Aerobatics airshow stars of the 1920/30's-info needed

Some memories from my father who worked for Cobham in the 1930s are here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63810556@N03/sets/

When some of the aircraft had been flight tested (by Cunliffe Owens chief test pilot Capt. Bebb and assisted by Flt. Lt. Murray who was on loan to us from the Royal Air Force) and had passed all tests, pilots from the Squadrons that were to receive them would turn up most likely in a Hudson flown by a pilot of the A. T. S. All the aircraft were lined up ready to go on the front apron, the pilots,who brought their own parachutes would settle in and run the engines for a while and then taxi out for take off. In this particular case it concerned the Tomahawks. We knew how the fighter boys were going to react, as soon as the wheels were up they would keep low and fast keeping it at grass cutting height aimed straight at the flight shed doors and then pull up just missing the top of the hangar by mere inches and after all that it turned into a free for all.They would come in from all directions and this would cause a general stoppage of work while everyone enjoyed the show. Captain Bebb, who was a very staid man, would get very annoyed and go in to his office, come out armed with his Verey pistol and shoot off red flares at them, they would clear off but not before one last go.

ps Cunliffe Owen – Eastliegh, Hants
Saunders Roe – IOW, Hants

Hi guys, what fantastic help and information already, thank you!

Yes, it was definitely Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus that we’re talking about, with my paternal grandfather in law and his first couple of young children apparently having taken many of the pleasure flights available. (He was a doctor, and was reasonably affluent for the times)

Whoever ‘Bebb’ was, my grandfather flew with him in a Tiger Moth, apparently relishing the loops and rolls performed! (Don’t get that at your average airshow nowadays, do you?!)

Fascinating stuff, from that weird between wars era!

Hi lancman,
There is some information in the book Flight Fantastic by Annette Carson. On Geoffrey Tyson she has this,

‘Sir Alan Cobham, knighted for his record-breaking flight to Australia, set out almost single handedly to stimulate progress in civil aviation with his National Aviation Day displays between 1932 and 1935: a touring airshow which set up, performed and hit the road again within the space of 24 hours, offering aerobatics, inverted flying, wing-walking, pylon racing and, of course, joyrides for the public. National Aviation Day stars included Charles (“Toc-H”) Turner Hughes (later chief test pilot with Armstrong Withworth) and his successor Geoffrey Tyson, who duplicated Ernst Udet’s trick of picking up a handkerchief with his wingtip. Tyson, Later a test pilot for Short Brothers and Saunders-Roe, made a speciality of inverted flying in air displays both before and after the war, and both men later became regular judges at the Lockheed Aerobatic Competitions of the 1950’s.

And here is a little more, again from Flight Fantastic.

‘…….Geoffrey Tyson used to loop a Tiger around a ribbon attached between two posts. To say that he judged this performance to a nicety is almost an understatement; standing the aeroplane on the ground between the posts, there would be no more than 4 ft clearance between each wingtip and its neighbouring post, and 6 ft beween the upper mainplane and the ribbon.’

As for ‘Bebb’, I’ve been unable to find anything about a name like that in my aerobatic references. I’m beging to suspect it to be an unoffical nick name. Maybe someone can prove me wrong.

Galdri

I could be off beam here, but Tyson was quite ‘mature’ in the 50s, so he could have been a flyer with Alan Cobham’s circus in the 30s (in fact I’m almost sure…) Start with Cobham either way. Old Aeroplane M’s have a lot – also try a post on PPrune.
HTH
Cheers

If it hadn’t been for Geoffrey Tyson, “Winkle” Brown wouldn’t be alive today.
“Winkle” was testing one of the SR-A1 jet fighter flying boats and hit a lump of wood in the Solent on landing. He got out but was trapped under the wing and Tyson jumped in and dragged him out. The SR-A1’s still at the bottom of the Solent, they never found it.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, but the Princess was displayed at Farnborough by Geoffrey Tyson one year. There was a fast pass with quite a lot of bank on and the wingtip missed the ground by far less than was comfortable. Apparently the artificial feel on the controls had made them so heavy he couldn’t straighten up.

Lancman,

Close.

Saunders Roe Princess Flying boat.

Try Google – Geoffrey Tyson test pilot.

Mark

ps. Capt. Bebb – Chief test pilot of Cunliffe Owen.

Lancman,

I am sure Geoffrey Tyson was a Chief Test Pilot for one of the big companies just post war and into the 1950’s.

I am thinking the Brabazon or something like that. I will look deeper.

Mark