The Guild Honoured It was a proud occasion on July 11 for the guild of Air Pilots and Navigators, for that day saw the handing-over to their Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh, of letters patent confirming the grant of livery to the Guild. This took place at a short but impressive ceremony in the Long Parlour of the Mansion House, London. Red Reactors Peking radio has amplified the bald announcement that the Soviet Union is developing an atomic-powered aircraft. It is stated that the design speed is "about 600 m.p.h." and that about 2 1⁄2 ounces of atomic fuel would be consumed in a flight from Moscow to Vladivostock, about 4,000 miles. Marking Moby An account of the first marking of whales from a helicopter has been given by Roger Clarke, of the National Institute of Oceanography. It was undertaken by a Portuguese machine south of Terceira, in the Azores. Two flights were made, due south from the town of Cisf Angra de Heroismo. On the first, a school of six sperm whales and a calf was sighted; on the second, four sperms and a calf. The helicopter approached the school at 15ft and although it was only 45-90ft from the whales they appeared unconcerned. However, when it hovered almost vertically above two bulls together, they became violent and submerged. Marking was carried out by small arrows up to 18in long with plastic tags, shot by a little harpoon gun into the thick layer of blubber immediately under the hide of the whale. On the two flights, two hits and a possible hit were scored. Some Relay The police dog training unit at Wahn took part in a strange relay race at the Cologne annual police dog sports recently. The R.A.F. team consisted of a police dog, a cyclist, a man running an obstacle race, a motor cyclist and a horseman. |
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Source: Flight International
