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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1269.PDF
FLIGHT, DECEMBER 4, 1931 Ghih ID'ANCASHIRE AERO CLUB.—The Lancashire AtroClub is to be congratulated upon having Mr.James Hem brow as its honorary architect. Withno better material than some old shippons and a hay loft to deal with, he has succeeded in evolving a clubhouse which must be the envy of most other light aeroplane clubs. The latest extensions now opened comprise a spaciouslounge, a full-size billiard room, four bedrooms, bathroom and changing room for the use of members, and livingquarters for the resident staff. Their construction has been made possible by keen interest and support of Mr.J. D. Siddeley and by the generosity and helpfulness of A. V. Roe & Co., Ltd. The opening of the latest extension on November 28 wasperformed by Col. Shelmerdine, the Director of Civil Aviation, to whom a golden key of the premises waspresented by Sir John Higgins on behalf of the Club. A distinguished gathering of members and guests thensat down to lunch in the club-house verandah. Some idea of the accommodation of the club house may begathered from the fact that seating accommodation was iound for nearly 100 members and guests at the luncheon.After Mr. Eckersley, as Chairman of the Club, and Sir John Higgins, as Chairman of A. V. Roe & Co., Ltd., hadexpressed their appreciation of the visits of the Director of Civil Aviation and other notable guests. Col. Shelmer-dine replied. He said that the Air Ministry fully appre- ciated the value of the light aeroplane clubs to thecountry, and appreciated also that they could not carry on their good work without a measure of Government support.Experience had shown that light aeroplane flying, however economically run, cost about £2 15s. per hr., and thatabout £2 per hr. was the maximum charge which the clubs could make without cutting their own throats. The pre-sent agreements terminated next July, said Col. Shelmer- dine, and he and his colleagues at the Air Ministry woulddo their best to ensure extended support for the clubs. In conclusion, he congratulated the Lancashire Aero Club onits past record and on its future prospects. Mr. R. H. Dobson, Vice-Chairman of the Club, pro-posed the toast of " The Guests," which was suitably responded to by the Mayor of Stockport and by Mr. JohnLord, himself one of the pioneers of the Club and now its oldest Vice-President. Mr. Goodfellow, in proposing the toast of " LordWakefield," President of the Club, reminded the members of the wonderful generosity shown by Lord Wakefieldto the Club throughout his long association with it. To the generosity of Lord Wakefield and other benefactors theClub owed a great part of its achievements, but it was useless to disguise the fact that the financial position ofthe Lancashire Aero Club, in common with practically all other light aeroplane clubs, was a difficult one. He wel-comed the statement of the D.C.A. and hoped that Col. Shelmerdine would take an early opportunity of calling ameeting of the clubs to discuss frankly the" effect of the revised agreement, which he was sure had failed to carryout the intentions of the Government. Any revised agree- ment should contain provisions for a grant payable inrespect of flying hours as well as in respect of licences. He urged also that the petrol tax, which was imposedlargely to counteract the unfair competition of motor vehicles with the railways, should be reclaimable inrespect of all petrol used by civil aircraft. Mr. J. F. Leeming, the first Chairman of the Club,recalled happy memories of his early association with the Club, following which the guests inspected the fleet ofaircraft lined up outside the club house (five club machines and five private owner members') and watched the Club atwork. AVIATION AT BROOKLANDS.—-Mr. Chichester, whohas won the Johnson Memorial Trophy for the finest fat of Air Navigation for the year, stayed the night at1'rooklands, and was very impressed with the progress his old School had made during his absence.Mr. William Courtenay has completed his test for his " A " licence ; Mr. Henry Vaughan has done a consider-able amount of cross-country flying, and Mr. Arthur Franklyn has been polished up preparatory to taking hisnight flying test for his " B " licence. The wireless transmitting and receiving installation isnow nearing completion, and will be a great asset in the instruction of advanced solo pilots. Mr. C. Douglas Todd, who gained his " A " licenceduring the autumn, has returned for a course in advanced flying. Owing to the success of the Evening Classes at theCollege of Aeronautical Engineering, it has been decided to run another course. Will all those interested please makedirect application for particulars to the Secretary, Brook- lands School of Flying, Ltd., Byfleet, Surrey. Abrochure will be sent describing in full the courses at the College to those who write mentioning FLIGHT. A LEICESTER OCCASION.—On Friday evening,^*- November 27, the Leicester Aero Club held one of their periodical dances at the Leicester Palais de Danse.The management of the Leicester Club has already become one of the outstanding features of Civil Aviation, andeverything that they do, they do well. This dance was no exception, and provided an excellent evening's enter-tainment for some 500 enthusiasts at an extraordinarily low cost. Several visitors came by air in spite of thesomewhat "sticky" weather, these including: Lt. R. R. Bentley, of Shell-Mex, Ltd., in his " Avian " (Gipsy II) ;and Capt. A. M. Diamont, of The Dominion Motor Spirit Co., Ltd., in his " Puss Moth " (Gipsy 111). The joint Hon. Secs.; Messrs. R." H. Brown and S.Brown, who, by the way, are no relation to each other, were indefatigable in seeing that everyone was providedwith partners, and whenever things looked a bit slack they ordained that the next dance should be a " PaulJones," which naturally had the desired effect of mixing everyone thoroughly. The bacon and egg party whichfollowed in the small hours at the Bell Hotel was more decorous than is usual at such parties, but then these areusually held in the clubhouse, where exuberance of spirits does not interfere with other people. 'THE BLACKPOOL AND FYLDE AERO CLUB.—The* first annual dinner and dance of the Blackpool and Fylde Aero Club was held on November 20. Major Alan Goodfellow proposed a toast to the BlackpoolCorporation, and said that Blackpool had gone into this business with their eyes open, unlike a lot of other peoplewho had unfortunately been deluded into thinking that Civil Aviation offered" immediate prospects of making afortune. The aerodrome, he said, was particularly good, in that it was close to the town and did not involveaerial visitors in a long and costly journey from the aerodrome. The Mayor, in responding, said that he, for one, was under no delusion about the expenditure on the aerodrome, and was sure that it was justified, for as the town grew the site would become more and more valuable. Councillor W. R. Duckworth proposed the toast of the Blackpool and Fylde Aero Club, and voiced the plea for silent aircraft. Councillor C. Bagot replied, and gave a very clear state- ment of the actual costs which had been involved in establishing the aerodrome. PROGRESS AT SHEKBURN.—Capt. Frederick Downerhas been transferred by The Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Co., Ltd., from Brou'gh to take charge of the aero-drome at Sherburn. The new Yorkshire County Aviation Club operating there already has over 100 members, manyof whom have their own machines. The Blackburn Co. is providing Blackburn Bluebirds for club instruction. BANKING.—Following the lead of busmen and dairy-men (and dairymaids), the banks are now entering the field of aviation by organising a United Banks Flying Club.Its members, like the L.G.O.C. Flying Club, will pay a subscription of 6d. for which they obtain the services of aninstructor at 8s. per hr., enabling them to obtain their " A " licence for an outlay of approximately £12. E1 LYING IN PRETORIA.—The Pretoria Flying Club has " now weathered the difficulties which it has had during the past two years, and has started flying in earnest. On 1191
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