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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0709.PDF
SEPTEMBER 30, 1926 An Excellent Programme In spite of the fact that Woodford aerodrome is very inaccessibly situated, crowds of visitors streamed towards the aerodrome during the morning and early afternoon. The weather was far from promising and, in fact, during the early morning, the rain poured down on Manchester so that one began to despair. A telephone call to Mr. John Lord, of Avros, however, resulted in an immediate promise of a conveyance, and in a few minutes Mr. A. P. Wood, of dynamo fame, very sportingly called at the hotel with his car, and with Mr. Wood, junior, as " pilot," the trek to Woodford commenced. By this time the rain had left off, although the a sort of natural grand stand, quite a good view of the aero- drome being obtained even from the far end, owing to the slope of the ground. The first event—a parade and fly-past of all the machines, was scheduled for 2.30 p.m., and with some minutes to spare it became possible to examine the official programme. This was found to be a model of what a programme of this nature should be. Not only were the registration numbers of the various machines, the names of their pilots, and the club, firm, or individual to whom they belonged stated, but a paragraph explained, briefly but clearly, the system of marking civilian aircraft. Scattered throughout the programme were explana- THE LANCASHIRE AIR PAGEANT : The Avro " Avian " and the de HavillandGenet " engines, starting neck-and-neck in the Open Handicap. ' FLIGHT " Photograph " Moth," both with clouds still hung very low, and as mile after mile was left behind and Woodford approached, diminutive spots of blue sky began to appear. From all directions people converged upon the aerodrome, by car, motor cycle, " push-bike," and on foot, and the narrow lane leading from the main road down to the 'drome was closely packed, the stream advancing at the rate of about 2 m.p.h. Upon reaching the aerodrome some 30 machines of various types, but with " Moths " naturally predominating, were seen round about the hangar. The public enclosures paralleled the"road for a distance of close on a mile, and were packed with spectators arranged in two tiers, that nearest the road being raised some little distance. In this respect Woodford provides tory notices concerning machines, the aims and objects of the Lancashire Aero Club, the system of training in force, etc., and one paragraph called attention—with pardonable pride, to A. V. Roe's first flight on June 8, 1908. All of this, of ccurse, in addition to the fullest particulars relating to the various events of the afternoon. We do not know who edited the official programme, but it was certainly a creditable effort. The parade and fly-past were so arranged that the machines left the park in front of the hangars, taxied up the hill close to the enclosures where everyone could see them, turned around down-hill and then took off into the wind. The scheme was admirably conceived, and the fact that Courtney could not get his " Nimbus " to start until after considerable THE LANCASHIRE AIR PAGEANT ['• FLIGHT " Photograph Captain Courtney on the A.D.C. Nimbus-Martinsyde starts scratch in the Open Handicap. 633
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