I got the feeling folks wanted me to post this before my hols to end the suspense. Ok sit back and enjoy (and just think about all those thousands of squares I've edited out).
TALONS OVER CORDOBA REPORT
Attracting over 190,000 visitors during the week of flying this airshow has been another big success starting just after the MacRobertson Air Race. The fourth Talons Over Cordoba Contest is a chance for the best pilots in the world to show off their skills allied with the best fighters available and it is now the world's foremost fighter exhibition. The exhibition display area once again attracted many companies eager to make sales; Curtiss, Boeing, Douglas, TNCA, CAC, FMA, IMPA, EMBRAER, FIAT, Caproni, Accrisius, Spartan, Hawker, Gloster, Bristol, Dornier, Junkers, Mitsubishi and Nakajima were all represented and display pilots made many demonstration flights. This year the Fuerza Aerea Argentina made a tight aerial aerobatic display every day of the contest. Unveiled were the new IMPA M.B.1, FMA M.B.2 and Tucan T-17 bombers, three of each performed mock attacks on three days and were in the opening flypast which numbered some forty aircraft of different types. During the show the order for 72 T.17 bombers was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Eduardo Serra. The prototype I.A.e 4 Courier also made an appearance during the third day. The resident Aerea Regimenta No1 equipped with FIAT CR.20, Accrisius FN-7 Archer and IMPA I-99 stayed onsite for the first time and their neat rows of fighters were visible from the grandstands and press area, certainly due to recent events the air force is eager to project a picture of strength. Also present were the Australian Black Swans team who made several excellent displays. The American team was delivered by the massive airship Macon which flew non-stop from the United States, it was certainly a public spectacle and crowds blocked the streets in Cordoba as it came into land at the nearby airbase.
All contesting pilots have been assigned numbers in the order of application and nationality has not been a factor in the order given.
No1 Major S. Castro flying the third production FMA I-100A Barron with the FMA RR-14-2 radial engine (formerly Roth-Packard)
No2 Major C. Pallavincio flying a standard IMPA I-99, a licence built Spartan F-9
No3 General Ernst Udet flying the gloss-white Messerschmitt Bf 109 V13, the German team is bringing three types of engine, a 1650hp "sprint" DB-601, a normal 1175hp DB-601A and the 1020hp DB-600E for each fighter.
No4 Fluglieutenant Werner Moelders flying the gloss-black Messerschmitt Bf 109 V12
No5 Capitan Valenzuela returns flying the brand-new TNCA C-5 Aguila
No6 Teniente Cielocaminante flying the A-1 Mapache ground-attack aircraft with the armour removed
No7 Lt. Ricco flying a pre-production red, white and green FIAT CR.35bis with the up-rated 960hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI
No8 de Benardi has returned, this year a pre-production white FIAT CR.35bis
No9 Flt Lt. Phol Thongpricha flying an all-black FMA I-100 decorated with a silver flash on either side and marked with a silver 13
No10 Flying Officer Suan Sukhserm, aircraft commander Flt Lt. Chan Nuat-Kheo and gunner Airman Somphong Naelbanthad are flying a Focke Wulf Fw 42B-1 in camouflage colours with the title "The Answer"
No11 Capitão Nero Moura flying the second production EMBRAER (FMA) F-3B (I-100A) in white in standard FAB markings
No12 Baron Soontir Fel, Radio Operator Taifeiro de Primeira-Classe Geff Blim and Gunner Segundo-Tenente Iella Wessiri are flying a silver EMBRAER PU-43 (EMB-2
No13 Flying Officer Basil Heath returns flying a production Hawker Hurricane powered by the new Rolls-Royce Peregrine I V-12 engine
No14 Flight Lieutenant Harry "Wings" Day, the noted stunt flyer and leader of the RAF aerobatic flight is flying a production Hawker Hurricane
No15 Navy Flight Lieutenant Jacob Huyrluyt returns flying the Fokker D.XVIIc with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-21 inline engine
No 16 Navy Flight Lieutenant G.F. Jongbloed flying the navalised production Fokker D.XIXb with the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-21 inline engine
No17 Layne "Slider" Cassius flying the brand new Spartan Sp-20 Corsair fighter with the brand new Spartan 1000hp V-12 engine
No18 Tyrus "Bulldog" Hadrian flying the second per-production Ripon-Bloch RB.132 fighter powered by the Ripon 1000hp radial. It is painted in Ripon-Bloch house colours.
No19 Captain Thomas Kreuger flying a DeBroek F-3C Buzzard fighter with modified engine and undercarriage
No20 Adolph Gysbert Malan flying a JFM F-6B Swollow standard production fighter
No21 Mitsuo Fuchida flying a supercharged Ki-12 identical to last years entry, painted in cherry blossom colours
No22 Minoru Genda flying an identical Ki-12 to Fuchida painted overall black with red sunburst pattern
No23 Vicente Cortázar returns in his personal brightly coloured Nakajima A2N
No24 Marco Alabastro Filipino "ace of the revolution" is again flying his personal yellow Nakajima Ka-12
No25 Major Doolittle flying the second Hughes XP-35 in bright blue
No26 Lt. Bart Hawk flying the third Hughes XP-35 in bright red
No27 Lieutenant Patrick Ryan O'Connell Corporal Adam Pierson flying a brand new EMBRAER EMB-32 in standard Eire camouflage colours and roundels
No28 Lt. Diego Alessandro flying a camouflaged ex-Bolivian Arado Ar 65 representing the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Republic
No29 Kapitán Josef Franti¨ek flying a bright red Aero A.102 believed to be the second prototype
No30 Nadporu
ík Ladislav Fajtl flying a dark royal blue Avia D.534 II standard production biplane fighter
No31 Captain Tuchar Yechary flying the biplane Alleppey Aeronautics Dhaamin pained and an orange and black chequer pattern
No32 Captain Anbumani Kadam flying the new monoplane Kiran Industries Ki-5 Andhii (Cyclone) painted in bright tiger stripes with a large toothy mouth on the lower cowling
No33 Ronnie Hellström flying the first production Sopwith Odin Mk.4
No34 Wing Commander Otto Larsen flying the third production Sopwith Odin Mk.4
GROUPS
The groups are divided between biplanes and monoplanes. Group 7 is biplanes and the others monoplanes.
Group 1 Numbers 1, 3, 12, 26 Castro, Udet, Baron Soontir, Lt. Bart Hawk
Group 2 Numbers 2, 4, 9, 18 Pallavincio, Moelders, Thongpricha, "Bulldog" Hadrian
Group 3 Numbers 8, 13, 19, 17, 34 de Benardi, Heath, Kreuger, "Slider" Cassius, Larsen
Group 4 Numbers 5, 14, 20, 29, 33 Valenzuela, Day, Malan, Franti¨ek, Hellström
Group 5 Numbers 10, 7, 21, 24, 27 Sukhserm, Ricco, Fuchida, Alabastro, Ryan O'Connell
Group 6 Numbers 11, 16, 22, 32, 25 Nero Moura, Jongbloed, Genda, Kadam, Major Doolittle
Group 7 Numbers 6, 15, 23, 28, 30, 31 Cielocaminante, Huyrluyt, Cortázar, Alessandro, Fajtl, Yechary
8 MILE RACE
8 laps of a 1 mile circuit with four corners, this calls for great cornering skills and the ability to fly fast in a crowded group without mishap.
8 MILE RACE GROUP 1
As was expected the first race proved to be the most exciting start to the contest that the crowd could expect. The four contenders were the improved I-100A, the brand new Bf 109 fitted with the 1650hp "sprint" DB-601 engine for improved performance for short periods, the amphibious EMB-28 and the Hughes XP-35 based on the successful H-1 racer. Major Castro took the lead on the first lap but was challenged by Lt. Bart Hawk in the XP-35 on every corner. The high wing loading enabled the XP-35 forced Lt. Hawk to take wide line though the corners and Baron Soontir fell behind in his heavier and draggier fighter. On the fifth lap Udet decided to open up the full potential of his DB-601 and soon reached around 580km/h on the straights and he easily climbed over Lt. Hawk to take the lead. Lt. Hawk attempted to keep up and they were neck and neck to the finish, Lt. Hawk just edging ahead on the final corner but Udet applied full power and won by under a second. Castro comfortably kept third and Soontir came last. The new DB-601 made a huge impression on the crowd; its loud sound was described by an aviation journalist as "a concrete crusher mixed with a wolf like howl."
8 MILE RACE GROUP 2
The line up in this race was the new I-99 based on the Spartan F-9, another Bf 109 with the 1650hp "sprint" DB-601, a Mercury powered I-100 and the brand new Ripon-Bloch. Werner Moelders in the Bf 109 was unchallenged and took first place, the I-100 being unable to catch him as he pulled away from the third lap onwards. Thongpricha took second keeping his agile fighter ahead of the Ripon-Bloch of "Bulldog" Hadrian. Pallavincio and "Bulldog" were locked in a vicious fight both being neck and neck in the corners. Twice they nearly collided but neither man backed down. Eventually "Bulldog" Hadrian's better engine allowed him to build up a lead on the straights claim third leaving Pallavincio in fourth place.
8 MILE RACE GROUP 3
The brand new CR.35 began its debut very convincingly easily outrunning the other aircraft from the initial lap apart from the Odin Mk.4 which was able to match his acceleration but the CR.35 pulled away above 530kmh. The pilot de Benardi easily took first place. The acceleration was matched only by the Bf 109s with the DB-601 engines. In contrast Flying Officer Heath, Kreuger, Larsen and "Slider" Cassius were evenly matched and only seven seconds separated them. The Hurricane was sluggish on the straights but FO Heath used the turning ability to match the Sp-20 Corsair. "Slider" Cassius and Heath switched back and forth from second place many times but on the final lap the extra power pulled the Sp-20 Corsair ahead. Captain Kreuger took advantage of a mistake by Heath and slipped inside him to take third briefly but Heath managed to outrun him on the final straight. Larsen also in the thick of action was briefly in third place but he missed a corner and lost his position, he was unable to gain on the others until near the end and so finished fifth.
8 MILE RACE GROUP 4
Although this race promised much it turned out to be one of the dullest, only the controversy afterwards would make this a memorable event. Adolph Malan in the F-6B soon took the lead having the pace to outrun the others in the straights and the manoeuvrability in the corners. Ronnie Hellström in his Odin Mk.4 had pushed Malan hard but was overtaken by Capitan Valenzuela in the new Aguila who took second. Valenzuela managed to keep the slower accelerating Hurricane behind him and block every move Hellström made to try and pass. Flight Lieutenant Harry "Wings" Day took fourth and Kapitán Josef Franti¨ek took fifth, the A.102 proving very agile but slower than the competition.
After the race however the Argentine technical judges inspected the F-6B and declared the RSAF ground crew had illegally lightened the airframe and the aircraft was disqualified and Valenzuela was instead awarded the first place. Adolph Malan and his ground crew protested but eventually the American independent specialist upon weighing the aircraft found some limited supporting evidence and the team accepted the decision but nearly retired from the contest in disgust. Even now after the contest the precise details have not been made public.
8 MILE RACE GROUP 5
This race was another hotly contested event with two Ki-12 fighters competing and the giant Fw 42B-1. Lt. Ricco in his CR.35 soon took the lead but on the seventh lap a stream of oil indicated not all was well. Eventually he had to retire and he made an emergency landing before the engine seized or caught fire. He made a perfect engine-off dead stick landing. Fuchida was relatively new to the Ki-12 but he put up a strong fight against Alabastro and both men twisted and turned around the course not more than a few feet apart, Fuchida tending to gain on the corners and lose speed on the straights. Eventually Fuchida gained a lead on the final lap and maintained it to the finish but only just. Surprisingly the Fw 42 piloted by FO Sukhserm took third simply by forcing itself in the Irish team's way and they were unable to get past. Airman Somphong Naelbanthad in the rear turret making "friendly gestures" hardly improved Ryan O'Connell's mood!
8 MILE RACE GROUP 6
A very tight group all five pilots were very close together and not until the sixth lap did Doolittle apply full power and his XP-35 with its illustrious racing heritage managed to get round the corners and come home in first place. On the straights flat out the I-100A of Moura and Jongbloed's Fokker XIXb were neck and neck but the Fokker turned much tighter in the corners and Jongbloed took second place while Moura came under pressure from Genda in his Ki-12, he tried to leap over Moura but speed and so he dived under him on the final straight to take third. Captain Kadam in his new Kiran Industries Andhii fighter had a rough debut with some flutter on the control surfaces and some minor engine troubles; he finished the race but lagged behind to take fourth.
8 MILE RACE GROUP 7
No less than six planes were racing at the same time and this proved another exciting race. Jacob Huyrluyt seemed on track to take first place but had to retire. The team were using 100 Octane fuel this year but the HS 12Y-21 engine suffered a major oil leak on the sixth lap and he was forced to retire. The oil sprayed onto Ladislav Fajtl's windscreen and goggles, he managed to wipe the goggles clean on his sleeves but he had lost two places. Not one to admit defeat he managed to overtake Captain Yechary on the final corner to take second. Cielocaminante in his Mapache, a biplane version of last years successful Quetzalcoat, found himself under severe strain from Fajtl and Yechary but after Fajtl's incident he managed to hold onto first place. All three fighters matched each other in speed but the Apache turned very well in the tight corners with its low wing loading. Captain Yechary took third and Lt. Diego Alessandro claimed fourth but he stalled on turn six and nearly crashed but recovered at 200ft. Cortázar could do little but shake his fists in vain as his old Nakajima A2N failed to catch up with Alessandro as he failed to block Alessandro's passing move.
8 MILE RACE GROUP FINAL
The winners of all seven races race in one final group.
This final was full of disappointments, de Benardi soon built up a lead but a loose cowling panel flew off and caused some tailplane damage and he decided to retire rather than risk further damage. Udet's DB-601 suffered cooling problems and he decided to carry on but steadily lost power, he was overtaken by Moelders and Doolittle and Valenzuela squeezed by on the penultimate lap but he retained fourth place ahead of Fuchida while Cielocaminante in his Mapache suffered from a rough engine and he retired on the third lap. Doolittle managed to gain on Moelders and on the last lap they were neck and neck but the Bf 109 had the acceleration to pull away on the final straight but Doolittle was just able to win by a nose (well a cowling!).
50 MILE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT
This year flown over a course stretching 50 miles over hills and through a steep valley the course is designed to test the agility of the fighters and the pilot's navigation skills rather than maximum speed. All pilots made single fights and were timed. The course follows last years tougher cross-country navigation trail. This year the weather was better but a weather front closed in on the latter stages and the cloud base was quite low.
First place went to a surprise winner, Soontir Fel with his radio operator Geff Blim and gunner Iella Wessiri. The EMB-28 performed well and with Blim navigating Wessiri kept a good lookout as Fel flew the whole course at less than 200ft. Flying Officer Suan Sukhserm with aircraft commander Flt Lt. Chan Nuat-Kheo and gunner Airman Somphong Naelbanthad flying Focke Wulf Fw 42B-1 "The Answer" came second some six seconds behind the Brazilian fliers, they had flown a medium height route and Nuat-Kheo kept his pilot on a very accurate plot throughout. Major C. Pallavincio in his I-99 came third having practised several times along the course, he was followed in by Doolittle and Major Castro. Sixth place was taken by Udet in the Bf 109 fitted with the 1020hp DB-600E engine for a more reliable performance and de Benardi came in seventh only some ten seconds later than Udet and Moelders in his DB-600E equipped fighter came in eighth. Ninth and tenth went to Lt. Hawk and Mitsuo Fuchida who came in just as the weather closed in badly. Lt. Hawk nearly collided with a fuel tanker when he overshot on his fast landing on the wet grass. Hellström and Adolph Malan landed at the same time and tied for eleventh, they had followed each other around the whole track. Both RAF pilots followed each other in the worsening rain, Flight Lieutenant Harry "Wings" Day gave up his position to circle round and guide Jongbloed in his Fokker down. Jongbloed had suffered engine problems and could not see the runway with oil and rain streaking over his windscreen. Minoru Genda was not far behind and landed with no difficulty given his carrier training. Half an hour later Cortázar and "Slider" Cassius landed to take sixteenth and seventeenth. No-one else finished the race (to score any points the pilots must land at the designated airfield). As the weather worsened the two Czechs, Huyrluyt and Lieutenant Ryan O'Connell diverted to Cordoba airport, later they were joined by Captain Kreuger in his F-3C fighter nearly out of fuel. Valenzuela battered by wind and rain lost his way, he was in sixth place but by the time he found a safe spot to put down he had lost any chance of scoring. Cielocaminante in his Mapache climbed easily above the clouds but he was unable to sight an aerodrome and actually landed at San Luis some 100 miles further south. Thongpricha also got lost and was struck by something; he recovered and landed in a cattle pasture. He had in fact collided unknowingly with Cortázar, the latter had most of the upper port wing fabric ripped away and after trying to regain control made an emergency landing in marshy land, the aircraft was recovered and found repairable. Lt. Ricco soon returned with engine problems and "Bulldog" Hadrian decided to divert to the airport but became lost in the storm. Disoriented he eventually put down on a school playing field only three miles short of the airbase. Larsen flew above the clouds but got lost on descending for landing and put down on a field some nine miles short of the airbase. Alabastro in the valley clipped a tree removing his port wingtip but he managed to fly out and put down for some improvised repairs of his own. He then took-off and landed again when the Ki-12s undercarriage clipped another tree and he took-off again only to land some three miles short owing to aileron problems. Once these were repaired with help from local schoolboys he then returned to the air to only to stall and land in a ploughed field a mile further on. The undercarriage was damaged as was the propeller. Alessandro put down during the race and was not recovered for some nine hours. It took another day to get all the pilots and fighters back to Cordoba and repaired.
10 MILE STRAIGHT
Each pilot was timed along a ten mile straight course during which the aircraft attempted a top speed run after a shallow dive run-in to build up speed. The run was done at sea level to equalise the chances given the variety of aircraft and engines.
Here are the speeds reached from fastest to lowest;
Lt. Ricco 629.9km/h, Udet 609.8kmh, Moelders 608.3kmh, Doolittle 563.7kmh, Malan 560.1kmh, Lt Hawk 559.8kmh, Valenzuela 529.4kmh, Genda 522.7kmh, "Slider" Cassius 521kmh, Fuchida 520.9kmh, Hellström 520.6kmh, Alabastro 520.2kmh, Jongbloed 519.7kmh, Larsen 519kmh, Castro 517.1kmh, Moura 516.8kmh, "Bulldog" Hadrian 513.1kmh, Thongpricha 500.1kmh, Kreuger 499.9kmh, Huyrluyt 497.2kmh, "Wings" Day 494.7kmh, Heath 493.1kmh, Pallavincio 480kmh, Cielocaminante 350kmh, Kadam 434.2kmh, Franti¨ek 432.9kmh, Fajtl 385.6kmh, Baron Soontir Fel and crew (see note below) Sukhserm and crew 307.3kmh, Alessandro 295.2kmh and finally Cortázar 292.9kmh.
The EMB-28 piloted by Baron Soontir Fel on this run achieved a recognised world speed record for piston-engined amphibious aircraft at 230.413mph.
Three pilots failed to score any points de Benardi retired after a serious oil leak, Lieutenant Patrick Ryan O'Connell retired owing to his propeller sticking in fine pitch and Captain Tuchar Yechary never took-off owing to troubles with the brand new Kiran Industries engine. On landing Lt. Hawk had a slight landing mishap and he tipped onto his nose requiring a new propeller. Moelders put down just as his 1650hp "sprint" DB-601 began to overheat and run rough.
ALTITUDE TRIAL
This trial was a timed mock interception. The pilot was timed from "Contact", taxiing, take-off and a climb to 3000m or as high as the aircraft can reach to this figure.
The fastest to slowest are; first was "Slider" Cassius in the new Spartan Sp-20 Corsair with a climb rate of 35.4 metres per second, Teniente Cielocaminante in the Mapache which climbed at an incredible 30m per second, even better than its monoplane ancestor last year, next was de Benardi in the CR.35bis at 22.2m per sec, Moelders and Udet came in very close with the 1175hp DB-601 engines for a more reliable performance and around 17.7-17.9m per second climb rate, the automatic solenoid supercharger control meant the pilots could push the throttle forwards fully early on while most other pilots had to coax and carefully adjust their throttles as they increased altitude, next was Major C. Pallavincio in the IMPA I-99 at 15.6m per sec. The three Ki-12 fighters all achieved their design figures and the order was Genda, Alabastro and Fuchida. The three I-100 fighters all produced very similar times and Capitão Nero Moura beat Major S. Castro while Thongpricha was only ten seconds behind them. Jacob Huyrluyt in the Fokker D.XVIIc achieved 14.10m per second followed closely by Fajtl in the Avia D.534 II at 14m per second who was having some engine troubles. The two Hurricanes beat the XP-35 fighters in the climb and the Fokker D.XIXb.
Those who did not compete or retired were, Lt. Ricco suffering a gasket problem, "Bulldog" Hadrian with an oil cooler problem halfway through the test and SAE F-6B who had a supercharger problem so he retired. Larsen in the Odin never took off owing to technical troubles.