AVIATION NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 22758, 7 December 1935, Page 19

AVIATION NOTES

(By

“Contact.”)

Club News. Tile clerk of the weather was certainly kind to the Aero Club last weekend; in fact, we may confidently state that a busier week-end has not occurred for some months. Gore Activity. We feel we must give a special heading to the flying done in Gore last week-end. On Saturday afternoon, Flying Officer Gilkison and Pilot W. A. Cameron visited Gore in —AAG. A very busy afternoon was spent, the flying going on until dusk. Trainees FL Fraser, R. Ryan, W. Dickson and R. Knowles all put in some dual instruction. Later Trainee Fraser did some solo flying, and Trainee R. Knowles registered his first solo. The latter has been trying hard for some time for this, and we are very pleased and offer our heartiest congratulations to him. Flying Officer Gilkison stayed the night in Gore, and on Sunday, another busy day was spent. Trainees W. Dickson, R. Thompson, W. Adams and R. Knowles did some further dual flying, after which Trainee Thompson did his first “solo.” He was the winner of the flying scholarship held in Gore some months ago. He has made rapid and steady progress, and deserves congratulations. Pilots D. Cross, F. Wallis, J. Young, and J. Stewart and Trainees R. Knowles, H. Fraser, W. Adams and R. Thompson did further solo flying during the day. Invercargill Activity. Last Wednesday, Pilot H. Smyth, of Otautau, came in and at the controls of ADB visited Riverton, Otautau and Nightcaps. Pilot A. Calvert, later did some solo flying, and although he had been absent from the controls for some months, he showed that he had lost none of his skill. Trainee H. Fraser, of Gore, took advantage of a business visit to Invercargill to have some dual instruction with the pilot instructor, later doing some solo flying. On Saturday afternoon Flight-Lieu-tenant Smith gave some dual instruction to Trainees Boyd and Collie and later, with Pilot J. Stevenson of Balclutha, gave an exhibition of bombing. Pilot Collie, solo, and Pilot F. Finlayson were also in the air during the afternoon. Pilot F. Adams, and later Pilot B. Collie, visited Riverton on Sunday afternoon while later the pilot instructor gave instruction to Trainees W. Adams, R. Knowles, A. Ritchie, and Gormack. Trainees Adams and Knowles then did some solo flying. Pilots J. Crombie and L. Uttley were also at the controls on Sunday afternoon. Fairly late in the afternoon, Pilot J. McC. Smith with Pilot J. Carrick as passenger, flew to Queenstown where Pilot G. Davies did some flying. Pilots Smith and Carrick then returned with ADM. Last month’s flying was, from every point of view, extremely successful for the club. The flying totals are:— Pupils.—Dual. 16 hrs; solo, 55 min. “A” Pilots.—Dual, 4 hrs; solo, 38 hrs. 20 min; pass, 16 hrs 30 min. “B” Pilots.—Moths, 10 hrs 40 min: Fox Moth, 7 hrs 25 min; total, 93 hrs 50 min. Bituminous Petrol. The output of coal petrol rose from 1931 to 1934 from 38,000,000 gallons to 52.000,000 gallons. Nine R.A.F. stations in the United Kingdom are using a fuel distilled from British coal. ' Delmotte Keeps It Up. The insatiable M. Delmotte has set up a new 1000 km. record, covering that distance in his Renault-engined Caudron at 279.86 m.p.h. Air Traffic Figures. Dutch Airlines carried 86,000 passengers during 1934. Some Jump. Two Soviet airwomen claim to have established a new world record for a parachute jump without oxygen apparatus, by jumping from a height of 25,950 feet (nearly five miles). Civil Developments in Japan. Tire Japanese Ministry of Communications has a £7,000.000 programme for the development of civil aviation. Air France’s Forty-seater. Bigger and better aeroplanes are on the stocks for Air France, the largest, so far as is known, being the commercial version of the Farman F-220 long-range heavy bomber now in series production for the Armee de I’Air. There will be accommodation for forty passengers, the seats being arranged in pairs on each side of a central gangway. Structurally, the type will be a highwing braced monoplane with four 1000 h.p. Hispano-Suiza two-row radials, two driving tractor airscrews and the others functioning as pushers. The undercarriage will retract into the engine nacelles and the maximum speed is expected to be 186 m.p.h. Eastern Air Project. Airspeed Envoy twin-engined lowwing monoplanes, able to carry up to eight passengers and 2401bs of baggage, have been purchased to operate new services between Japan and Manchuria. Powered with Siddeley <or Wolseley engines, the plane cruises at 150 m.p.h., and attains a maximum speed of 175 m.p.h. British Aero Exports.

During the first six months of this year, the value aircraft material exported from England was £1,486,950. This was £584,630 more than in the corresponding period last year, and exceeded the amount for the whole of 1933.

Gay Youngsters. In the United States there is a group of pilots known as the “Over-Fifty Club” It is composed entirely of licensed pilots who have passed their fiftieth birthday. The oldest member is seventy-eight years of age and is still flying his own machine in grand style. One Thousand Pretty Targets. Over 1000 men took part in a mass parachute “raid” during the Red Army manoeuvres recently. They descended behind the “enemy” lines with light machine guns and all landed on one aerodrome.

A Feminine Fight. Miss Laura Ingalls has flown (supposedly in her Lockheed Orion) from Los Angeles to New York in 13 hr. 34 min., thus beating easily Miss Amelia Earhart’s time of 17hr 7min. Modern Open Cockpit Tourer. One of the handsomest open cockpit aeroplanes yet built is undoubtedly the two-seat Percival Gull, the first of which was recently delivered to the order of the Maharajah of Jodhpur. It is the first open cockpit craft built by the Percival company, with two tandem cockpits in the place of the closed three-seat cabin of the standard Gull. Power is supplied by a de Havilland Gipsy-Six 200 h.p. motor, giving the Gull a maximum speed of 175 m.p.h. and normal cruising at 154 m.p.h. Landing speed is approximately 45 m.p.h. Range on one fuel load in still air is 800 miles. Both cockpits are exceptionally roomy and comfortable, with armchair seats. There is plenty of room for luggage. Wing span is 30 ft., and length overall, 24 ft. Trailing edge flaps are actuated according to the Percival system by use of a single positively acting lever similar to the handbrake lever of an automobile, enabling the pilot to feel exactly how much load is bearing on the flaps as he pulls them down. Dual control is fitted.