BRITAIN'S NEW PLANES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12081, 9 August 1917, Page 4

BRITAIN'S NEW PLANES.

SWIFT ASCENTS AND NOSE-DIVES. THE KING AT AERODROME. Tho King, tho Queen, and Princess Mary, accompanied by Commander fc&r Charles Cust, R.N., yard a visit ot inspection recently to tho Urahame-\\ lute Aviation Company's works and aerodromo at Jlendon. The hundreds of workers in all parts of the factory gavo the royal pany a rousing reception, and as they proceeded through the different bays the workmen and workwomen left their work long enough to form a cheering guard of honour. Tho King and Queen talked with a. number of the workers. The King then motored to the aerodrome, where ho inspected various types of machines, mostly de liavillands, named after their designer, who accompanied his Majesty. An exhibition of remarkable Hying was given by Captain B. C. Mucks in a Do Mavilhmd biplane of the latest type. .He rose at a remarkably sleep angle until some hundreds of feet above th 0 aerodrome. Tho peculiarity of this machine, is that it can fiy at its maximum speed once it has risen from the ground, but can land slowly and easily. Captain 1 lucks made a dolour and came back to about oOOlt above tho royal party, where he looped the loop twice im>id,% the space of ono minute. Captain Mucks was afterwards presented to the King, who congratulated him on his living.

The King's atontion was attracted to a terrier dog regarded by Mr Mucks as his mascot.

" Does she ever go up in the air with you?" the. King asked the airman. " She has been up nearly as many times as .1 have and has looped the loop," replied Mr Iluc.ks. " Mow do you manage to keep her in the machine? Do you tie her in?

"Oh, no; Peggy is quite used to flying ; it has become secoinTnat-uro to her now. Bho never likes me to go up without her."

The King was then shown a machine >xpn :•:•.>■ designed for training pilots. In comparison with the four other planes in the air it .appeared to be almost standing still, and indeed the dosigner of it himself averred that when he brought it back from a, distant air station some days ago he was passed iiv riie iroods trains on the London and North-Western lines.

From tho neighbouring naval aerodrome a, small grey painted machine rose. This piano is invaluable for certain classes of defensive, work. The naval pilot who Hew this machine gave an extraordinary exhibition. He banked very steeply until at right angle; with tho surface of the field beneath. Me climbed again and oanio down in a long: spinning nose-dive, which left the uninitiated spectators wondering on whi'li part of the-aerodrome he would crash.

This nose-spin is a thing not encouraged among younger pilots, but, to an experienced man in a good maehino it seems io present iow difficulties. To watch this mana-uvro is unpleasant tor the plane turns nose down to the earth and falls in corkscrew spirals of only a few eet. In fact, it appears to the onlookers from below that the machine is coming down in a dead straight line and spinning in its own width.

A mock bat-Mo was also fought m the air between two fast planes wbiYh manoeuvred for position