大象传媒

At No.9 AGS Llandwrog, flying the Lysander was always a joy and I was called on to do special flights.

One day the medical officer wanted to do a 鈥渇lip鈥�, and so I equipped him in the rear cockpit, slid the canopy over and we departed. I had never flown over Mount Snowdon and did a spiral climb over 3,550 feet and continued much higher; what I did not realise was it was not capable of exceeding a certain height and when much higher the engine cut and the three props were visible! My passenger went very pale.

I said 鈥渄on鈥檛 worry I can glide all the way to base from here鈥�. After reducing the height to about 4,000 feet I decided to start the engine, more by curiosity than anything, to put the aircraft into a steep dive, because the self starter was very weak. The propellers moved fast enough to start, on went the switch and it sprung into action! So we landed back in the usual way.

My passenger was violently sick and needed help back to his surgery.

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