First Person: My Uncle Was First to Fly Over Everest
Aviation runs in the family of the first man to fly over the summit.
Uncle Douglo is how I've always thought of him, but his name was Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale. Most people knew him as just Clydesdale.
Also with him, as "observer," was Stewart Blacker. Although primitive by today's standards, their plane was a marvel of its day, with its supercharged Pegasus engine capable of soaring above 40,000 feet.
A second, similar plane, a Westland-Wallace, followed close behind, piloted by David McIntyre, with S.R. Bennett as observer.
The two biplanes had only rudimentary oxygen equipment and enough fuel on board for no more than 15 minutes flying time over the treacherous mountain.
Dressed in multilayers of sheepskin clothing, with inbuilt electric heating—essential to surviving the icy blast—-the men resembled outlandish monsters.
The lead aircraft
