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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 1623.PDF
JUNE 27, 1935. FLIGHT. 727 BEHIND the SCENES at HENDON What the Display Spectator does Not See the Year-round Work of Organisation DOES the average visitor to the Royal Ah Force Dis play at Hendon realise what an enormous volume of planning and organisation lies behind that superbly run aeronautical tattoo ? A peep behind the scenes elicits some interesting and surprising facts. As is fairly obvious, the organisation is divided into two sections—flying and administration. This last term, broadly speaking, may be said to cover everything apart from the actual flying and those matters directly connected with it There is a Display Committee, at the head of which is Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.F.C., A.D.C. The whole of the flying side of the display is organised by a Flying Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of A.V.-M. Joubert de la Ferte, while the remainder of the organisation is under taken by a General Purposes Committee, the secretary of which is Air Comdre. B. C. H. Drew, C.M.G., C.B.E., by whose courtesy material for the following notes was obtained. The two sections are entirely separate and distinct. Each has its own services—transport, fire engines, ambulances, etc.—and for all practical purposes the sections operate in two distinct areas—inside and outside a perimeter formed by the fence dividing the public enclosure from the aero drome surface, proper. As the organisation is virtually a year-round business it is interesting first of. all to see what happens when a display is over. In the first place the aerodrome itself must be cleared up. Immediately after the S.B.A.C. show on the Monday work starts on the removal of all but the few permanent enclosure fences; tents and marquees are struck, borrowed motor transport returned, notice boards taken down and count less other jobs attended to. Laying the Foundations Simultaneously, both the administration and flying sides start laying the foundations for the following year's display, the detailed reports of the duty officers being carefully studied and notes made for future reference. Weeks of office work follow-—contracts to be reviewed, the display's standing "book of the words" (a most impressive volume) to be revised, a tentative map of next year's enclo sures to be prepared, and so "forth. Incidentally, the map is revised; from a mosaic, or aerial photograph. The display office closes for one brief fortnight in August, then in the autumn comes a full-dress committee meeting under the chairmanship of the A.O.C.-in-C, when a programme is roughed out and various matters of general policy discussed. Then the Flying Committee and the General Purposes Com mittee go their own ways and each proceeds to work out its organisation in detail. The nature of the programme is usually settled fairly exactly by the beginning of the year, and any necessary rehearsals held, though, strictly speaking, only the few rehearsals such as that staged at Northolt a few weeks ago, and the full- scale affairs on the two days previous to the display, merit the term "rehearsal"; it must always be borne in mind that the display is almost entirely a demonstration of normal Royal Air Force duties and, therefore, the everyday work of the units is, in effect, practical preparation. Nevertheless, the Flying Committee has a Herculean task in co-relating arrange ments to which a score of flying units all over the country are contributing. Meanwhile, the General Purposes Committee has been busy, ticEet agencies have been supplied, the police and motoring organisations consulted regarding traffic handling, the L.P.T.B. conferred with on the subject of buses and trains, and count less other matters attended to. Six weeks or so before the great day Hendon begins to show outward and visible signs of activity. The work of erecting enclosures, notices and so forth proceeds apace. The figures relating to the enclosures Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and A.V.-M. Joubert de la Ferte, Chairmen respectively of the Display Committee and the Flying Sub-Committee, watching a rehearsal at Northolt. (Flight photograph.) are positively staggering—thirty-five miles of wire, eight to ten of rope, three of iron fencing, and five of chestnut paling ! In addition, there is the little matter of a couple of hundred canvas buildings, ranging from the Royal marquee to the bell tents of the display personnel. During the few days previous to the event the aerodrome becomes fairly inundated with people doing jobs of work, especially as the advance guard of the flying organisation has by this time arrived, and is busy marking out a "gridiron " for parking its machines along the northern boundary, estab lishing its Control, refuelling, fire engine and ambulance points, and generally busying itself at all sorts of necessary tasks. Small snags in any part of the organisation, inside or out side the perimeter, are ruthlessly hunted out and eradicated during the full-dress rehearsal on the penultimate day; no risk must be taken of upsetting the clockwork-like precision which is such a striking feature of the display itself. When every programme item—indeed, every phase of each item— is scheduled to a certain hour, minute and second, flawless operation is essential. But to return to the matter of crowds. While the numbers of people who have paid for admission may be anything up to 169,000—the record figure, reached in 1931—it is esti mated that the thousands who occupy free vantage points in the surrounding countryside probably bring the total up to half a million. Three thousand police, counting, of course, the extra men on traffic work on miles of roads leading to Hendon—are on duty, which, perhaps, is not surprising when it is remembered that anything up to 12,000 cars may con verge on the aerodrome. In conclusion, it is interesting to note that, since statistics have been kept, the attendance of the public rose from 88,959 people in 1927 to 169,208 in 1931 ; that was the peak year, the gross receipts totalling £27,585 6s. lid. There was a falling-off to only 108,267 in 1933—a vile day as regards weather—and a recovery to 136,237 (£20.140 7s. 9d.) last 'ear. Such figures mean very, very useful help to the half- dozen Royal Air Force charities in aid of which the event is organised.
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