“BERT” HINKLER.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17383, 20 April 1928, Page 2

“BERT” HINKLER.

A PERSONAL STUDY

(By Major F. A. de V. Robertson in the Manchester Guardian.)

Why Hinkler is always known ns "Bert'’ is a mystery which has never been explained. His initials are H. J. L., and the H. does not stand for Herbert. But he seems lo think three initials too grandiose for a man of his meagre inches and modest nature, and prefers io be known as Bert. He. really is one of the most unassuming of men. Ihough he. knows his own abilities without Jelling the knowledge swell his head. Once, when very few orders for new machines were coming through from the Air Ministry. Hinkler (who was then test pilot for A. V. Roe and Go., Ltd.) complained to me that he was not getting enough flying. "You can’t be a pilot.” he said, “unless you constantly have the air under your wings." Not long afterwards there was a competition at Lympnc for light single-seaters, and Ihe Avro firm decided to go for Ihe endurance test. A very happy man was Hinkler that week, for he was able to Ay round and round the course from dawn fo dusk.

One day there was a thick fog with a visibility of about 20 yards, but Hinkler went on round and round, and punctually every quarter of an hour his white monoplane would loom into sight, bank round the pylon, and disappear again into the murk. I asked him afterwards how he found his way. whereat he grinned and said, ‘‘The old bus did it; 1 guess we’ve worn a track on the air by now, and she just followed it.” He won that prize.

Pilot of All Talents. There is hardly a point of piloting in which Hinkler will not rank with the best of any country, but his outstanding qualities arc endurance and persistence. Among British civilian pilots there are, perhaps, some halfdozen who are absolutely first-class in the matter of “hands” on the joystick. Probably the three names which occur first to the mind are Courtney, Broad, and Hinkler. • As for high speed work, the last time that Great. Britain entered civilian pilots for the Schneider Cup (in 1925 at Baltimore) our team consisted of Broad, Baird and Hinkler. _ Last year, when there was difficulty in finding a test pilot to take that very novel Schneider seaplane the Crusader off the water for the first time, Colonel Bristow sent for Hinkler, who, knowing that he risked his life, carried out the tests.

If one turns to cross-continent hying, every man in the street will know the two nmes Cobham and Hinkler. But, for long-distance work in small single-seaters Hinkler’s name stands alone. That, means that as a navigator he is almost as good as he is a pilot, while fatigue and hunger are words which he hardly understands. He will set off on a ten-hour flight at dawn without any breakfast, hut with a few applas in his pocket, and when

he lands he will see to his engine and his machine before ever he thinks of his own requirements. Finally, he is not only a Arst-class mechanic, but also an inventor of no mean calibre. He himself designed the special undercarriage which has now been adopted as the standard for all Avians. It is more than ingenious, and is not the least among the good points which recommend that machine. Some Notable Achievements.

Hinkler is a Quenslander, and was born at Bundaberg. In his early days he made gliders and experimented with them. He first made his mark in 1920, when he bought an Avro “baby” with a 35 h.p. Green engine, and in it flew non-stop from Croydon to Turin (650 miles) in 9 hours 35 minutes.

Then he shipped the “baby” out to Australia, and, being favoured with a better climate, made a longer and faster non-stop flight from Sydney to Bundaberg. Last summer in his Avian G.E.8.0.V. lie flew non-stop from Croydon to Riga (1200 miles) in 10 hours 45 minutes, the best flight of its kind on record. Then he was invited to join with Captain Macintosh in an attempt to fly non-stop to India. Appalling weather defeated that attempt, and they had to land in Poland. All last summer, however, Hinkler was hankering after his native Australia. It is undoubtedly par excellence the flying country of the future. Jt may be doubted whether Australia yet has need for such a super-pilot as Hinkler, while Great Britain certainly does need him. Of course travelling means to Hinkler only one form of locomotion. Is he not the owner of “0.V."?