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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0807.PDF
MARCH 24, 1938. FLIGHT. " Fair - minded Treat- ment . . . No Inferiority Complexes Foisted Upon Us" : Flying- club Activities— —from the WOMAN PILOTS ANCLE IN Germany they run even a harmless gliding club onthe strictest military lines. What a contrast to thecomplete lack of any sort of officialdom in our own flying clubs! Even at Heston, busy with commercial traffic, no more is asked of the private pilot than a civil observation of Control when taking off, and while certain aerodromes levy a landing fee they do so almost apolo- getically, discussing the weather and making you feel that you have at least had good value for your money. It is probably this merciful absence of anything approaching the awful, tenter- hook " etiquette " of the hunting-field or, indeed, any red tape whatsoever, that makes these flying clubs such good spots for pilots and land-lubbers alike. From a woman's point of .view one of the most agreeable aspects of private flying is that we are neither treated as infant prodi- gies for obtaining an " A " licence at all, nor described as tough-guys if we take it seriously and work for a " B." We seem to take a bit longer to go solo, but what of it? If we taxi into a Fleet Air Arm fighter (as I did after two hours' solo) we are not offensively dubbed " woman drivers," but ragged and given a chance to live it down; accepted as readily as our brothers as potentially good pilots. Probably we owe this very fair-minded treatment to the brilliant perform- ances of the much-admired Mollison, Earhart and Batten, and the phenomenal alphabetical engineering achievements of the Misses Spicer and Gower. We certainly appreciate it and, having no inferiority complexes foisted upon us, enjoy our flying and club life as unself-consciously as any- one else, in spite of being in the minority. At least we feel we are pulling our weight at the various club dances and functions, where ninety per cent, of the conversation is always " shop " and the combination of dancing partner and intelligent audience comparatively rare. Random recollections of all sorts of amusing affairs flit through the mind. It still seems horribly early in the year for " dawn patrols," but Brooklands will have to get to work quickly thinking out some really invincible strategy of defence after their last year's challenge by a formation attack (a curi- ously composite squadron made up of a handful of Tigers, some pace-making Moths, a Hornet and a Leopard on half- throttle, and a miscellaneous collection of privately owned machines). The intention was to sacrifice the outside numbers which were to escort the bulk of the flight safely through the danger zone, but it was not a wholesale success, in spite of the fact that the enemy had received no -indication of the intended shape of By the Hon. RUTH COKAYNE photograph The Northesk Cup, flown each year until 1936, wasone of the few British competitions for women pilots. A group of competitors at Reading. attack. Possibly the formation was not exactly knife-like in its precision, or, again, there ma'y have been a defender immediately above or below the Brooklands Squadron who simply put his machine into a steep bank and read off from left to right. One might try an erratic and swerving attack in tandem couples, in the hope that defenders would mistake each pair for friend and foe in a dog fight and so let them both slip in to safety. Some people just love getting up early in the morning, so last year a couple of young women who thought discretion the better part of valour steered a beautiful compass course straight to Shoreham through a strangely congested sky, where they had their numbers taken by every single defend- ing machine and were not even charged double for breakfast! A variation of the theme was tried out at Brooklands in the form of an evening patrol, machines attacking between 6 and 6.45 p.m. Eggs and bacon seemed rather out of place at this hour on a hot summer's day, so the usual free breakfast was replaced by vouchers on the bar. (I wonder what Redhill thought about that? A very serious-minded and intensely air- worthy club, who disapprove of strong liquor during flying hours. They opened a fine new bar themselves shortly afterwards, however, so I presume they all got home safely!) The evening patrol coincided with a garden party given by Mr. Mrs. F. G. Miles doesdesign and stresswork for • her husband'saircraft.
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