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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0456.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 15, 1931 f LYING S- CLUE SHOREHAM BY SEA A Potential Holiday Resort for allAviators, which is to be the Muni- cipal Airport of Brighton, Hoveand Worthing HOEEHA M.—As we re- marked last week, the weather treated the ... _ __. •._Southern Aero Club very badly indeed last Sunday week—especially in view of thefact that one of the principal claims of Shoreham as an aerodrome is the infrequency of bad weather. It is alwaysthe way, however, when one wants to " show off," and it was particularly ironical of fate to send bad weather whenthe S.Ae.C. wished to celebrate the final touches to the negotiations for the establishment of the joint MunicipalAerodrome at Shoreham. However, last Saturday made up for it, and we had thepleasure of a second invitation to attend the postponed function—and very successful and enjoyable it was. Aswe have remarked before, Shoreham is admirably suited for a Municipal Aerodrome, and the joint scheme of Shoreham,Brighton, Hove and Worthing with this end in view— which, we understand, now only awaits the ratification ofthe Worthing Council—should meet with every success. As previously stated, its situation and the facilities pro-vided are unique, for it is bounded on the north and south by main roads providing frequent 'bus services betweenBrighton and Worthing, while at the southern boundary also there is the railway, with a station on the aerodromeitself. Furthermore, on the eastern side is the river, where seaplane possibilities must not be overlooked, while on thewestern side is another road, communicating with London and the north. The site—which is the old aerodrome of Lees' Barn—isalso excellent from the flying point of view, being large, with a good surface. When, therefore, provided withhangars, a large clubhouse, restaurant, and other facilities, there is no reason why it should not form the most im-portant airport in the south of England, not only from the point of view of commercial flying—for it is on the direct route from London to the Con-tinent—but for the private owner and sporting side as well. However, to return to Satur-day's happenings, first, we were informed " the second luncheon isnow served," and after which in- formal, but enjoyable, affair wasover, one or two short speeches were made. Mr. G. A. Wingfieldgave us a brief, but amusing, account of his early associationswith Shoreham, when he formed a flying club there round about1909. He also hinted that, in the event of the Municipal schemefalling through, he would like to enter the field once again. Mr. F. G. Miles and Mr. C. L.Pashley—who also is an old Shorehamite—also said a few hopeful words regarding the future of the scheme. Thensomeone spoke on behalf of the visitors, thanking the S.Ae.C. for having them down twice within a week, while,in response, Miss Birkett—the Club's energetic secretary— thanked the visitors for troubling to come twice! We then adjourned to the aerodrome, where some reallyenjoyable flying was witnessed during the rest of the after- noon. Already a considerable number of machines hadarrived at the aerodrome. During the early stages we noted round about 30, of which ten were " Moths," four" Puss Moths," four " Avians," while other types in- cluded Desoutter, a D.H.50 (EAAC), a "Bluebird"(AATO), C. Napier's "Widgeon" (AADE), a Saro " Cutty Sark," the Alexander Duckham " Spartan "(AAMB), and an " Autogiro." The latter was piloted by Flt.-Lt. H. M. Schofield, who gave a demonstration of" 'overing hover the herodrome," somewhat different to that described by Mr. Wingfield with reference to the firstaeroplane to visit Shoreham. Flying actually commenced with a sort of " fly-past " of the various machines. ThenF./O. Leech—who had flown over in a Service Avro Lynx —gave a magnificent display of aerobatics on the newmetal " Martlet," which was briefly described in our last issue. This little machine is truly wonderful, and inLeech's hands it put up a performance we will not forget for some time. A little later, Mr. Miles, on the same machine, Leechon the " Martlet (Genet-Major)," and F./O. S. A. Thornon another " Martlet (Genet) " gave us some formation flyingon these excellent little 'buses. It was a thrilling display " FORMARTING ": Three of the S.A.C. " Martlets " put up some excellent formation flying at Shoreham on Saturday last, as shown on the two pictures on this page. The leading machine is the metal job, with Mr. Miles up, and on the left of the picture is the " Genet-Major" model, piloted by F/O. Leech, and on the right the " Genet II" model, piloted by F/O. Thorn. (FLIGHT Phetts.) 424
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