Challenge 1932

The Challenge 1932 was the third FAI International Tourist Plane Contest ( _fr. Challenge International de Tourisme), that took place between 12 and August 28 1932 in Berlin, Germany. The four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe.

Overview

Germany organized the contest, because German pilot Fritz Morzik won the previous Challenge in 1930. The number of aircraft that took part in the 1932 Challenge was smaller - 43 compared to 60, because the contest was getting much more difficult with time, demanding high pilotage skills and more advanced aircraft. This time, most countries developed special aircraft specifically for the Challenge.

Teams from six countries entered the Challenge in 1932: Germany (15 crews), France (8 crews), Italy (8 crews), Poland (5 crews), Czechoslovakia (4 crews) and Switzerland (2 crews). English aviatrix Winifred Spooner entered the contest in the Italian team, being the only woman among the pilots. One Canadian (John Carberry) and one Romanian pilot (Alexander Papana) entered the contest in the German team.

The opening ceremony was on August 12 1932 at Berlin-Staaken airfield. The contest consisted of three parts: technical trials, a rally around Europe and a maximum speed test. Since one of the aims of the Challenge was to stimulate progress in aircraft development, it was not only pilots' competition, but technical trials also included a construction evaluation that promoted more advanced designs.

Aircraft

The Challenge was to be a contest of tourist aircraft, so competing aircraft had to be able to take at least two persons aboard, take off and land on a short field and cover a distance with a good cruising speed. In fact, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Italy developed modern sports aircraft specifically to meet the demands of the Challenge. In the beginning of the contest, six fast German Heinkel He 64s were considered favourites. Most numerous German aircraft was the three-seater Klemm Kl 32 (7 plus one in Swiss team). Both were wooden low-wing monoplanes. Italy and Czechoslovakia developed similar strutted low-wing monoplanes, the Breda Ba.33 and Praga BH-111. Poland developed a high-wing RWD-6 and an all-metal low-wing monoplane PZL.19. All these aircraft had enclosed crew cabins, fixed landing gear and advanced wing mechanization (flaps and slats). The other aircraft, especially French, modified from serial designs, were less modern and had lower chances in technical trials.

Aircraft participating: Klemm Kl 32 (8), Breda Ba.33 (8), Heinkel He 64 (6), Praga BH-111 (3), PZL.19 (3), RWD-6 (2), Potez 43 (2), Farman 234 (2), Farman 250 (1), Darmstadt D-22a (1), Raab-Katzenstein RK-25/32 (1), Breda Ba.15S (1), Monocoupe 110 (1), Guerchais T.9 (1), Caudron C.278 (1), Mauboussin M.12 (1), Comte AC-12 (1).

The German aircraft had starting numbers from a range: A4-A9, B1-B9, C2-C8, E1-E2, French: K1-K8, Italian: M1-M8, Polish: O1-O6, Swiss: S1-S2, Czechoslovak: T1-T4 (numbers were placed on fuselages in a black square frame).

Technical trials

On August 13 the technical evaluation of the competing planes' construction took place. Since it was a tourist plane contest, features such as: a comfortable cabin with a good view, seats placed side-by-side, a rich set of controls, modern construction, safety devices and folding wings were also awarded points. Most points were given to the Polish designs (86 points to the RWD-6 and 84 points to the PZL.19), behind them the Italian Breda Ba.33 (83 points) and Praga BH-111 (80 points). This gave them more than ten points' advantage over most feared German designs (Kl 32 - 71-72 points, He 64c - 66 points), and placed them as favourites from this point. Worst planes scored 44 points (Caudron C.278 biplane and Mauboussin M.12).

On August 14, there was a short take off trial, which required the crews to fly over an 8-m high gate. The German pilot Wolfram Hirth (Kl 32) was the best, taking off from the closest distance (91.6m - 40 pts), two Italians Colombo and Lombardi scored 40 points as well, other Klemms and Bredas were also at the head. Polish RWD-6s scored 37 points (111.5 and 115 m).

August 16 saw a trial of quick folding of wings, which was a feature to save place in hangars, and then a trial of quick engine starting. The general classification changed little after these trials, with Żwirko and Colombo holding on to a joint lead with 222 points each.

A fuel consumption trial on a 300 km distance was held on August 19, and the German aircraft won in that category. After all technical trials, Ambrogio Colombo led the general classification, with Franciszek Żwirko second, Italy's Francesco Lombardi third.

The first prize in the Challenge was 100,000 French franc, the 2nd - 50,000 FRF, the 3rd - 25,000 FRF, the 4th - 13,000 FRF, 16 other crews would get 7,000 FRF.

Less than a month after the Challenge, Franciszek Zwirko and Stanislaw Wigura died in an accident, flying their RWD-6 to Czechoslovakia in a storm on September 11 1932. Reinhold Poss also died in an accident in 1933. Winifred Spooner died the same year.

ee also

*Challenge 1929
*Challenge 1930
*Challenge 1934

References

*Marian Krzyżan: "Międzynarodowe turnieje lotnicze 1929-1934", Warsaw 1988, ISBN 83-206-0637-3 (Polish language)