AIR LAURELS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 11 April 1931, Page 9

AIR LAURELS.

HIGH-SPEED RECORD. British Pilots in Training for Schneider Cup Race. TALK OF 400 MILES AN HOUR. i (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 10. The seven pilots from -whom three will be selected to represent Britain in the Schneider Cup contest have assembled at Felixstowe under the command of Squadron-Leader A. H. Orlebar and have gone into strict training for the'race, which will be flown over the Solent in September. Teams representing France and Italy will challenge Britain on this occasion and are making strict preparations for the contest. If Britain wins she will retain the trophy, having won it in 1927 and defended it successfully in 1929. s

The British pilots now in training have had a wide experience in high-speed aircraft flying. Squadron-Leader Orlebar holds the world's speed record of about 358 miles an hour. Although no members of the present team actually took part in the race in 1929 four were trained in readiness for that.Contest, and all are trained high-epeed pilots. The majority of the men are about 30 years old, but Flying-Officer H. J. Leech is only 22. The other members of the team are:— Flight-Lieutenant G.' Stainforth, Who formerly was an officer in the regular army and was a reserve pilot in 1929; Flight-Lieutenants E. J. L. Hope and P. W. Long, both of whom have been stationed at Felixstowe for some time and have had opportunities of flying high-speed machines; Lieutenant Brinton, who is the first member of the fleet air arm to be a member of a racing team; Flight-Lieutenant J. M. Boothman, who has been carrying on special high-speed research work on the 1929 Schneider Cup machines for the past year; and Flying-Officer Snaitli, who went to Felixstowe as seaplane test pilot, where he has had wide high-speed experience.

During their training at Felixstowe, Which is to be followed in about two months by a special course at Calshot, on Southampton Water, the members of the team will at first fly Fairey. "Flycatchers," and Fairey "Firefly" machines, which have a speed of more than 200 mile's an hour, will also be used in the preliminary stages. Other machines available will be the Supermarinc Napier 5 which won the 1927 race, a GlosterNapier 4, and a Supermarine RoUteRoyco S 6. The machines have been modified since the 1929 race, which was won in one of them. Secrecy is observed in regard to two other machines which are now under construction. The speeds of which these machines arc capable arc also kept secret, but the possibility of about 400 miles an hour being reached "on the flat" is confidently discussed. The last Schneider Cup race raised the speed for the race from 281 to 329 miles an hour, and Squadron-Leader Orlebar's world's record raised the flat speed record from 319 to 358 miles an hour.