Читать книгу H. G. Hawker, airman: his life and work онлайн

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“Any misgivings that may have remained in the minds of a few regarding the condition of the engine were quickly put at rest by Hawker at about 5.30 opening the throttle wide and shooting up to between 1,200 and 1,500 feet in so short a space of time as would have made some of our military competitors envious. It was evident he did this to run no risk of petrol running out when he was over the sewage farm or behind the sheds at a low altitude. It was now quite dark, and wanted but ten minutes to the time limit. At this stage one was impressed by the appearance of the long flame from the exhaust. The exhaust pipes were apparently quite red hot the whole time.

“Suddenly Hawker was seen to be intent on making a landing without further delay, and he came down in a perfectly straight line from the far end of the ground with the engine about half throttled. He made a very shallow angle of descent, apparently with the intention of striking as gradually as possible, as the earth could not be seen at all. Those in charge of the bonfires instantly realised the situation, and applied matches to the petrol, which flared up in the nick of time. Hawker straightened up, closed the throttle, and made a perfect landing seven minutes before the time limit.