[Anon] Anatolian Antics

The aerial adventures of an interwar trio, being C. A. Pike (pilot), C. Terence Griffith (Williamson Camera Co.) and ‘myself’, narrator. 
The Dragon ‘Rapide’ was an eight seater bi-plane developed in the summer of 1934, production in full swing by the November. The licence number attached to the machine in this narrative is G-ACX1. 

The trio set out from Hatfield Aerodrome on 4th November 1934 in ‘the good, (we hope!) Dragon.’ They fly smoothly across Europe with light commentary on France: ‘Passing over the battlefield area I was amazed to see how nature had removed almost all traces of warfare’, and Germany: ‘seeing various lads of the village - Storm Troopers, Brown Shirts, Dirty Shirts, and others of that ilk’. In his signature jolly style, much of the narration focuses on the weather, or various aerodromes for fuelling and maintenance, our narrator clearly knowing enough about machines to identify Spartan Cruisers and Fox Moths et al. It becomes clear that the ‘adventure’ portion of the title refers to the lengthy and complex attempt to sell the newly manufactured Dragon aircraft to the Turkish military, a process which takes our heroes several weeks. During this time however, our erstwhile narrator faithfully relays his adventures in Turkish nightlife, hangovers, various bureaucratic officials, their ‘joy-rides’, and even a tug of war with the ‘confidential’ paperwork unable to be translated as no translator had clearance to do so. 

After setting off on the 4th of November, our narrator finally arrives home on Christmas eve, after having his first ‘aerial beer’. The last few leaves are dedicated to ‘Ye Complete Turkish Vocabulary (N. B. most of the spelling is phonetic)’, and the speed test numbers from Eskisehir.