by Phil Delnon
The Wessex problem proved to be a change in airflow pattern, making the rudder balance inadequate - a simple but potentially lethal change. Not long afterwards Penrose had his next scrape, when one of the Wessex' engines seized solid just after take-off. A turn was out of the question: the only option was to scramble on to the next nearest airfield and set down there. Penrose did this, much to his relief: his passenger was Sir Francis Shelmerdine, Director of Civil Aviation and responsible for airline safety...
What might be Penrose's most notable achievement was now in the offing. The Vickers Company had pushed their Vesta biplane up to a new world altitude record of 43,000 feet. This had prompted a bid to fly over Everest to make a photographic survey for the Royal Geographical Society. The redoubtable Lady Houston had offered financial support, and all that remained was to find the right aeroplane...
No doubt to Vickers' chagrin, the single-seater Vesta was unsuitable. What was needed was a chunky two-seater biplane with a big engine. Westland's PV6 biplane fighter was just the thing.
The Bristol Company undertook to supply a supercharged engine, and the Royal Aircraft Establishment gave technical support. For all practical purposes the normal flying ceiling was 17,000 feet - above that the pilot simply could not breathe. With an oxygen mask, Penrose had brought a precursor of the PV6 to 26,000 feet and had found it a bitterly cold though fascinating experience.
To reach the additional 10,000 feet needed to surmount Everest, all military equipment was removed. The new engine was also supplied with a new fuel, and precautions were taken to reduce the chances of a random spark turning the plane into a fireball. The pilots also needed special equipment: Penrose gives a list which whispers astronaut:
It was still the 1930s, however: so the pilot still sat in an open cockpit, the exposed parts of his face smeared liberally with petroleum jelly. The rear cockpit had a closeable roof for the observer/cameraman, lucky fellow.
After a number of preparatory flights, on 25th January 1933 Penrose took the plane up, flying by instrument to the effective ceiling of 38,500 feet, outside temperature minus 65 degrees.
As though to demonstrate what can happen at the edge of technology, Penrose's next flight ran into trouble. Having reached 37,500 feet he had just turned for home when the petrol pump failed. The motor cut out, the propeller stopped, and down below was an unbroken layer of cloud... Penrose decided to gamble on there being 10,000 feet of clear air below the cloud, enough for him to sight Southampton and the Isle of Wight, find his bearings and land at Hambledon.
He was right, with 2,000 feet to spare: it was the world's record longest emergency glide-landing so far. Having done his job, Penrose handed over the plane to the pilots who actually flew over Everest and had the glory.
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