page_title: C. W. A. Scott
section_title: The London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race
hierarchical_section_title: C. W. A. Scott / The London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race
caption_attribution_description: de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer G-ACSS Grosvenor House.
context_page_description: Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott, AFC was an English aviator. He won the MacRobertson Air Race, a race from London to Melbourne, in 1934, in a time of 71 hours.
context_section_description: In 1934, Scott and Tom Campbell Black were entered in the London to Melbourne Air Race, officially known as the "MacRobertson Air Race", and also dubbed "The world's Greatest Air race". The Great Air Race is still believed to be the most important air race that has ever taken place, because as well as attracting more publicity, worldwide organization and involvement than any other air race before or since, it stood to encourage the extension of an established air route to the British Empire's furthermost territory. This was not only thought to be highly beneficial as an air mail and passenger route, but would also enable troops and supplies to be quickly and efficiently moved to the area should there be any future military threats from South East Asia. Charles Scott and Campbell Black had met one year previously to the start of the race at a cocktail party at the Royal Aero Club in London. They had both agreed to enter the race, but only as a team and only if a suitable sponsor could be found. In early 1934 Scott was called to Stag lane for a meeting with the business manager of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, where he was introduced to Arthur Edwards, an entrepreneur and speculative property developer. Edwards (managing director of the Grosvenor House Hotel development) and Scott struck a deal within 20 minutes of meeting and it was in a private capacity that Edwards engaged the services of both Scott and Black, following his order directly off the drawing board of a de Havilland Comet. Scott's team was not the only team to have ordered a De Havilland DH.88 Comet to be designed and built specifically with the intention of being suitable to compete in, and win both the handicap and the speed section of the race. Jim Mollison and his wife Amy Mollison (Amy Johnson) ordered a Comet using their own funds and another team also gained sponsorship to purchase and race the third of the de Havilland Machines, which were to be designed, built and tested in time for the race. The Great Air Race would commence from Mildenhall aerodrome at 6.30 am on 20 October 1934.
  It was agreed that Scott would be designated handling pilot for the race and occupy the front seat of the tandem cockpit, piloting the take-off and landing at every enforced checkpoint along the route and any other refuelling, or necessary stops for the entirety of the race. The flying of the plane would be on a fifty-fifty basis involving shifts of 4 hours on four hours off. Just six days before the start of the race Scott flew the newly built scarlet Comet, number 34 named Grosvenor House G-ACSS, which had only logged 83 minutes of flight time, from Hatfield Aerodrome where it had been built to RAF Mildenhall and made a nicely judged landing. He later admitted that he had never handled a twin engine aircraft before this one. With one day to go before the start of the race, amidst frantic last-minute preparations a Royal visit was made by the Prince of Wales whom Scott was photographed with explaining the new variable-pitch propeller system fitted to his Comet. King George V and Queen Mary also visited that afternoon at very short notice, meeting competitors including Scott.
  
  The race commenced on time in front of an unexpected 60,000-strong crowd with the first plane to take off being the Mollisons' Comet named Black Magic and soon after C.W.A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black were in the air heading for Melbourne. Scott and Black touched down at their first control point in Baghdad 12 hours and 2,500 miles (4,000 km) later just a few minutes behind the Mollisons and were in the air again half an hour later on course for Allahabad. When they arrived in Allahabad, another 12 hours and 2,300 miles (3,700 km) later they had taken the race lead as the Mollisons' Comet was held up with complications to its undercarriage in Karachi. When they touched down in Singapore observers thought they saw smoke coming from an engine but the fire service found no problem; after shutting down the engines Scott ordered two glasses of beer and jinked about with nervous energy, keen to be o
caption: de Havilland DH.88 Comet racer G-ACSS, Grosvenor House, flown by C.W.A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black.
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