Racers of the Sky

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 644, 22 April 1929, Page 14

Racers of the Sky

SEABROOK WINS DERBY

Stunts and Speed at Mangere

A MENACING swarm of winged shapes came up out of the west. Two defending planes climbed rapidly to engage them, and the attack on Mangere airdrome had begun. This glimpse of a battle in the skies terminated the programme at the Air Pageant on Saturday. One by one the combatants came earthward and alighted. A last, lone cruiser swung in measured circles overhead, and a great day was over.

the bird men left the sky to the wheeling gulls, a multitude oil wheels turned its face toward the city, and the road to Mangere in its wide sweep across country became a throbbing coil of motor-cars. In that vast and sinuous mesh of traffic there were occasional delays and minor blockages, but the efficient staff of pointsmen handled it expeditiously, and this reflex of organisation stands with the general arrangements to tile credit of the Aero Club and its helpers. A picturesque sweep of country is the playground of Auckland pilots and the setting of the Mangere airdrome. Wind-tossed and a little dreary, the waters of the Manutau wash the outskirts of the ’drome. Dark trees and the serene slopes of distant summits break the hazy rampart of the Waitakeres, and a dim ocean horizon shows through the narrow, sinister gateway that is Manukau Heads. But the concourse on Saturday had little eye for the charms of landscape or littoral. Tier upon tier among its crowded cars it focussed attention earnestly skyward. The heavens were the spacious stadium of a new race of sportsmen. There against a screen of cloud or the uncurtained blue they rode the wind with zest and freedom. They soared to terrific heights, swooped across the upturned faces of the crowd, or gambolled in sheer exuberance or in the strategic duelling of war. SEABROOK’S DERBY At rest the machines were of sufficient interest. They represented practically the latest in scientific features, the mastery of man over natural laws. The rank of a dozen planes made an imposing array. The cryptic lettering on their wings and sides, the camber of the wings and the streamlining of the fuselage, the brave gaudiness of the coloured prows—on all these points of interest the curiosity of the crowd was centred. Burrell with his stocky Bristol fighter, Keith with his Bluebird, Cowper, Caldwell and company with their Moths; Captain Findlay, fresh and almost dapper, chatting at one minute in everyday garb, next pulling brown overalls over his mufti, and ‘soaring to the sky to. execute gymnastics up aloft; “Tiny” White —skilful piloting is plainly no matter of inches or girth; Captain D. Harkness, who doffs the gown and mortarboard of a university don and assumes the fur-lined helmet of an airman; and then Seabrook, cool of countenance, the Derby winner. These were some of the men who made the day. Though mountains marked the turn-ing-points, the course for the Derby was evidently not quite plainly enough defined. The Southern men, unfamiliar with the lay-out of the country, showed a tendency to go astray. The fastest machine engaged was undoubtedly the powerful Bristol fighter, but it conceded a long start to a big field in the second race. Except from the sheer thrill it yields when the fleet craft sweep overhead, racing in the air over an IS-mile circuit is not satisfactory to follow progressively. Either the course must be shorter or the spectators must go up in a balloon. Yet the event on Saturday was entertaining enough, if only for the tight finish to the final, when Seabrook's red-nosed craft flew over the line with Harkness and Dickson hot and eager on its trail. CIRCUS KINGS That “wind-sock” on the hangar billowed spitefully on Saturday, and the fresh breeze marred one or two events. One of them was the landing competition, and another the balloon strafing. In the landing competition the parade in single file aloft made a majestic sight. The red and blue balloons, as if imbued with a desperate notion to survive, kept tantalisingly close to the ground. Almost beneath the limits of safety they were harried far down the wind by the marauders from above. Here and there a saucily elusive target became a lifeless wisp of rubber —a fragment that testified to a pilot’s skill; and the planes rolled and pirouetted in the upper air as they stunted during their return to the drome. This impromptu stunting throughout the day was really one of the most attractive features of a programme which, if candour is in order, lacked sufficient variety to appeal to all. The censorious perhaps went to be amused rather than educated. The salient I lesson of the pageant was Its demonstration of tho absolute safety of the modern airplane under skilled hands, and this lesson was taught best In the breezy moments when Cowper was fluttering earthward in one of those miraculous spins that lost him a thousand feet in seconds, or Findlay was side-slipping the Bristol fighter into the void in one of the most difficult of all manoeuvres, or White looking at a topsy-turvy world from the wrong side of a loop, and someone else “pancaking” or rocking on the wind, while all below admired and wondered. CLOCKWORK ON WINGS ! The discipline of the skies was | taught in the precise evolutions of | Caldwell and his “circus” in the forma- ! tion flying. In line* 'abreast, in single file, In diamond shape or in the sagit- ! tal plan of homing birds they traced j their clockwork pattern on an unatI tainable ceiling. j The bombing attack flavoured of the j terms, smoke-puffs poised in mid-air, j and a shattered ammunition dump i bursting into flame while explosions I tossed debris to the winds. Who won? i Heaven knows; but the gallant sol- | sensational, with machine-guns sput- ■ diery potting upward front the banks I of the estuary seemed in a most ' unenviable position. To conclude without praise for announcer Champtaloup, whose unvarying “Hello, Hello,” had an almost paternal ring, would be unjust. So, too, the tributes earned by Mr. Swan and his fellow organisers, the men who stayed below, winning nothing of the glory, hut doing much toward success. THE FEATURE EVENT Although the momentary but breath- j

taking thrills of stunting incited amazement, there existed a stronger hire, one which has lived down through the ages, that of competition and speed. As planes zoomed aloft, banked steeply and roared away on their course in the New Zealand Aerial Derby, there was created a gripping interest and enthusiasm which can only become more intense at future pageants when the event shall be enriched by a larger quota of contestants, a greater variety of planes, and the establishing of record times. • Although some of the pilots yawed from their course, cut-in short, and were disqualified, the Dominion’s debut in aerial racing was a marked success, favoured as it was with twelve machines handled by skilled pilots, representative of all parts of the country. In reality it was a New Zealand championship. Tho Derby resulted: First Heat Captain J. Seabrook, A.F.C. (D.H. Moth) i Major K. Caldwell (D.H. Moth) . . 2 Mr. F. D. Mill (D. H. Moth) .... 3 Also started: Captain J. L. Findlay (D.H. Moth), Captain T. W. White (D.H. Moth) and Captain K. Hall (Avro -Avian). Tho race was contested over a triangular course of 18 miles round the Mangere and Ihumatao mountains. Six planes competed. Lieutenant Keith in a Blackburn Bluebird was first away, but he pulled out before gaining height owing to engine trouble. In quick succession Captain White, Major Caldwell and Captain Seabrook, all in D.H. Moth planes, roared aloft after a short run. The two first-named went wido of their bank over the hangar, while Captain Seabrook cut in to manage the lead, with the other two pilots and Captain Hall in his Avro not far behind. In the meantime Captain Findlay in tho N.Z.A.F. Moth, off scratch, hovered above, to get a flying start and follow Mr. Douglas Mill off 20 seconds. Although at times appearing as though mere specks in the sky, it was possible to view all the planes throughout the race, but as it was difficult to distinguish one machine from the other, considerable interest was lost. In a stirring finish Captain Seabrook, who had retained his lead throughout the race, roared over the winning post, followed closely by Major Caldwell. The other planes were some distance behind. Second Heat Captain D. Harkness (D.H. Moth) 1 Captain Euan Dickson (D.H. Moth) 2 Captain J. C. Mercer (D.H. Moth) 3 Also started: Captain M. C. Me- | Gregor (D.H. Moth), Major G. A. Cow- j per (D.H. Moth), Captain Chandler j (D.H. Moth). Captain H. B. Burrell (Bristol Fighter), Mr. J. M. Smith (D.H. Moth). Three pilots in this event took the wrong course and were disqualified. Captain Harkness was well back at the finish, but being the first in of those who kept the correct course was placed first. He was followed closely by Captain Dickson, with Captain Mercer two lengths further back. The competing of the New Zealand Air Force Bristol Fighter machine in this event, piloted by Captain Burrell, added considerable interest, but unfortunately the Bristol was one of those machines which went off the course. Final Captain. .7. Seabrook. 2s (Auckland) 1 Captain D. Harkness. scr (Auckland) 2 Captain Euan Dickson, 5s (Auckland) 3 Also started: Major Keith Caldwell (Auckland). This was a race of thrills. Captain Seabrook clapped on a pace of over 100 miles an hour from the start, and flew daringly low, leaving the other competitors to gain height. Over the last lap Captain Harkness, flying from scratch, caught Captain Seabrook. and the two raced along almost neck and neck, but the latter managed to zoom over the finishing flag a few lengths ahead of Captain Harkness. with Captain Dickson a close third. Major Caldwell, in the low-powered Hawke’s Bay Moth, failed to get more than about 90 miles an hour out of his machine, and consequently did not have a chance against the other three competitors. Time, 7m. LANDING COMPETITION The landing competition was contested in conjunction with the flypast, in which 11 machines took part. The planes took off separately and then, in formation, circled over the airdrome in a most spectacular display. Each machine dipped as it passed the official stand, and then immediately gained height to begin the landing competition. Unfortunately, a strong high wind made conditions most unsuitable for good landing, and very few of the machines managed to alight near the marked circle. The event resulted: —- Captain Findlay (D.H. Moth) .... 1 Major Cowper (D.H. Moth) 2 Captain White (D.H. Moth) . . . . 3