MUSICK MEMORIAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 11

MUSICK MEMORIAL

AWARD DECIDED UPON DESIGNER OF THE EMPIRE FLYING-BOATS [ Fer Pie,s Association.] AUCKLAND, Feb. 3. A decision to award the Musick Memorial Trophy to Mr. Arthur Gouge for his design of the Empire flying-boats was reached at a meeting of the Musick Memorial Award Committee. The chairman, Sir Ernest Davis, presided. Recommendations for the trophy were submitted by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences of the United States and the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. The main condition of the award was that the trophy should be donated annually to the group, body or individual making the most effective contribution in furthering the safety of aircraft, with special regard to trans-ocean aviation. Mr. Gouge is chief designer to Short Brothers, Ltd., Rochester, England, and in addition he is chief engineer and a director of the firm. He is 48 years old and has been responsible for the production of the Empire type of flying-boat. These flyingboats have crossed the Atlantic and flown regularly to schedule on thousands of miles of Empire air routes, thereby proving their practical success and safety in trans-ocean travel. Mr. Gouge’s latest work is to be seen in the "Cabot” type of flyingboat which will be employed partly on trans-Atlantic runs and partly over the Tasman. This .flying-boat carries a gross load of 53,0001 b., or 12,5001 b. more than the standard Empire flying-boat, and it may also be refuelled in midair.

| The Musick Memorial Trophy was I purchased from a fund raised by I citizens, business firms and local ‘ authorities in Auckland and established by the New Zealand Herald in February, 1935, soon after the Samoan Clipper met with disaster in the South Pacific. The fund stands at £640, and this amount will be used to defray the cost of the trophy and replicas. It is probable that the trophy will be presented to Mr. Gouge by the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Mr. H. E. Wimperis.