Glovers Island
GLOVERS ISLAND: Temporary flying site
Location: In the river Thames, roughly S of Richmond-upon-Thames town centre
NOTES: This concerns the Sopwith Company, with their factory in Kingston-upon-Thames, deciding to compete in the Schneider Cup air races for seaplanes being held in Monaco (Southern France), in April 1914. Which, against all supposed odds, the Sopwith Tabloid won.
This picture really does, I think, show why the other Schneider Trophy competitors viewed the British competitor with such disdain and amusement. It had barely been flight tested, let alone developed, and to boot - couldn't even float on the water properly!
This account, and the picture above comes from the excellent book, British Aviation - The Pioneer Years, by Harald Penrose, first published in 1967.
"Sir Thomas Sopwith records: 'Needless to say we were late in finishing the machine, and it was only a few days before the race that it was ready for the first flight - it then had a single main float and two wing-tip floats. The main float was too far aft and directly Pixton started to taxi, the machine cart-wheeled and sank. This was at the mouth of the Hamble river where Faireys now build their boats.'
'We pulled the little seaplane up the beach as the tide rose, and when the water receded found it standing on its propellor and nose, with the tail up in the air. We dismantled the little biplane; took it back to KIngston, cut the main float longtitudinally in halves and made them into two floats; built a new twin float chassis - and then flew the revised machine off the Thames at Kingston, without permission, then shipped it to Monaco, all in 3½ days.'
'The final test had been on April 8th, at Glovers Island, and with such a short time in hand to ship and re-erect, it was April 19th, the eve of the race, before it was flown again - after which a new airscrew was fitted and minor modifications made. The floats had such little buoyancy that in the normal tail-down position the rear half was awash, and the elevators in their downward position drooped into the sea. When under tow, two men had to stand forward on the floats to lift the tail a little.'
"Sir Thomas Sopwith continues: 'Picky, as we called him, was a superb pilot and a very simple sort of chap with a slight impediment in his speech. Picky went off in the Tabloid, and after the first 50 kilometres the French were astonished to find the derided biplane lapping 23 m.p.h. faster than their best monoplane. It finished the course at an average of 87 m.p.h. The French and every one saw it was hopeless to go on after that, and conceded the trophy to Britain.'
I was tempted to cut the story here - after all, it really is such a cracking yarn. But, I think the next bit is well worth a mention.
'As I have said, Picky was a simple sort of chap, and when Jacques Schneider invited him to celebrate his win in the Sporting Club and asked what he would like to drink - with visions of the best champagne - Picky just mumbled casually, "Thanks very much. Mine's a small Bass".' (For younger readers a 'Bass' was a popular English beer at the time).
"It was typical to take so resounding a world victory so quietly. The British led in all other sports: why not in this? was Howard Pixton's view. He was more than content that, having won the Schneider Trophy, he was able to cap the performance by continuing the course for two extra laps at 92 m.p.h., setting a new world speed record for seaplanes."
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