[Facing p. 94.
Photo by]
[J. Cecil Gould, Weybridge.
THE SOPWITH CAMEL—A WORLD-FAMOUS FIGHTING BIPLANE. HUNDREDS OF MACHINES OF THIS TYPE WERE TESTED BY HARRY DURING THE WAR.
[Facing p. 94.
Exactly one hour afterwards Harry started for Yarmouth. Between Ramsgate and Southwold they were practically out of sight of land all the time, so dense was the fog. A curious incident, which happily had no serious consequences, befell them while they were crossing the Thames mouth. Kauper accidentally switched off the engine. His switching on again was accompanied by a loud explosion in the streamlined exhaust-pipe, due to the unburnt charge taking fire. The pipe was deformed from a streamlined to a circular section, but otherwise no damage was done, and there was no necessity to alight. Kauper felt the effects of the exhaust gases a little, but Harry was as fit as a fiddle.
Yarmouth was reached at 10.36 a.m., the 96 miles from Ramsgate having been traversed in 1 hour 28 minutes through the aid of a southerly breeze. Mooring their machine, Harry and Kauper went on board the boat of an Australian friend, Mr. A. Williamson, where a short rest and a meal were enjoyed. Before leaving, they were presented with a sprig of Australian eucalyptus as a memento. Kauper was feeling the strain of the flight, but not severely enough to prevent his proceeding. The official inspection had been completed quickly, but one or two minor adjustments necessitated their spending a whole hour at Yarmouth.
At 11.44 they were well under way for Scarborough, 150 miles distant. There was still much fog about, and off Cromer the air was particularly bumpy. After relying on the compass during the greater part of the journey, and flying at a steady height of 1,000 feet, they reached Scarborough at 2.42. The town was crowded with people, who had flocked from neighbouring districts to see the wonderful sea-bird, and, if possible, its personnel. But of course Harry did not venture ashore. He rested awhile aboard Mr. W. Jackson’s yacht Naida. Arrangements had been made here for illuminated boats to be moored at the control area in the form of a triangle in case Harry should have arrived in the dark. The next stage to Aberdeen being 218 miles, Harry decided he would stop at Berwick to take in some petrol. At four o’clock the several boats, that had been attracted to the machine with almost magnetic precision, were cleared away, and at 4.22 Harry took leave of Scarborough.
After about an hour and a quarter it was found necessary to descend at Seaham Harbour, owing to a water-pipe springing a leak owing to the heat of an exhaust-pipe causing fusion of a rubber connection. Having repaired the trouble and refilled the radiator, Harry started again at 6.40 after a delay of 65 minutes. Exactly one hour later the same trouble showed again, and he was obliged to descend at Beadnell, 20 miles south of Berwick. He had piloted the machine over 495 miles during the day at an average flying speed of over 53 miles per hour, and had been on the go for more than 14 hours. It was almost too dark to see the compass, the air was very bumpy, and the engine inclined to misfire. Harry and Kauper therefore agreed to stay overnight at Beadnell and get going at 5 a.m. on the morrow. Nothing was wrong with the engine, and the water connection was effectively repaired.