LAPSE OF A LORD

Radio Record, 22 July 1938, Page 22

LAPSE OF A LORD

|F this story about Lord Swinton, . England’s ex-Secretary of State for Air, isn't true-it ought to be!. It appears that recently his lordship was flying one of the new seaplanes constructed for the Air Ministry. He handled the plane well, and was flying low over the coast; slowly he began to circle over an aerodrome, getting lower and lower. The R.A.F. pilot who was with the noble lord in the plane became rather restive. He wondered whether his companion had forgotten that the plane required a large expanse of water to land on, and was proposing to come down on the aerodrome, in which case the results would be unpleasant for them both; and he _ wondered whether he should remind hin: of the type of machine he was flying -in which case, if his lordship was merely circling low to see how © the plane handled, the results would be equally unpleasant for the R.A.F. man. Finally, he plucked up courage to say: "‘Pardon me, my lerdbut do you remember that this plane is a seaplane? You can’t land here, you know.’ Without a word the exalted pilot swung the machine round, landed near the coast on the calm waters of the bay, and turned dnd glared at the unfortunate R.A.F.. pilot. "Do you toke me for a fool?" he inquired acidly . . . And opened the door of the cockpit and stepped angrily into the English Channel!