall a few variety artists who flew their own —or at any rate club—aircraft in pre-war days, but so far as this country is concerned it is probably true to say that the modern movement towards personal-aircraft ownership in "the profession" was started by a TV artist who needs no introduction to viewers— Stan Stennett of The Black and White Minstrel Show, the series which recently brought the BBC a trophy for Europe's best TV show of its kind. Turned down for the RAF flying during the war by reason of eyesight that was not up to aircrew standard, some years later Stennett nevertheless took flying lessons at Pengam Moors, Cardiff. With less than 50 hours in his log-book he bought his first aircraft, an Auster; his next was a Cessna; and today he owns a four-seat Bonanza. Fellow-artists to whom he has given lifts in order to help them fulfil their engagements have more than once asked for flying lessons —Tommy Cooper, Jill Day, Lonnie Donegan, Terry (Lennie-the- Liori) Hall, Michael Holliday, Doreen Hume, Nat Jackley, Ruby Murray and Harry Secombe are among them—and this enthusiasm has led to the formation of what has jestingly been called "The Stan Stennett Air Force." In addition to the Bonanza the force now has a Gemini, G-AJWC, the owner of which is the Scottish comedian Jimmy Logan. He bought it from Peter S. Clifford & Co Ltd of Oxford Airport, and keeps it at Renfrew, within striking distance of his "home base," the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow. The Gemini now enables its owner to accept radio and TV bookings in Man chester, Birmingham, London and other centres in circumstances of time which would otherwise be impossible. A potential recruit for the "SSAF" is Noelle Gordon, well known to Midlands TV. Recently she flew herself to RAF Gaydon on the way to officiate at the opening of the Muzak "piped music" service in that area. One could name quite a few other potential recruits—notably, perhaps, Hughie (Double Your Money) Green, who probably has more flying experience than the rest of the force put together: 6,000hr on 40 types, much of it on Atlantic ferrying operations. Then there are Jackie Rae (who gained a DFC in the RCAF), a star of the current pantomime at the London Palladium; and Dick Emery, erstwhile member of one of the Ralph Reader RAF Gang Shows and now owner of a Magister after qualifying at Fair Oaks. In America, show business—like many other occupations there— makes maximum use of personal aircraft. The world-famous Danny Kaye has flown well over 400hr in his Piper Aztec fulfilling engage ment in various parts of the continent. He actually did his ab initio training in an Aztec and made his first solo and took his licence on one. Now in quest of a commercial licence, he recently took some advanced instruction in this country—with Wg Cdr Tim Vigors, of Vigors Aviation, Kidlington (now C.S.E. Aviation Ltd), Piper distributors for the UK. So today "Walter Mitty" really does fly. In his own words "1 may not make the best pilot in the world, but I'm certainly the only one who does not have a single-engined rating." LESLIE HUNT Below ore tome of the well known entertainment personalities mentioned in the article. Left to right: Danny Kaye, in an Aztec with Wg Cdr Vigors; Stan Stennett, with an early Cessna; Jimmy Logan taking over his Gemini;and Hughie Green in an Aero Commander
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