1953-12-24 — Page 13

THE CHINA "MAIL, THURSDAY, DECEMBER (24, 1958.

FIFTY YEARS

Reminiscences Of A Pioneer Pilot

By SIR

I

THOMAS SOPWITH,

OBE, FR A. $.

over

the Belgian tronlier. over

OF FLYING

On December 17, 1903, the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful ・ flight in a powered aeroplane. Progress since then has been phenomenal. Flying has changed our mode of living and influenced our thoughts and actions. The two articles on, this page were specially writton to: mark this half contury.

he was

The Dream Of The Wright Brothers

BY

By JOHN W. R. TAYLOR

WHAT

ns

THAT are our thoughts measured the lift produced T was in 1910, when I Fetchurch at 8.30 am. on Suri-

we pay tribute by wind passing over the to the memory of Orville wings. was 22, that I made day, December 18.

When they found my first flight. In the

and Wilbur Wright, first that almost every scrap of Thirteen minutes later I autumn I bought the passed

Dover and 22

men to fly in a powérei nero- data handed down by their While we were taxi-ing it was plane, at Kitty Hawk, North predecessors was wrong, first monoplane made by minutes after this crossed the how very different things were,

power you necessary to make a right turn Carolina, just afty years they built French coast Howard Wright, who, in-

near Cape Gris With such bags of

but can do at the end of Brooklandă, and it

a wind tunnel at cannot go wrong. Ne I had hoped to land cidentally, was not connected Chalons but my compass falied anything you like, knowing that will be realised how much I had ago? Do we look at the from an old starch-box,

when I sey with the American Wright and I tried to steer by the sun. the aeroplane will not let you forgotten

that latters from far-off friends tested in it hundreds of suggested to Bulman and the delicacies on

different brothers. Although I had However, this soon went out and down. This is, of course, only nearly

our tiny wings of true once you are in the alp, I began to lose direction,

that

trying css. never flown before, I felt

to turn breakfast table and reflect shapes and sizes, and work- different 1 for very

and more gainst tlo T confident that I could do so fund myself in hilly country difficult techniques are needed poked forward. It seems in us by air? Do we recall the before.

because that many of them came to ed out new tables of data noticed

right foot being and, on October 22. decided

resuming their where the air was very bumpy for take off and landing.

credible that I should have for scores to take the aeroplane up on and on one occasion was thrown

of ways in which flights. its first test flight.

Everything is done very much gotten the elementary fact that aviation-the legacy of the off my sent. It seemed to me faster, which means that the time had come to make have less time to think and also in which to turn right you push easier and more enjoyable that you aeroplanes are the only vehicles Wrights is making life # landing, which 1 did at Beaumont, 160 miles in a straight means that if you do crash you right.

do mere damage in the old

for all of us? Or do wa days we used to crash a lot, but

think first of a. mushroom- when it was all over we nearly always just stood up, shock the wreckage off and walked away. Crashing did not seem to hurt

and slowly.

I discovered that my faith was justified. I could yine from Enstchurch. but not vory far! After covering some 300 yards, I pulled the stick back too

hurd and the machine shot

up to about 140 feet, stalled,

Record Set

hi

Differences

1/HEN the scroplane was in the

and crashed, breaking the ALTHOUGH this was my first much because we did it so nicely W air 1 took over and in matter

record

"Bierlot," took part in many of

129 the

of the

A 'Milestone

by

Succes *9 a

shaped cloud of atomic dust or three years they patiently Improved their gliders, un- over a dead city?

til. In December 1903, they de elded they knew enough to It is ensy to blame the bulld powered aeroplane. aeroplane of seconds the feel of everything misery in a dozen wars. But their own, and designed their

for 80 much There were no syllablo cross country fight, it won the

gines avaliable, so they built airscrew, undercarriage and Baron de Forest prize and set Even spectacular crashes often came back and I managed to one wing.

up u British

if somewhat is it fair? Do we let the for is used to have happy endings, and make a successful,

own propellers. Nor were they tance flown in straight line I believe that I am one of the "porky." landing at Martlesham. memory of near starvation

excited or surprised on This slight netback did which remained unbeaten for few living people ever to have

17 When great dit by German U-boat blockade December Another

Orville not deter me, and it was not four years.

spun into the ground. This

Was ferences

between the old days twice in a generation blind left the ground at the start of was

that first, historic 12-second. long before I bought the In the following year I went with a 70 "Bleriot" which I

A and the present is the speed us to the joys of a lazy fight, because they know a passenger. first Howard Wright biplane. to Amerien with my biplane and tying with

with which constructional things. afternoon in a punt on the then that fight was possible woro done. This was well shown river? Does our family car and regarded and although This had an E.N.V. engine a 70 h. p. Gnome-engined quite a fair height we got into a eventually similar to that in the mono- the flying competitions when right into the

with the special Sopwith dece Tabloid," with which England seem less of a friend because mere milestone in their experi- plane but developing 60 h.p. were being held in the principal both got up and did not realise Schneider Trophy.

and walked away, won her first contest At the time we

for the armoured cars and tanks ments. instead of only 40.

elties there. During my tour

that

have played their part in It was a milestone and, by it was a spin, for this un- met several of the pioneers

manceuvre had not We had received an order for Wwar? Or do we face the em 1909, Orville and Wilbur were On November 21 I took whose names are now legend pleasant

scouts for barrassing truth that the able to fly regularly for people

Wright even been named, although a twelve single-seater the aeruplane out and, spent such

short iline later spin was tracked

cked the RF.C., and it was decided' blame lies not with acro- hour at a time in improved brothers, Curtiss

and Staring down as a direct result of in ac- to modify one to compete. In its planes or cars or boats but versions of the 1003 slick-and- the morning taxi-ing (or

Burgess.

cident to one of my aeroplanes. original form this aeroplane had inside ourselves?

sich,

biplane, in an era when. rolling as it was then call-

British a alde-by-side dual one central

and other On my jeturn I continued to This was ed) and later did some

which was

American aviators

still were fly as much as possible and also control machine which I designed installed too far aft. Three days straight flights. undertook the testing of the new and short

bullt for Mr

delighted if they achieved un- Winston before we were due to ship the ;

gainly hops a few feet above During the afternoon I made Martin and Handasyde

he was First aeroplane to Monte Carlo it had muno- Churchill when

Lord of the Admiralty.

the ground. a few circuits and after- plane.

Howard Pixton was the pilot wards qualified for my

and on the first attempt to fly, HAS there ever been a at Hamble, the machine cart-

great invention that man wheeled over on to its nose and has not tried to fashion into

At daylight next morning

the aeroplane, took an we salvaged th

implement of war? sawed Even the parachute, de Brothers lives on, however, in engin:. Not only did I succond S-LDR Spenser Grey and sank Jerry Aldwell, who was a it to R.N.Engineer QMlcer, were flying the gston by road,

ingle float single

into

two,

bulit signed to save life, sup the giant wind tunnels sund they got into a spin and went twm-float chassis. We flew it was kept at Eastchurch for Into the ground. This led to a off, this time sucessfully. From flares as often us men great a part today in our con- many years where its main job

enquirios into

the time it was at the bottom between 1989 and 1945. No quest of space and time. They showed that the way 10 the in life was to make regular number of accidents that had of Hamble river until it was wonder Orville Wright re- atars demanded selence as well whitstable to collect oysters for that pilots were flying about 90 three days. fights from Eastchurch to happened. It WDS discovered airborne again was less than marked sadly: "What a as courage, and tils prescrip

rip- the officers mess.

tion is as vital today dream it was; what From this m.p.h. in an aeroplane

which

they machine the long line of Sop- stalled at about 50 m.p.h

1903. Furthermore, nightmare it has

vided the inspiration that with types was developed.

had pulled the stick hard back. To their amazement the next second they found themselves spinning rapidly earthwards, and thought it was most unfair!

Eventually began to develop R.A.C. Aviation Certificate, an interest in design which was number 81.

structional work.

First Passenger

My

and con

Arat aeroplane was a 3-acater tractor biplane with a 70 hp. Gnome

building and flying it, but, much more important, evca

The Spin

not Bown.

float

What a Dream!

But the Wright biplane kill- od almost everyone.

who flow

it, and, by 1014, was virtually forgotten

The work of the Wright

ATER in the same day to sell it to the Royal aged this machine și Eastchurch.when two new sides and stalled aorted bombs, mines and tent rigs which are playing

found some trusting per son who was prepared to fly with nie and thus I was able to take up my first passen-

Ker.

This new experience of being able to fly was one of the most exhilarating things that had ever happened to me, 1 seized every opportunity to get into the air and by the time I had 10 hours'

Aying behind me I began to fee! that I was a really experienced pilot.

Like Gliding

It

เท

series of

Cul, S. F. Cody had just set to me is possible to get to. you never quing,

it and made

failure.

of

and

come.

st

be

Built By Eye

ou

could not begin to

do

ол

know,

from

was

06

50

pro-

prompted men like Vaisin and Bleriot in France, A.V. Hoe in

Simple Faith

has been

War and destruction England and Glenn Curiles in things like this today; in fact, were far from his mind and America to build and fly aeroe As a result of these enquiries, you could hardly get the design from that of his brother planes of better design. often ask me what the nature of a spin, and what work started. In those days all when they forged man's PEOPLE

dying, was like in those brought it about was deter you had to do was to rough out first wings in their little

days. early

I have never mined, and pilots then began to a scheme the back of an been up

a glider, but leam how to nvold it.

envelope, haw it to those who bicycle shop at Dayton, from what 1 Am told it seems Ability to fly is one of those were going to do the job und Ohio, at the beginning of

that this is the nearest things, like

which they then started right away.

the century.

from the simple faith of up-British-distance-and-duration approach

"lose. Shortly It is interesting t that up to the

-the-Wrights have come-the records of 04 miles in hours the way in which we used to fly, after the

Their father the time that I received the first

a. 1,200 m.ph. beginning

research aircraft 24 minutes, and 1 thought that something should be done about In gilding one keeps just above 1914-18 war I was so cecupled contract for the Tabloids" for bishop, and they were far and the Jetliners of today; and none of my Gere removed from the devil all the light planes, the hell- all preparations the stall and that is all wise with design and manufacture the Army,

and copters, bombers, fighters who nying (which were not many!). On the plots over did with the early that I just didn't have the time planes, and, so, far us

boals: the aeroplanes. The whole of the to fly and did not pilot an acro- no one else's was ever stressed. may-care enthusiasts

rockets, first attempt of was fortune time was spent in nursing the plane for about 16 years. I then All of them were built by eye had been hurling them- gulded misalles and the space enough to cover a distance of

to avoid engine built n power along

the and we

of had no idea the gelves

cliffs and ships of tomorrow. prototype trainer, 107 miles in 3 hours and 12

Tomtit."

factors except that they were towers for generations, minutes.

I have always I know I always

at Brooklands flow as 1 WELS

I

No greater tribute one more than one! I Alter this I began to think blowly as possible and am sure morning when George Bulman, maintained that it an agroplane wearing wings of feather paid to them than the words of

looks right, it generally is right, and wood.

They learned another gallant American pioneers lost our chief test pilot, was going about the contest for a prize of that many of the £4,000 offered by Baron de their lives simply because they to fly the machine to Martlesham. although at the same time this much from Otto Lilienthal, Charles Lindbergh,

In a weak moment I told him must not be carried too far.

from New York, Forest for the longest flight to could not resist the temptation

the great Austrian pioneer to fly alone the machine, It was all a very different pic- be

to to open up and go a bit faster. that I would fly

of across the Atlantie to Paris 28 nido from England

who made hundreds

years conception,

ago. Speaking before Europe in a British machine One difficulty we had to contend with him as passenger. By the ture to a modern

designers before the end of the year, the with was the absence of any time I had dressed myself up 1 which has to go through the fine flights in his beautiful bat some of the

began to think better of it and mesh sieve of the design and wing gliders before he was of today, he suta, "The dream distance to be measured in д form of air speed indicator.

Was to Recently I flow Д straight line. There were seven

Gloster said: "George, you had better stores offices,

"killed in 1896, and from of the Wright brothers

aero- build a power-driven But, bless you, it was fun! entrants and I took off from 7, and I thought at the time take her off."

his disciples, Octave plane, and, to ly it successful Chanute of America andTM ly.

. They accomplished that dream; rear disciples, Englishman Percy Pil- and we, their

have perfected it to a high degree. cher.

Now we are faced with dif- Theirs were the careful, ferent

"to be used aircraft to perfect. How are orderly minds of born en- for the benefit of man? gineers. Before attempt Wright brothers balance ing to rush into the air, cen

modesty, with simplicity. They they flew their first primi- santed man in balance. And tive gliders as kites, at the from that balance came wings end of ropes by which they to lift a world.”

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