Popular Flying September 1957

o-IT-YoURSELF. You will have seen, from the that we notice in the previous issue of popuLAR FLvING, are exhibiting this year at the Handicrafts and Do-It-Yourself Exhibition at Earl's Court; G-APFA, the first of the British Turbis, will be there and so will the various members of the headquarters' staff, the Secretary, the Editor and Committee members. The ten days of the Exhibition will provide an excellent opportunity for Groups to see for themselves what we have been doing and to give us their points of view and news at flrst hand. We look forward to seeing rnany of our friends at Stands 143-145 and to meeting as many people from the Groups as possible. Do come and see us.

The heading to this Leader might very well serve as an exhortation and a warning to the Association. Behind our principles and aims lies, as you well know that we believe, the only real hope for light and ultralight flying in the future; we are, at the moment, a comparatively young and a thriving body. That we are so is a direct result in large measure of the efforts of a very small body of men and women and the generous support of the Royal Aero Club. This state of affairs cannot endure indefinitely; already there are signs that soon we must re-organise our structure to a certain extent in order to keep pace with the growth of the Association and in order to preserve a living and properly planned policy for future years. One of the recent moves to improve our ability to stand on our own feet and not lean on other organisations has been the election to your Committee of several new members who have already shown much active and practical value. Certain financial measures are under consideration to improve the organisational and administrative structure.

All these things are very fine; but they cannot be of the slightest value unless they are backed by the Groups themselves' Numbers are all very well, and we must be strong in order to survive and to make the weight of our opinions felt in the councils and among the vapourings of authority. But ten large Groups who are only concerned to get themselves cheap flying and a petrol rebate are of no use to us at all as a movement compared to one small one which realises that it has certain obligations to fulfil in return for its privileges. We are not trying to say that all our Groups are apathetic or selfish; far from it: but nevertheless, it is noticeable that the Groups who come to see us and write with their ideas and turn up at the Annual General Meeting are nearly always the same ones' It is vital' at this stage of our existence, that you realise' every last one of our members, that you must back us up in our efforts on your behalf' We cannot aifo.d to make our administration top-heavy with executive staff, and we cannot pay large sums for our schemes for your welfare' In order to achieve the results we want in publicity' organisation and flying programmes' we must cai upon you to do-it-yourself to a much larger degree than at present' If you wish cheap flying to remain possible, then you must support our raliies, attend our General Meetings and show' by your initiative in your own local activities' tt',ui*" can rely upon your continued enthusiastic support of the Popular Flying Association' With ..rlt', .rrpport there is nothing we cannot do' Your Committee have in their heads a number of schemes which we hope to implement this winter for your future benefit; as these come to fruition, you will learn of them through the pages ' of poPULAR FLYING and one of the more vital of our problems at the moment is to ensure the continued existence of the magazinq Here again, efforts to improve the content and circulation are largely dependent on you' We have plans to widen the scope and the distribution of popurln FLYING in the near future, and appeal to you to help us to spread its readership as widely as possible. We cannot support a large.free list at ih. p..r.nt time; but groups can help us-and

individual members as well-by taking extra copies and circulating them' As an example' the donation of a copy to your Public Library would be an excellent method of spreading our doctrines and give us valuable publicity' Similarly' copies at Clubs, Air Training Corps units and so on would all help to promote our plan for increased sales. Sales mean advertising, and advertising means survival; it's as simple as that'

Please continue to send us articles' photographs and information' It is simply not possible io..ith., the Secretary or his Committee to visit you all very often and we rely on you to keep us informed of your progress' Don't wait for someone else to do the work; as we said at the beginning, Do-It-Yourself'

On the Wing

BY ARBUTHNOT

)

Lately, by force of circumstance, it l-ras not been porriLt. for the watchful Imray to keep this column's nose to the H'Q' grindstone but habit dies hard so it was no surprise within an hour or two of setting fqot in the lighter part of darkest Africa to find an old French version of the prewar Dronl tlidd.n in the back of a hangar at Oran airport. Unfortunately, tl-ris device was a little pasi its prime, and so it was impossible to go tyie hunting. One impressive feature of the io"ui flrb, however, was that they had three well' finished Jodel D.119's in service at the front of tn. nungur, which were being flown at a prodigious rate by tl-re enthusiasts of the locality' A11

NcD Fttnway pFolrlerrrs Ion the Britannia

The Bristol Britannia can operate from existingnrnways at airports throughout, the world. From a 6,000-foot runwav it can lift a 28,000-Ib payload, together with enough fuel for a sector distance of 2,500 miles including full allowances and reserves.

Powered by four 4,12O-horsepower Bristol Proteus engines, the Britannia cruises at a guaranteed 400 mph and x.ill carry up to 133 passertgers. No other aircraft, shows comparable economy over such a wide variety ofstage lengths.

fn fact, its remarkable economy is maintained on all ranges from the longest trans-polar flight to short,

inter-city runs, coupled with unrivallecl standards of passen€fer comfort er.en in high clensit), configurations. Britannia,s are now in con-nnercial service with British Overseas Airways Corporation.

BR'STOLBa

The following operalors have ordered Brilannias :

British Overseos Airwoys Corporolion

El Al Isrqel Airlines

Cqncrdion Pocific Airlines

Ministry of Supply

Royol Air Force Tronsporl Commcrnd

Hunting-Clnn Air Tronsporf Northeost Airlines

PHOTOGRAPH

this despite a most intense activity by airlines and military aircraft, so once again another large uirpo.i is f ound where club aircraft operate with f..f.., safety alongside 'significant' air traffic'

The same thing, only more so' at Maison Blanche, the main airport of Algiers' with an activity that makes one blink' Perhaps these foreign types have some skill which is not latent in ou-r national make-up and which enables them to thread a dozen club aircraft on the same thin string as a Breguet Deux Ponts, a few Harvards' Vam"pir.r, Dakotas and D'C' 4's' not to mention u sight of the delightful Armagnac' Perhaps part of the answer can be found in the air-faring outlook so often proclaimed by our own president and which exists at the airport at Bone les Salines. At this rather pleasant spot a cha! withthelocalairlinetrafficmanagerresulted in a beautifully made two-seater R'A' 14 being wheeled out, this having been built by the local air line staff. A mention of this to the local director of the airline was equally productive and hisownmountturnedouttobeasingle-seater Starck, highly polished in the airline colours and sporting the pansiest pair of white walled tyres seen this side of Palm Beach'

light two-seater being built in France' He had to eit his words when *itnitt twenty-four hours of theoffendingstatementanirateQuereyhad arrived, non-stop Deauville to Algiers' by l9!et and asked him in the equivalent French: What iio n. think this thing outside was, Highland Mist?

Another delightful little story of the true enthusiast concerns a member of the French R'S'A'' who landed at a large airfield where a somewhat liverish official poLpously asked whether he was flying in IFir, 'Oh no,' came the reply' 'I am flying in Jodel'' If people are so pompous they deserve to have the McMichae1 taken'

the pansiest pair of white walled tyres ' ' '

Night stopping in Cagliari produced one of those- coincidences which seem only to happen in aviation, counting noses in a crowded lift Uto"gftt to the fore the genial Lucien Querey' the full-back size Jodel constructor of Bernay' who is producing two seaters at six a month and ,.liirrg them as fast as they are made' Querey is the-type ultra-light aviation needs more of as i*r, tofa UV a high official in Algerian aviation' who had rashly stated in print that there was no

.flying in IFR

A brief stop in Lyons could not pass without meeting Georges Beraud, the father of the French- ultraJight movement' and who continues to work unceasingly for the. future of our little aeroplanes. Among stories' humorous and serious, there stood out the news of Henri Mignet, the great visionary of the amateur aero;d;, who suffered so tragically when his iamented Pou du Ciel was banned' No matter what one may think of the Pou its instigator hasdevotedhislifetothedevelopmentoflater ;;;.;;t with a fervour that makes the ordinarv mortal gasp. This enthusiast has now built a two-seater, side by side cabin version' fitted with a Continental 9O which is flying regularly and apparently amazes all by its stability and ability to iorgir. the most ham-fisted mishandling' That inJfr". been done at the cost of going without

Popular FlYing, SePtember, l95T

meals and other essentials can only be appreciated as part of the true spirit which has made sporting aviation what it is.

Indicative of our shrinking Empire, sorry: Commonwealth, is a story which started, it appears, by some small minded official not being sure whether a flight to the Scilly Isles ranked as a foreign going clearance. This started a chain of events which led to one Group being pompously informed that such flights had not been 'envisaged' as qualifying for rebate. All this despite the fact that the aircraft is a Group aircraft and was being flown by two members of the Group, and who knows how many Group members were waiting to use the aircraft on its arrival in the Scillies? Scilly-I should say so. It need hardly be added that the Group in question is a model of proper behaviour in all its activities and keeps its aircraft in excellent trim, the members having carried out the C. of A. and a respray; keen types, Mr. Minister of TCA, why not encourage them?

Talking of keen types one cannot forget the Denham contingent of P.F.A. The Cosmelli Hirtenberg is a superbly maintained vintage piece while the sole Spartan is now fitted with a gleaming and overhauled engine. At the same time the little Chilton, soon to be Mikronised, is now a delightful study in blue and white. In fact the day is rapidly approaching when a well

kept aeroplane is automatically assumed belong to P.F.A. members.

Assumed

to belong

to P.F.A. members

A fine sight among the Tiger Club Tigers, themselves a fine sight, is a Turbulent, the first of several being built by Norman Jones at Croydon, in Rollason's hangar. A promising start has already been made to tackle the er-rgine situation and a recent snoop showed that three Ardems were well on the way, one actually running on the test bed and giving a healthy number of little horses. Perhaps next year's National Air Races will see a revival of aerial dirt track racing protagonised for so long by Don Ayre since he and others held such successful meetings with the first Drones some years before the war at Hanworth where one of the sights used to be our Chairman, Lord Sempill, riding a horse and, some say, beating the Drones in races around the club house so conveniently situated in the middle of the aerodrome. Now why would John Blake be at my door with a pistol-it must be time for

press.

By Guess and by God

by the Hon. PETER VANNECK, A.F.C.

Cross-country navigation starts with that first look out of the window in the morning, if not with the television weather forecast of the night before. In other words weather means whether, or not. At the airfield, if the cloud base and visibility from the Met. Report are all right there is still the wind to reckon with, not only important in laying off the course-to-steer, but perhaps altering the chosen route by making a refuelling

stop a must. If in doubt-and on a longish flight, perhaps flying through changing weather conditions, fortune may favour you more than you at first assume-arrange to overfly a potential refuelling spot fairly near the end of the flight, or consider where you would best deviate to one.

The great thing is to do all the brain work on the ground because it is axiomatic that pilots

Popular Flying, Septentber, 1957

cannot think in the air, and since you will not longitr-rde line and gone up that' but the fact want to write anything down the mental arith- ,..*ir* that even the most assiduous of trackmetic required must be kept to a bare minimum. crawlers have at least to mark off their track' of course you know roughly how far it is you Now measure the distance and write it down' want to go before you considered the flight, and big, somewhere along the tine. Halve it and make you know the performance of the cab. iou also a Lark, halve the last half and make anotherthink to yourself that it pays to plug hardish into some purists will mark the first quarter too' a headwind and throttle back and waft along the poin, l:_thu, you can' with, for a pilot, comratherwithatailwind' rru "Pr! *'v o parative ease' look at yollr watch at half-way' you arso know, by the way, from ridir-rg a ioubre the elapsed time (assuming you remember bicycle, that if yo.r'hav. a headwind from A to B, when yor-r took off), and i, good time estimate stop for a drink or two and start back, it is just when, hence if, you will make it' The fi,al the perversity of inanimate objects that gives you quarter check gives you final reassurance' oi' a headwind from B to A' ii things are shaky tells you to divert'

To avoid accidents from over-optimism, the Nexi, having estimated, or measured with your just_a_fer,v_minutes-more-and-r-am-bound-to-see- kee, friend's protractor, the True track' convert something frame of mind, I think it is best to have to Magnetic and write it down, big, near the a deflnite time limit fixed in one,s mind. In a start of your line. Now light a cigarette and Tiger Moth, say, do not start if the trip works decide how much to aim off for the wind. Say ont to more than2f,hours, and at 2| loo[ around five degrees if it is nearly ahead or astern and and rand somewhere, regardl..r.'-' rvvr\ sr ten degiees if it is nearly abeam' You see' as with

The next consideration is the map. A one- cost accounting and a host-of other things' it is inch to a mile is really only useful if ; friend has the variance that counts' h'r other words even said .Land East-west in the field behind the if you do remember how to work the Daltort house, or the girr-friend,s picnic party has to be computer I will bet you will have to make at photographed from the air by a six-figure map reast one correction in the air' The great thing is' reference. Normal detail is quite adequate for having picked a course, to steer it steadily until light flying on the quarter-inch to a mile. per- you have a rea,y reliable indication of how far sonally I find even this unwieldy. I like the half- tut it is taking you, and yoLlr one correction million scale, and perhaps have ihe last few miles may then be bigger than if you had started by from the last unmistakable pinpoint also marked using the Dalto", u"t it will be no more complion a quarter inch, which can then be kept by cated or less accurate-and look at the trouble until wanted.

Lrrwrr vv ^-t' ^ you have saved. Welt, fold your map so it shows

Thebesthalf-milrionmapsarethepre-r.c.A.o. about 20-30 miles either side of the track' then ones, that is the ones that have not got the towns fold it as convenient up and down the track' in yelrow. I know the wood ,rrui., are rikely and it is high time to get airborne' Do not get a to be different, but the railways are much clearer, clearance unless you are going abroad' The tlie double track standing out thicker than the more light airc.uit p.ople tell officialdom tlie single, and the marks across the line coinciding more it will want to know' with each station. I rike, too, all those old war- Look at your watch, set the compass, get on time aerodromes, which can still so often be course on track and climb to height' I like about distinguished and make such excellent pinpoints 800 to 1,000 feet A.G'L', if the cloud base allows' _and to brazes with heights in metres. No one conditioned as the English are to jets

Having chosen your map, draw the track-rine has any complaint about a light plane puttering in. I know you can fly along a crease, and I past, ii tendsto get cord higher up, and one can have on occasion, when *.Iuth.. dictated a really enjoy the English. countryside and its change of pran in the air, jinked sideways to a statery homes from an altitude safely below the

Popular FtYing, SePtember, 1957

dangers of the instrument-flxated air-liners'

Of course it may pay to climb for the benefit of a stronger, and veered, wind, and to see further for navigation, but unless one lets down very slowly' one seldom gets the full climb value on the descent in a light aircraft owing to the drag curve rise.

The hard work being all over, it merely remains to note which way you drift off track' letting the trend become fairly deflnite' Then when you are sure you are going, s&Y' three degrees to port, alter six to starboard until yoir regain track and then drop three to maintain it, and so on. Other alterations of course' in anticipation of observed errors, may be justified by smoke indications where for example a sea bieere near the coast nullifies the forecast wind' or, over the sea, a change noticed in the number and direction of the white horses' Avoid the temptation to jink back sharply on to track and to liy with the controls crossed ruddering into wind. When in doubt fly straight on' Your estimationmadeonthegroundisprobablybetter than your guess in the air, and something that yor, "u, recognise, even if it is the far coast' will

turn up in the end-if you have the fuel, mind'

At the half-way mark you will have your E.T.A. by doubling the time and you can check again at the three-quarter-way mark, if your trip is verging on the P.L.E'

When you get near the end, if the visibility is bad, you can change to the larger scale map at a gtod pinpoint and finish along road or rail' If you have got to hedge hop under cloud' I .."t*.rr.rrd river, rather than railway-crawling through the hills, as it is much more difficult to turn back in a cutting.

Finally, when you have landed, note your fuel consumption (from the fiIl-up) at the revs' used and what speed you were indicating' When you get consistent results you get confidence io. ti*it flying, and a knowledge as to what effect bucking fast into a headwind will have on endurance. Then you start stretching your trips' and, by and large, no greater joy can be given than a light aircraft on a summer afternoon' surveying0ld England, hill bones, Roman roads' line of river, edge of down, busyness of industry' grandeur of castle, matey village and stately [u.t-u heritage unimaginable from the ground'

A Proctor HolideY

This extremely interesting account of a flying holiday has been sent us by Mrrc DlerE and contains a great deal of valuable information as well as being a verY good storY

It had always been my ambition to own a Proctor, an aircraft of character and, probably' the fastest touring aeroplane readily available to the private owner. My small group had worked ,p io it, starting with an Aeronca 100, then a Wicko, and now we had the only Proctor 2 on the register, though I still don't really know the difference between a 2 and a 3'

It doesn't do to weigh up the operating costs of any private aircraft too carefully, not before buying one, anyway, but we reckoned that with

a bit of hard work at week-ends we could get by on the C. of A.

By the middle of August there was a three-year C. of A. in the log books and enough local flying to show up any of the inevitable snags in detail that one must expect after a major overhaul' It was now time to start the serious flying' Cannes for a week's holiday would do for a start'

The boss looked into my office early on the appointed Friday afternoon and said I had better gii "f before the weather clamped' This worried

Popular FtYins, SePtember, 1957

me rather as, needless to say, I had been keeping a pretty close eye on the weather. However, the opportunity was not to be missed and his information was probably better than mine.

Back at home the co-pilot having, as usual, not risen before mid-day, thought he would do a little pre-holiday shopping and was rather put out to hear that the weather did not intend to wait for him. The gear was quickly loaded into G-AIEH at Denham and in a few minutes we were in the Croydon circuit with suitably empty tanks. The third member of our party was due to join us at Toussus-le-Noble, either that evening or the following morning.

Met. said that we should have V.M.C. as lar as Paris, but delay was not advisable as rain was coming in from the west. We were quickly and efficiently cleared from Croydon. I still had not accustomed myself to the joy of a self-starter which, if nothing else, gives one more confldence in the probability of a get-away on E.T.D.

There followed a glorious fliglit as far as Abbeville with the thought of a whole week's holiday ahead and the Proctor going like a top, rewarding us in full for all our work on the C. of A. I settled down to a study of the finer details of engine performance and Joie de vie'. Everything was perfect; this was life as it should be.

After Abbeville at 3,500 ft., small patches of occasional cloud passed below. The forecast deterioration was coming in on our starboard beam, so down to 1,500 ft. in a gradual descent.

After Beauvais the rain started and I began to have thoughts about Toussus, which in the best of visibility is difficult to find. On a previons occasion I had missed it by probably less than a mile with almost unlimited visibility. If we turned round now Le Touquet would almost certainly be difficult by the time we reached it, also Beauvais. The territory to the east was unknown to me, although I had made sure we had ample maps. To go on was the right decision now we were so near, but it was essential to keep right on track. We had no radio, unless-; and this seemed to be the answer. A week previously I had installed out of curiosity a portable M.F. receiver and fixed loop. The objects were three-

fold. To receive radio ranges, test match scores, and we might even try a bit of damped oscillatory flying, sometimes known as 'homing with a fixed loop', but the equipment had not been tried out except in the hangar on the light programme. As near as makes no matter, one leg of the Orly range runs over the top of Toussus and nowl had the range ident. coming up well. Clamping the 'phones over the co-pilot's head I yelled, ' '( A" on the right, "N" on the left, steer about 195'. See what you can do. l'11 map-read.'

We seemed to weave about a bit to start with but soon settled down, and when Versailles came up I was confident and the pilot had got the idea. And there, just off to the left, was Toussus. A half circuit, changed in the middle from left to right hard, and the Proctor was rattling over the steel runway. Five minutes later the far end disappeared in the rain.

At the bar we joined the crew of another Proctor whose efforts to reach Geneva had been frustrated by the weather and whose radio had not served a very useful purpose until they got around to 121.5 m.c.

Together we were given a lift to Versailles. Paris, of course, is not to be recommended to anyone bent on a start before lunch on the following day. In the pouring rain six'Procteurs' stood forlornly surveying the hotel prospects and unanimously agreeing that the immediate need should be satisfied in the nearest cafe. Just as the umpteenth round was beir-rg set up the third member of our crew suddenly appeared in the doorway. How did he know where to find us? Simple. He had arrived late at Versarlles station and persuaded a delightful receptionist to ring round a selection of hotels in the neighbourhood and see if any of them had two Englishmen staying. This one admitted to bein-u, at the moment, saddled with a mad English party.

I spent a miserable night listening to a strong wind, amplified by the construction of the hotel, and cursing myself for breaking my rule about always hangaring or picketing an aeroplane. It was witl-r considerable relief, therefore, tl-rat we stepped off the bus at Toussus the following day to see 'Echo Hotel' standing where we left her.

Popular Flying, September, 1957

The cold front which had gone though during the night still dawdled across our track to the south, so it was mid-day before we could take off for Lyons. As we wanted to reach Cannes before evening, a brief snack suited mysetf and co-pilot, but Number 3 insisted on taking with him an enormous French cheese-type sandwich. His enthusiasm for this beast receded with the day and up front we blamed it for the Proctor's reluctance to climb above 5,000 ft. It was buried at Avignon the following day with full honours.

The remains of the cold front lingered over the mountains north of Lyons, but we managed to avoid cloud by flying through the valleys, and joined the Lyons circuit in the last of the rain. Having been carefully briefed to land on the grass alongside the runway we were surprised to receive a red on finals. There appeared to be no reason for this, so after another circuit we landed on the grass unheralded by pyrotechnics. I wonder if that controller picked up the right pistol.

Cannes was in the bag now, so we treated ourselves to lunch while waiting for the weather to improve.

'Risk of low stratus at the coast', said Met. But I found this hard to believe for the Mediterranean. Must have been thinking of the English coast. After a long downwind take-off, by request, we were on our way down the renowned Rh6ne Valley where every Met. Office has a rubber stamp marked 'thunderstorms'. And there they were. Flying about 2,000 feet above the valley floor, we picked our way between them as best we could and reduced speed when turbulence became serious. Although rain was heavy in places, I was not aware of any hail, though, as was confirmed afterwards, it was there all right. The navigators had their time cut out mopping up.

Further south we began to be forced off track to the west by thunderstorms. Beasts with large anvil tops. A flash of lightning on the wing tip and we would alter course 20' away, only to see another large fork nearer than ever. 'Turn 90o from track and let's get out of this. I'm content to just read about aircraft that get struck by lightning', I said.

At last we were clear and heading back towards the Rh6ne which we picked up just above Avignon, and set a new course. The flat terrain began to take on an almost desert appearance and in the cockpit clothes were removed and windows opened.

Dammit. There was low stratus.

'Get under it', I yelled to the pilot, 'before it becomes thick'. Impatient at his slow rate of descent (a Hunter boy, too !), I hit him over the head with the map and yelled 'Get down !'. With a casual gesture he pointed to the altimeter which was already down to 500 feet. I looked more carefully over the side and realised that it was not fooling.

At that moment we passed over a seemingly disused airfield in the 'desert' and this we circled while thinking up a new plan. Daylight was short and the unidentified strip did not look too inviting.

I knew our position on the map to the nearest couple of miles, but this place did not feature, so we climbed on a north-westerly heading for Avignon Caumant, ,ollr official alternate, 20 miles back.

The sun was now almost ahead and one had to overcome the impression that the mist was fast clamping in. A small range of hills with the tops in cloud lay on our track. After that check on our altimeter and conversion from meters to feet, etc., it seemed reasonable to go through this cloud with 1,000 feet in hand. On emerging the other side we found the ground interestingly close. Thereafter I regarded all spot heights with suspicion.

Avignon came up right ahead and the Pioctor joined gliders in the circuit, overshooting once to allay the fears of a glider which seemed to be waggling his wings at us. On taxi-ing up to the small control hut on the dusty gragsfield a platoon of soldiers in smart ceremonial dress presented arms and the Commandant in his full uniform came to the salute. I slid back the window and grinned in a gesture of appreciation, but I think my tie, which by this time was loosened, to put it mildly, must have given the show away, for the Commandant directed us to taxi immediately to

Popular FlyinS, September, 1957

the hangar at the far side of the field. No. 3 stayed behind to see the fun and as a Dakota joined the circuit he advanced upon a lady standing slightly apart from the general party and asked in his best public school French what was going on. Before he could get an answer, gendarmes hustled him away to a safe distance; to watch Madame Pineau greet her husband as he stepped from the Dakota.

Avignon Caumant is a pleasant aerodrome with two Tiger Moths doing marathon service towing gliders. In the spacious hangars were a couple of partly dismantled Morane Parasol monoplanes, and a fully serviceable 'A' frame Caudron G.3 which had just flown down from Paris for a display.

A tropical buzz ran through the undergrowth and the warm breeze off the olive groves lent a pleasant tropical atmosphere to the surroundings of the Flying Club, where bronzed figures sat around in the shade. The little bar provided relaxation as we lounged on the veranda in the soft twilight enlarging upon the day's flying.

Accommodation in Avignori was difficult but a room without a window was eventually reserved, which was tedious in the heat, but the delights of that picturesque town made up for it. There was no need for an early start the following day either, because the low stratus was not expected to clear before midday. Though I had more than once previously been through Avignon, I had not so far seen the famous pont, but a glimpse of it from the air now prompted us to make a small photographic mission to the spot.

Back at the airfield our Met. report gave stratus at 100 metres so we adjourned to the hangar to give'Echo Hotel'a D.I. There was some paint missing from the leading edge and the A.S.l. read 30 kts. on the hangar floor, suggesting water in the pitot line. Rectification took less time than the discovery of the necessary word 'tournavice', for screwdriver.

Fuel was now the problem; we had flown t hr. 50 mins. since full tanks and therefore had about 22 gals.left to dry tanks, say l$ hrs. safe. It is always advisable to check the likely contents

Popular Flying, September, 1957

in terms of time flown against fuel gauge readingsAt Avignon fuel came from cans and, worse still, only for cash. The flight was planned, therefore, along the coast via Hydres and Frejus, the situation to be reviewed at each.

About midday Met. gave the low stratus as 300 metres on the coast, and we decided to goAgain we passed over our old friend which we now referred to as the 'desert strip', still unidentified, and carried on in fine visibility as far as Marseilles. But thick low cloud covered the harbour and we could just not seem to fit in between it and the sea; so climbing through, burst out into the full heat of the sun at 1,200 feet. 'We'11 go on for l0 minutes over the sea and if there's no break we'll have to go back to Marseilles', was the verdict.

Round the next headland, which protruded through this white cotton wool blanket, was a break into which we dived to come out beneath at 400 feet. From then on the base varied from 3-500 feet, but we were forced to fly over the sea all the way, and only once managed to cut across a peninsular. Round the headland at the Gulf of St. Tropez the lighthouse was standing up in the cloud.

No. 3 wanted to beat up various ships that we passed but I was too intent on the fuel gauges and began to change tanks more and more frequently, and give the mixture control an extra shove for luck. 'How far?' to the navigator'Fifty miles', the reply. It was a little disconcerting to get the same reply ten minutes later. However, the second navigator, using the Carte Michelin was having more success.

At a respectable height I would have run one tank dry, because the engine would run for some time after the gauge read zero, but I did not know how long it would take to pick up again on the other tank. Even with Mk.5 tank_vents fitted" 300 feet is a bit low to ring off main engines; on this point it is also important in a Proctor to co-ordinate the turns properly lest slip or skid starves the petrol feed, which is at the inboard of a long shallow wing tank.

Soon, however, it was clear that we should make Cannes with ample in hand and need not

think in terms of alternates. As the aerodrome came into view round the last headland we climbed to the cloudbase and joined their circuit at a respectable height. Even so, the base leg and final turn is all very interesting when approaching down the valley. Then to a late but sumptuous lunch, preceded, of course, by numerous aperitifs, during which time the terrors of flying reach unprecedented heights !

The private aeroplane is made most welcome at Cannes. The club, with its verandas and exquisite meals cooked to order, also offers an efficient control briefing and met. unit, not to mention the hangars with their interesting collection of French ultra-lights, old British wooden aeroplanes, contrasting vividly with new American metallic wonders, bristling with radio equipment as if it were as common as oil leaks.

M. Andr6, part-time instructor at the club, invited us to join him for a day's gliding at Fayence, afi invitation which was eagerly accepted. A couple of days later the proctor was lifting off the runway with four up, its first experience of such a load, M. Andr6,s young son sitting on his knee.

After a short climb, in the wake of the club Argus, we were crossing the mountains in search of this famous gliding centre. When M. Andr6 discovered we had a V.P. airscrew his doubts about the Proctor's ability to operate in and out of Fayence disappeared. For my part, I stuck to the maxim that anything Argus does, proctor does better, so after a quick run to look at the surface we dropped on to the best of the airfield and proceeded to lunch-a meal of no small proportions, presided over by M. Fauvel. Gliding was clearly later-much later.

During a memorable aflternoon, surrounded by the lower Alps, some of us sampled gliding and others the joys of the Tug, a Fieseler Storch with radial engine. This remarkable machine was swung by rushing at the propellor and pulling it through half a revolution. Then, long after it had come to rest and the starter had gathered himself up for the next rush, the pilot wound a small handle and the engine burst into life. The ride was out of this world. The great

bird would shudder as the cockpit filled with hot air, then lumber forward, gradually drawing its undercarriage beneath its belly, the wheels tilting towards each other. The windows, which were set out from the sides of the fuselage, gave the impression of being in a church.

As evening drew on and the Argus, after performing a few stalls which ended up in the inverted position, had returned to Cannes, it fell to the Proctor to make two trips to get everybody back. But on taking off from Cannes for the second time, I found that the sun had gone down beliind the mountains and no longer illuminated the valleys and lower land. The perspex all round glowed like fire, and opening the windows did not help much. I began to realise how popular I was going to be if I failed to find Fayence in the next few minutes. Below was dark featureless forest and, as the E.T.A. ran out, I began to orbit, peering into the gloom. It was quite some time before I realised Fayence was directly below

All too soon the holiday was over and time to return. The idea was to fly home on Saturday, allowing Sunday in reserve for bad weather Met. were pessimistic on the Friday evening during flight planning, a process which usually turns out to be a bit of a waste of time until definite weather reports are available.

Early Saturday morning the reports were fair. Strong head winds in the Rh6ne Valley, advisable to go to Marseilles and check there instead of Lyons more or less direct. For the rest, at least 1,000 foot cloud base. Showers.

At a quarter to nine'Echo Hotel'was airborne with full tanks heading across the short cut to Marseilles. Turbulence increased with the ruggedness of the terrain, an indication of the wind strength. Over Marseilles harbour, after 40 minutes' flying, there were white horses on the sheltered waters with the wind sock horizontal about 40" off the grass runway. This would seem to indicate a 'wheeler', but after two or three bounces at an unaccustomed low ground speed, the crew decided that a three pointer would have been better after all. Taxi-ing was all on one brake and the following wind

Popular Flying, September, 1957

played havoc with the elevators, a clear indication to hold the stick firmly forward and taxi carefully.

There was some reluctance to go on. The copilot was suffering, having not slept all night, and was now snatching what sleep he could in the rear seat. Met. still forecast 40 kt. headwinds in'the valley' and it was certainly blowing hard. However, by the time the fuel had been topped up, we were determined to go and have a look-see. Imagine our surprise therefore when the headwind turned out to be a 5 kt. tail wind and we romped up to Lyons in style with very little trouble from turbulence.

It was now clear that we would be short of daylight unless delays could be avoided, and

after careful consideration a flight plan to Lympne direct was submitted. This was reasonable as, althougl-r G-AIEH does not carry the extra 20 gallon long-range tanks, we should pass over Le Touquet and could land there, if necessary.

After a quick lunch we were off with a forecast of nothing less than 1,000 feet cloud base all the way. Within less than an hour, however, alterations of course were being made to avoid heavy rain and thunder showers. Our position was in doubt from time to time and patches of cloud appeared below, while the land and sky generally adopted a rather wet appearance.

The approach of the Paris zone called for some change of plan. What we really needed was a

Henry Riddell (holding microphone) with Betty Willink, Maurice Imray (Secretary of the P.F.A.), John Peake and Jim Taylor (Chairman of the Cambridge Private Flying Croup) (Photo reproduced by conrtesy of 'Cambridge Daily News')

radio to check the weather ahead, but that. was for another time. Position was re-established with little confidence, but there was a dearth of aerodromes where we needed them, and it was unwise to continue to the coast in the hope of finding it in the clear. Maintaining height for the sake of visibility and rather at the expense of map reading, I again picked up the Orly range.

By this time we were well and truly V.F.R. on top with seven-eighths cover and the range signal getting stronger. It is, of course, much easier to follow a map if you know where you are, even if you only occasionally get glimpses of the ground, and in that happy state we approached Toussus.

Continuing on over the range station for 2! minutes should l-rave brought us nearly over the top of Toussus and, as the time approached, we were all relieved to see a large hole in the cloud with the airfield below.

Quickly throwing the cover over the cockpit (has anybody been able to seal those rear windows successfully?), we dived for the club and Met. Three hundred metres base at the coast was still the verdict, so more fuel was taken on and special V.F.R. clearance granted without trouble.

The wheels were hardly off the runway when the heavy rain blotted everytliing out and we ,climbed furiously, selecting carburettor warm air. The die was cast now and climb we must, being too low to descend and establish contact. But conditigns had not altered up here and, at 2,500 feet, course was set for the coast.

It had not been possible to check ground speed and the cover was now 8/8. The unenviable position of being on top without radio and not really knowing position or the weather below was now with us. The navigator forgot to mark his last fix with time on the map, so dead reckoning was going to be sketchy, too.

After half an houi I drew alarge circle on the map representing the possible limits of our position and carefully checked the maximum spot heights, converted to feet and allowing for all the €rrors I could think of and a few I couldn't, decided that 1,200 feet indicated was the safety height. The descent was begun, but at 1,400 feet

I thought of another erro^ rrrcl started to climb. At that moment the man in the.back woke up and pointed downwards. There, as I had not noticed, was a faint glimpse of the ground merged in cloud. Pulling the Proctor round in as tight a turn as I dared on instruments, we let down again to emerge into the misty gloom at 400 feet just south of the coast at Le Crotoy. The rest of the flight to Lympne was between 200 and 400 feet along the coast and across the channel.

Hopes of spending the night in the comfort of the country club were not reAlised as it was full, but Ann Attree kindly arranged transport to take us to Folkestone while we sipped refreshing cocktails in the bar.

Sunday, the last day of the holiday, and the spare day for weather, dawned miserably with mist and rain. Returning to the aerodrome tl"re crew passed the time spreading dope with their fingers on the Proctor's wounds, where hail had chipped the paint and bare fabric was showing signs of chaff.

By noon it appeared that the best of the day was at hand, so special V.F.R. was obtained to return to Denham, by way of the Chatham and Watford ranges. Taking care to keep to our E.T.A.s, we were able to maintain contact without difficulty at a respectable height, but all eyes were scanned i'rj '' '..neighbourhood of Brookmans Park for r. -ut lrloSt, which came up well on time and track..

Owing to shortage of space, we have held over Part 2 of Mr. Dearden's article until the next issue.

TURBI PLANS

The existing French Turbi sheet 2 is now reolaced bv Plan No. P.F.A. 53-03 and 53-04. these sh6ets are drawn to a much larger scale (approximately one-fifth) and have been comirtitetv re-annotated in English. They show, in idditi,on, considerably more detail than the French plans.

Furthbr sheets of plans for the Turbi are in course of preparation, and these will be announced in pbpuran FLYING when available.

Popular Flyins, September, 1957

AMATEUR CONSTRUGTOR

ByArthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume

Druine Turbulent and Turbi

All constructors of the Druine Turbulent and Turbi are advised that the following modification is to be carried out.

The modification concerns the attachment of the tailplane to the f,uselage.

In the event of the failure of the glued joint between the ash blocks and the surrounding structure, the tailplane might become completely detached from the attachment bolts. lt has therefore been thought"necessary to tie the attachment blocks to the structure by steel straps passing round the spars and their ends serving as washer plates on the outside of the plywood skin.

These straps are to be lf inch wide and are to be manufactured from 20 gauge mild steel plate.

At tfiis point the strap should undergo protective treatment, i.e. painting c.' cadmium plating, as it will not be removed'again.

Coat the inner face of the strap where it will touch the spar with Duralac jointing compound. Insert the strap and bend the other end carefully on the job. Drill back from the other side through the top end of the strap.

If ash packing blocks are used to support the tailplane clear of the rear fuselage, these should be fitted prior to the fltting of the straps which should pass over them. If blocks are fitted they should extend the full width of the spar as shown in the accompanying sketch.

TYPICAL STRAP INSTALLATION.

Aviation Diary

Sept. 2-8

Sept. l4-15

Sept. l9-22

To facilitate their insertion, carefully mark out and cut a slot in the plywood behind the spar at each attachment hole. These'slots should be 15lT6 inch long and 3132 inch wide. The edges should be radiused to prevent splitting.

Cut the strap to the correct length and bend up one end. Insert the other through the slots in the plywood skin. Pass a drill down through the ash block and make a centre spot on the strap end. Withdraw the strap, ensure that the spot is central and drill through full size.

Society of British Aircraft Constructors

-Flying Display and Exhibition. Farnborough

P.F.A. Rally. SYwell

Innsbruck and Salzburg International Air Rally, organised by the Austrian Aero Club.

SMA.LL ADVERTISEMENTS

Members of the Popular Flying Association may have the use of thjl column for'advertising articles wanted, exchange or disposal for ONE INSERTION r.tp to 24 words FREE. If more than one insertion it must be paid cash ii advance at the rate of 4d. per-word.(min. l2-wo-rds)Box No. ls. 6d. extra. Non-members chargeable at the rate of 6d. per word(min. 12 words). Box No.ls.6d. extra.

Cheques and Postal Orders should be crossed and sent to Fryers Advertlsing Service,lO Mitchom Lane, S.W.16.

WANTED Good original,Srfntings or drawings of flying scenes; owners or art'ists please write to James Henderson. 9a B-eJJearue Road. Edinburgh, 7.

Popular Flying, SePtember, 1957

PLY / SKIN

slors T0 TAlc 20sx SIRAPS

EXTERNAL ASH BLOCK

Airc?eit of the P.F.A.

Rarest of all rare birds in the Association, and one of the most unusual types on the British Civil Register, the Hirtenberg H.S.9A is not only a sole survivor, but a 'one off' aeroplane with a most interesting history.

The Hirtenberg aircraft company was formed to take over the works of the old Hopfner Company, which had been the first company to start production of aeroplanes in Austria after the first World War and which had to go into liquidation in 1935. Herr Th. Hopfner remained as director of the aircraft department of Hirtenberg, whose first production was the licence-built Focke-Wulf Steiglitz.

Hopfner had designed and built a series of parasol wing monoplanes in previous years so that it was not surprising that he should produce, among the designs of the new company, a very good-looking parasol monoplane, powered by a Siemens Shotti S.H.4A radial engine. 'This was the Hirtenberg H.S.9.

The structure of this aeroplane was to the classic formula of a wooden, two-spar, fabric,covered wing, with steel tube fuselage also ,covered by fabric. The tail unit was mixed wood and steel, fabric-covered. The undercarriage consisted of long-travel oleo legs, with a very wide track. Wheel brakes were fitted. Complete dual controls were carried in both the tandem cockpits. The wings folded about the rear spars and the joint of the vee interplane struts with the fuselage.

A number of these aircraft were built with the l25ll5O h.p. Siemens, and in 1937 one was built for Mr. J. H. Davis of Vienna. This was the one and only H.S.9A, constructor's No. 001, and differed from the normal type in being fitted with a de Havilland Gipsy Major (No. g996). It had been intended that this aeroplane should be used to try for a contract from Air Ministry for a Tiger Moth replacement aircraft and con-

t6

sequently contained a large number of A.G.S. parts-which must have simplified maintenance after its arrival here. It left the factory on 23rd July, 1937, spent the period from 24th July to 13th August being tested and commenced its career with its owner on the following day.

On the 23rd August, at Vienna, the tail-skid caught in an obstruction and was torn out, damaging the tail. The registration letters were OE-DJH (the nearest Mr. Davis could get to having his own initials on it) and these, reflecting the political situation of the time, became D-EDJH in May, 1938.

In July, 1939, the Hirtenberg arrived at Croydon. A certain amount of confusion-not to say alarm-was caused by this strange, swastika-beflagged arrivaT, but its position was very soon legalised and the registration G-AGAK allotted to it. When war broke out it was at Airwork, from where it departed for Filton, remaining there, as far as we know, throughout the war. Returning to Airwork for a C. of A. when it was restored to the Register after the war (ll146), the tail-skid was replaced by a tailwheel in the lollowing year. Back at Bristol in 1947 it was sold to D. D. Budworth (18-9-50), and passed into the hands of A. J. Stocks of Croydon on 27th August, 1954. He sold it to J. E. Coxon (9th November, 1955), and on l6th April,1956, it was purchased by its present owner, C. H. Cosmelli. It lives at the present time in the blister hangar at Denham. One fairly recent modification has been the installation of a wing-root fuel tank to supplement the normal tankage.

The writer has only flown once in the H.S.9A, but on that occasion was most irnpressed by the steadiness and freedom from vibration of the aeroplane. It is a very sturdy and quite heavy aircraft, with an empty weight of 1,291 1b., and a loaded weight of 2,090 lb.

Popular Flying, September, 1957

Group News

Armstrong Siddeley Flying Ctrub

By now all members will be aware that the Tipsy is in one piece again, airborne and this is due in no small measure to the very excellent service provided by Mr. Humphries of Silverstone, the engineer responsible for the overhaul of the spare engine. The most optimistic estimate for the engine strip-down and testing was six weeks, but by pulling all the stops out, he completed the work in just about two weeks.

With such service available for Walter Mikron engines, they must seriously be considered by anyone building a Turbi.

Having got the engine back, the task in hand was to get it back into the airframe again and our thanks go to Cyril Millhouse and Reg Cleaver and their all-too-small band of helpers who got the Tipsy airborne agair-r in record time. Nor must we forget the valuable services of Noel Roper, who performed all the final engine checks.

The last 'Honourable Mention' goes to Stan Clarke again. With nothing left to do he set about cleaning the Tipsy down lrom nose to tail and from wing-tip to wing-tip. Quite a considerable solo effort when you think of the surface area involved.

So, after being flown to Elmdon for the Annual Airframe Check, by the last weekend in June we were again a Flying Club in the true sense of the word. As might have been expected the weather clamped and curtailed the prograrnme somewhat, but that of course is nothing new.

Last year, whilst the Tipsy was on C. of A. we had the most marvellous weather as soon as it came back it was either raining or gusting with wind up to 30 knots. Would members

thir-rk me too much of a rotten swine if I said I hope the Tipsy packs up flying for the two weeks, 3rdll6th Ar"rgust?

It seems that our fame not only goes before us but travels over the seas to foreign parts.

A short while ago our Secretary had occasion to correspond with Mr. Maurice J. P. Tips, the designer of the Tipsy and Technical Manager of Avions Fairey, Belgium. In his reply Mr. Tips said he had heard that we produced a Club Newsletter, and could he please be sent a copy each month and also any back numbers we had available.

Naturally we were highly delighted to be able to comply with this worthy gentleman's wishes but we can't help wondering how on earth our modest effort has cast it influence so far afield. They do say though that a first class article is its own advertisement.

One pace forward the man who said 'Bighead'.

The Committee mernber responsible for keeping the Aircraft log books up to date is Charlie Reeves, and l-re was telling us that whilst browsing through some early entries l-re finds that the Tipsy has been flown by no other person than Peter Twiss, the chappie who holds the Official World Air Speed Record.

It's as we have said all along. If you start right -you just can't go wrong, and what better way than starting with the Tipsy. True, by that time, he probably had a few tl-rousand hours in his log book on Spitfires and the like-but what's a Spitfire or two when talking about the Tipsy?

Experimental Flying Group Summer Camp, 1957

In all, some 15 members of the Group were able to attend the Summer Camp, which was based at

Popttlar Fl-ving, Septe ntber, 1957

Waldringfield in Suffolk, from the 20th to the 27th July, 1957. Of these, eight were present for the whole period and the remainder spent various odd days there. An additional member, who joined the Group for the period, was Mike Darbyshire, ol the Cardiff Group, who came along to complete his P.P.L. course which he did by putting in 15 hours'flying and passing all his tests.

One Maggie, G-AITN, was based at Ipswich Airport for the first five days of the Camp and then G-ALIO took over when the former became due for a check 2. Between them, the aircraft flew a total of 54 hours.

One item of interest in the flying programme was a landing competition. For this each competitor had to climb to 2,000 feet a.a.l. and descend on to the aerodrome without use of the engine, carrying out forced-landing procedure and attempt to touch the wheels on a line across the runway. Ken Guest, one of the student pilots, won the contest, touching l1 yards from the line and David Tester came second with 40 yards. It was encouraging to note that nobody undershot the airfield. Each competitor contributed 5s. to the kitty and as nine took part the first prize came to one hour's free flying.

Ipswich possesses a wonderful aerodrome with smooth and level grass landing strips and to Group members who are conditioned to the controls and frustrations that are sometimes imposed on us at Croydon, flying at Ipswich was a holiday in itself. There were absolutely no restrictions and we were even allowed to move the landing tee on to either runway direction to suit the wind conditions-and ourselves ! The excellent clubroom and bar were placed at our disposal and we received the utmost co-operation from the staff of the airport, to whom we are greatly indebted. Actually they are very lucky to have their airport still as all members on the Camp were for moving the whole outfit to London, lock, stock and barrel, as a replacement for Croydon ! A novelty for those who indulged in crosscountry flying from Ipswich was the complete absence of hills and the profusion of disused airfields in East Anglia. The 'lumpiness' of the

terrain around and on Croydon was particularly noticeable on returning home.

In addition to the flying, boating facilities were available at Waldringfield close by the site of the chalet and tents which comprised the camp. A dinghy with outboard motor was in great demand, especially as it was easier to handle than the small yacht, which completed the nautical equipment. This latter vessel proved somewhat dicey to handle, particularly in a wind of any strength ar-rd it succeeded in capsizing and pitching three members into the water on the last day of the camp ! They spent a very damp half,-hour clinging to the yacht before the dinghy came to the rescue. It appears that one can stall other things besides aeroplanes !

Further alarm and despondency was caused early one mornir-rg when the dinghy, complete with outboard motor, was found to have dragged its anchor in the night and had vanished. As tl-re site of the camp was roughly halfway between the tidal limits of the River Deben, a distance of about eight miles, the dinghy could have drifted up river or even out into the North Sea and a search with the yacht would have been a lengthy process. A quick solution to the problem was available and the Maggie was pressed into service. Within five minutes of commencing the search from tl-re air at the mouth of the river, the missing dinghy was discovered about one and a half rniles downstream from the camp. By a prearranged signal system of wing-waggling and steep turns over the dinghy's position, a speedy salvage operation was carried out. This was, for us, a novel use of the aeroplane.

Tl-re Ipswich Camp was the idea of David Tester and Ian Burn, owners of tl-re chalet at Waldringfield and was an experiment to combine flying with other holiday activities. Everyone agreed it was a great success and we can thoroughly recommend tl-re idea to other Groups.

Cardiff Ultra-Light Aeroplane CIub

The Cardiff Ultra-Light Aeroplane Club was founded in April, 1947, when D. B. Atkins, of Cardiff, and W. G. Williams, of Barry, both individual members of the Ultra-Light Aircraft

Popttlar Ftyirtg, Sept ember, 1957

Association, as it was then called, were put in touch with each other by the Association. They placed an advert. in the local press, gathered a few enthusiasts, and so the club was started. Weekly subscriptions, raffies, and a dance, were put on, and eventually they had enough money to buy the club's first aircraft: a 40 h.p. 'PiperCub', G-AAFH. This was overhauled by the members, but the day before the insurance was taken out, a freak storm hit the aircraft, and it was blown over on to its back in the hangar, and wrecked.

tragedy came when FJS crashed while trying to make a forced landing (stalled). This resulted in the death of two members. This naturally caused a severe drop in membership, but once again,'a hard core' remained who believed in the future of aviation, and the part that light aircraft have to play in it. In April, 1956, the club was started again with a Tipsy, G-AISA.

Although badly shaken by seeing 12 months' hard work destroyed, the lads rolled their sleeves up; they sold the wreckage for f,50, borrowed some money and purchased a Tipsy, G-AFJS, at the end of 1948. An ex-R.A.F. instructor, Hugh Davies, was the club's instructor (C.F.f .). About ayear later, a second Tipsy was purchased (G-AFSC) with the aid of a loan from the Kemsley Flying Trust, and under the leadership of Hugh Davies (now well known as 'Taffy' Davies, C.F.I. to the Lancs. Aero-club, at Barton) the club thrived. The club were the winners of the Masefield Trophy, which it retained for the second year also. However, when Hugh Davies left the area, training was brought to a standstill and the club had to sell FSC in order to retract. This Tipsy (FSC), was sold to the A.S. Flying Club. The club carried on with the generous help of the Cardiff Aeroplane Club, whose C.F.I., Mr. G. Kemp, gave what time he could spare, assisted by I. Lewis, who had now obtained an assistant instructor's ratrng, to club training. In July, 1955, real

After this severe setback the club was not easy to get moving, but today, very slowly, it is rebuilding itself up. We sincerely hope that we shall be able to add our names to the list of winners of the Masefield Trophy.

Cornish Gliding (& Flying) CIub

Cornish Gliding (& Flying) Club got airborne on 26th May and have had nearly 1,000 flights so far, and now have 120 members.

Two ab initio solos so far and another six nearly ready. In July/August, everyone is flat out for catering for visitors here, but by autumn I think there will be more interest in private owner groups.

One snag is, no more room in the hangar but we are applying to the Air Ministry (W.L.), Tavistock Square, for permission to erect a roof and a wall round some of the old Spitfire bay pens.

blown over on to its back in the hangar

started again with a Tipsy G-AISA.

Popnlar Flying September, 1957