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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0770.PDF
39* K/ /IS a test pilot young D.H., as he is universally called,r\ has not an exceptionally long history. He took *- •*• over the chief test pilot's position in October, 1937,when R. J. Waight unfortunately lost his life on the T.K.4. Being, however, the son cf his illustrious father,Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, who designed, built and test- flew his own aircraft from 1911 onwards, young Geoffreycan be said to have been '' in the industry'' from the very cradle. It is not generally Lnown that Sir Geoffreytook his R.Ae.C. ticket No. 53 in February, 1911, on the second machine of his own design and construction, andthat he has made many of the first flights on new D.H. types right up to the Moth Minor in 1938. Geoffrey's first flight is lost in the dim past, but certainit is that at the tender age of six he was flying with father at Hendon in a D.H. 6 (also known as the ClutchingHand). When 18 years of age he left school and came to de Havillands as a premium apprentice for 4 years andlearnt to fly on Moths at the firm's reserve training school. After spending two years in the drawing office—much of the time being spent looking out of the windows envying the pilots—he joined the Air Operating Company,who were doing a lot of air survey work in South Africa. This, however, gave him but very little flying, and atthe end of six months, he came back to England to become a flying instructor to the D.H. Technical School.The aircraft were wooden Moths built by the students. In 1929 he took his B licence ; a very simple business inthose days. Some 20 or 30 hours' solo flying, a little cross-country work, a simple "Met" exam, and aboutone hour's night flying at Croydon was sufficient to qualify. APRIL I8TH, 1946 Britain's Test Pilots No. 5 GEOFFREY DE HAVILLAND, O.B.E. (Left) A characteristic photo-graph of Geoffrey de Havilland in the cockpit of the jet pro-pelled Vampire. (Below) With his father after a flightin one of the early Moths about 20 years ago. In 1934 Capt. Hubert Broad was chief test pilot of deHavillands, and Bob Waight looked after the production side. There was so much work, however, that Geoffreywas given the opportunity to lend a hand testing Tiger Moths, Dragons, Rapides, Express Air Liners, and HornetMoths. Broad left the company in 1935 and Waight took over,starting, with the Dragonfly and later the Albatross. It was during the period when the prototype Albatross wasgoing through its development flying that Waight lost his life, and de Havilland took over as chief test pilot.Nobody could have taken on a more interesting or more complex job because the Albatross was completelyexperimental from tip to tail. Engines were new, con- struction was new, and the layout was extremely advanced. He had a curious experience on the Albatross. While Taking-off the prototype Mosquito for itsflight at Hatfield on Nov. 21st, 1940.
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