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AIRMAN’S WIDOW TO BENEFIT

FINE RESPONSE TO ] APPEAL 1 i • . ABOUT £SOO RAISED When the Christchurch public is asked to support a deserving cause its response is seldom other than generous. Fine weather and an excellent , programme made that response even more certain yesterday. when. the Canterbury Aero Club, with thei cooperation of numerous other bodies, held an air pageant at Wigram aerodrome. It was part of Canterbury’s effort to swell the benefit funds for the widow and family of Squadron Leader M. C. McGregor. Last night a splendid concert was given by members of the “White Horse Inn” Company in the Theatre Royal. As the result of these two performances, the funds will benefit by about £SOO. At the pageant the gate takings were £157, and the takings for the passenger flights were £56. These with other small amounts yet to be received, should make the total from the pageant about £220. The theatre takings last night were about £250, and a further substantial sum was raised by auction. The small expenses of the pageant are being met by the Canterbury Aero Club, and the expenses for the theatre performance were nil. Many hundreds of cars were parked about the Wigram aerodrome in the afternoon, and the attendance numbered thousands. It was one of the largest crowds ever assembled there. It was not intended that the ’pageant itself should be of great proportions, and it was restricted to a little more than an hour and a quarter, but the short programme provided all the thrills of a grand display. While the pageant was generally organised by the Canterbury Aero Club, the aerial part of the programme was carried out for the most part by members of the Roy al New Zealand Air Force. Seven Machines Fly Past The fly-past, which opened the afternoon’s entertainment, was led by a Gloster Grebe, piloted by Squadron Leader J. L. Findlay, and the other aeroplanes which followed were: Ayro (Flight Lieutenant G. Olson), Vildebeeste (Flight Lieutenant H. B. Burrell), Hawker Tomtit (Flying Officer F. R. Dix), Bristol (Flying Officer C. C. Hunter), Puss Moth (Flying Officer H. W. Duffey), and Gipsy Moth. (Mr 5. A. Gibbons). A formation flight was made by three Avro 66’s, the flight being led by Flight Lieutenant Olson, whose machine was fitted with wireless. Immediately after the flight had taken off, it was directed by wireless from •the ground, and it went through numerous attacking and deploying manoeuvres. At the same time, the, giant Vildebeeste bomber was the centre of attraction for those who were taking part in an altitude guessing competition. At the top of its flight a brilliant Verey light was fired. The winner of the competition has not yet been announced. The most spectacular and thrilling events of the programme were the two parachute jumps. Mr Bernard Frizzell made a descent from about 1500 feet early in the afternoon, and near tbp end of the display, Mr John Skinner made a jump from 2000 feet with a delayed opening. He fell almost half the distance in a thrilling plunge, which was arrested when he pulled the rip-cord. When near the ground he opened his emergency parachute and finished the descent lying bn the ground and wrapped in the billows of the parachutes. An exhibition of clever hedge-hopping and touching the ground with alternate wheels was part of the crazy flying display given by Mr J. f. Busch. Interest ivas added by the continuous activity of the Union Airways airliner Karoro. The company had generously offered to carry passengers for short flights at very small charges, and this was sufficient attraction to the public to keep the machine in the air for most of the afternoon. One of those who had worked bard in the ci gsnisation saw nothing of the pageant, for he spent his afternoon sitting in a small tent with a board across his knees. He was Mr Don Nicol, the brilliant comedian of the “White Horse Inn” Company. He is recognised as a talented caricaturist, and the large number of persons eager to carry away excellent sketches of themselves kept him to his task without a break. A musical programme was given by Derry’s Military. Band.

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19360302.2.76

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21721, 2 March 1936, Page 12

Word Count
704

AIRMAN’S WIDOW TO BENEFIT Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21721, 2 March 1936, Page 12

AIRMAN’S WIDOW TO BENEFIT Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21721, 2 March 1936, Page 12

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