A Mystery Witnessed
The captain, and all but one of the crew, of a B.O.A.C Monarch Stratocruiser which, on July 1st was 150 miles south west of Goose Bay at 19,000ft in clear weather, saw a large object, accompanied by six smaller objects, fly parallel to them for 80 miles. The objects disappeared just before a fighter, scrambled to intercept, reached their position. The objects proved quite unidentifiable, but crew members and passengers are quite certain they saw them.
Moose Massacres
Newfoundland's Premier, Mr. Joseph Smallwood, recently made the disturbing statement that "literally thousands of moose and caribou have been machine-gunned from aircraft," and it is feared that animals are also being used for military target practice in parts of Canada and Alaska.
Sugar-cane filler
Increasingly stringent requirements for runway and apron construction have focussed upon the efficiency of joint-fillers, which perform the important duty of excluding water from the foundation and subsoil, and which also prevent the growth of weeds. A filler being produced by Celotex, Ltd., is claimed to have shown a 93 per cent recovery during tests in a laboratory approved by the Air Ministry. The material, known as Flexicell, is of an unusual nature; it is prepared from sugar-cane fibres - which are highly resilient - imported by the company from the West Indies. Flexicell is treated to make it resistant to termites.
Deoxygenated Owl
A Meteor 7 made two trips to 25,000ft recently, before it was discovered that there was a third occupant - a barn owl - hiding behind the instrument panel. The bird was jaded but undamaged, and was reported making satisfactory progress in a Cheltenham clinic.
Source: Flight International
