FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1138.PDF
FLIGHT, OCTOBER 23, 1981 PIRIVATE FLYINGAND CLUB NEWS At Yeadon Opening of the new Leeds andBradford Municipal Airport FOG completely spoilt the official opening of the newLeeds and Bradford Municipal Air Port at Yeadonon Saturday, October 17.Standing on high ground, the new aerodrome has escaped the ground mists which have filled the surround-ing valleys during the past few days, flying conditions have been ideal and there seemed no reason why thisstate of things should not continue on Saturday. About half-past ten on Saturday morning there was afair amount of mist about, so I went up with Mr. L. Dawson in the Civilian Coupe, to see how it all lookedfrom the air. Conditions around were certainly poor, and one appreciated the excellent visibility obtained from thismachine. Long before the arrival hour messages were comingthrough showing that fog persisted all over the country. F/O. H. H. Leech, on the Arrow " Active," was labori-ously making his way north from Farnborough. He was still in Lincolnshire after being forced down twice, but wascarrying on. The Master of Sempill was held up some- where near Leicester, the Comper " Swift " was fog-boundat Hooton, and so it went on. An hour after the arrival time, and not a machine hadarrived, and already people were entering the enclosures, so it wasdecided that, if it came to the worst, an impromptu show ofsome kind would have to be given with what private and clubmachines were available. Up to now the aerodrome wasstill bathed in hazy sunshire, and it was fit for some sort of pro-gramme, and then came the conp- de-gr&ce. Low clouds rolledacross the aerodrome itself, and within half an hour everythingwas literally blotted out. Lord Grimthorpe, the President of theYorkshire Aeroplane Club, in- tended flying over from Malton toperform the opening ceremony, but he, too, was unable to getthrough, so Mr. H. Jennings, one of the oldest members of theYeadon Council, opened the Air Port by saying a few words intothe " mike." Such disappointing an openingwas hard luck on N.F.S., Capt. Worrall, and all those who hadworked to give the show a rousing send-off, and, from whatI saw of the arrangements both for the visiting pilots and thepublic, everything would have gone in excellent style. Yeadon Air Port stands on a plateau some 650 feetabove sea-level, and is 6J miles north-east of Bradford and 8£ miles north-west of Leeds. It is jointly owned bythese two cities, and the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club have left their old home at Sherburn and taken up quartersthere At present the only buildings comprise the usual N.F.S. hangar, a small privately-owned hangar and twosemi-detached houses which have been knocked into one for a club-house. There are some 60 acres of drained andlevelled landing ground, but this will be eventually in- creased to 150 acres. Yeadon is not the easiest of aero-dromes to find for anyone flying from the south on account of the industrial towns around it, but it has two good land-marks, one being Yeadon Dam, a few hundred yards on its west side, and Eccup Reservoir, two or three milesnorth-east. Before I left the club-house, who should enter but F/O.Leech. He had reached Sherburn, where he had finally to pack up, and he had been brought over from there byroad. His was an excellent show, for conditions must have been well-nigh impossible. He admitted that it hadbeen " somewhat foggy," and that Selby Cathedral ought to consider itself fortunate in preserving its spires intact. IN SPITE OF THE FOG : (Left to right) Mrs. Hirst, Capt. Worrall, Mr. Stuart Hirst, Mrs. Jennings, Mr. H. Jennings (Acting Chairman of the Yeadon Urban Council) who opened the Air Port of Leeds and Bradford at Yeadon. A VIATION AT BFOOKLANDS.—The " dawn patrol," a**• feature of Brooklands which is enabling business men to get ifi an hour's flying before they go to work, has beenhampered this week by early morning fog. Despite this, however, some 40 hours of instruction have been completed,and Mr. Roger Frogley has successfully carried out the night flying test for his " B " licence. Messrs. Fenn andMoore have completed their final tests for their "A" licences and Miss Jane Oldacre and Mr. H. C. Vaughanmade their first solos. New pupils include Col. Pickard, Secretary of the National Safety First Association, Mr.H. S. D. Gabb, Mr. and Mrs. Joss and Mr. Spikens. The new blind flying course it. now being worked out byMessrs. H. D. Davis and E. A. Jones. The machines used will have Reid-Sigrist turn indicators in both cockpits, amithe- course will embody many such details of thoroughness and finish. A new "facility has also been arranged torprivate owners and others, namely, regular evening classes in air navigation, meterology, engine maintenance, riggmsand the theory of flying. Hitherto, lectures on these sub- jects have been given at Brooklands from time to time, butthey will now be given in the Lecture Hall at the College of Aeronautical Engineering, Sydney Street, King's RoaoChelsea, S.W.3 (which was fully described in FLIGHT forOctober 16). There will be three lectures a week from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Further particulars can be obtained ironeither the Secretary of Brooklands School of Flying oi ine Principal of the College. 1C68
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
