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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0099.PDF
FEBRUARY 20, 1909. FAMBRIDGE FLIGHT GROUNDS.—Two views of the interior ol the big aero dock, looking towards each end Iromabout the centre. The private aero docks will be, at the side, enclosed in the bays, which are 26 ft. deep. The land which Mr. Pemberton Billing has secured is over 3,000 acres in extent, and lies between the Thames and the Crouch, in the vicinity of South Fambridge, Essex. Flying rights up to the coast have been purchased, and there is thus available a straight course (a mile wide) of 25 miles at low tide. In securing this site, Mr. Billing has also taken over the buildings which were formerly occupied by a small colony of workmen engaged in a large engineering factory, as well as the factory itself. The workshops, in their present form, will make ad- mirable aeroplane sheds, since one of them measures no less than 125 ft. by 111 ft. and is 75 ft. high, while another measures 111 ft. by 56 ft. and is 30 ft. high. There are doors 70 ft. wide at each end of the larger shop, and the buildings, besides being floored with con- crete, are fitted with travelling cranes. An electric light plant is already installed, moreover, and there is a water- tower available for the service of the workshops and the houses. The surrounding land, which will form the aerodrome proper, is all "reclaimed land," and, in its present natural state, it is sufficiently smooth and firm for cycling upon. The nearest station, Fambridge, is situated about a mile to the north side of the Crouch, but it is within easy access of the ground, on the south, via a ferry. Motorists can, of course, go down by road, and aeroplanes can be delivered practically at the doors of the aero dock by water. Some idea of the magnitude of the property which Mr. Billing has acquired can be obtained from the accompanying illustrations, which serve to elucidate the following explanation of the general lines upon which the owner intends .to proceed at once. He is having the large workshop partitioned off on each side of the main aisle into a series of lock-up sheds, where experimenters can work in private upon their machines. But the main aisle itself will be reserved for general work; and the head room beneath the rafters will be requisitioned for Storing aeroplanes which are temporarily out of use. A FAMBRIDGE FLIGHT GROUNDS.—Views oE the carpenters' shop (on left) and of one of the^private aero.docks. IOI
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