| TITLE | SLIDE RULE - Autobiography | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Published: | 1954 (Written in 1953) | |
| Setting: | Mainly from 1899 (born in Ealing, London) to April 1938 (retirement from Airspeed) | Died in Australia 1961 |
| Story: |
Autobiography of Nevil Shute Norway as a boy, at Shrewsbury School and at Balliol.
Brief army service, in the ranks, at end of War. Draughtsman with De Havilland. Chief Calculator and later Chief Designer for the Airship R100. Recounts the design, construction and flight test problems in rivalry to R101. Set-up aircraft factory firstly in York and then in Portsmouth to develop a range of small aircraft. |
|
| Locations: |
Dublin, Shrewsbury, Oxford
De Havillands, Stag Lane, R100 Howden Yorks. Airspeed, York & Portsmouth |
|
| Main Characters: |
Nevil Shute Norway (his biography)
Barnes Wallis, Chief Engineer, Airship Guarantee Co Major Scott i/c ops. Lord Thomson (Air Minister) Tiltman, Lord Grimthorpe (Airspeed) |
|
| Flying Episodes: |
Flights in R100 and R101
Test flying Airspeed aircraft |
|
| Aircraft: |
Avro Renault, DH Moths,
Airships R100 and R101 Glider + Airspeed Ferry, Courier, Envoy, Oxford |
|
| Flying Characters: |
Major Scott R100 & R101 (killed)
Sqn Ldr Booth Herr Magersuppe (German glider test pilot) |
|
| Aviation Location(s): |
De Havillands (Drawing Office)
Howden (Yorks) & Cardington - Airship bases York (1st Airspeed factory) + Sherburn in Elmet Portsmouth(Airspeed Factory) |
|
| Aviation Activities |
Learned to fly at Stagg Lane. (Renault Avro)
Flight Trials UK & Trans-Atlantic to/from Canada Flight Trials UK & to India (crashed in France) Airspeed: Sherburn in Elmet then Portsmouth Apt |
1923
1930 R100** R101*** 1931 - 1938 |
| Additional Comments: |
** Chap 5 - Flights of R100
*** Chap 6 - Flights & Crash of R101 Story ends with departure from Airspeed and omits his own flight to Australia |
