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Aviation History
1939
1939-1- - 0076.PDF
JULY 6, 1939 Commercial Aviation " Flight " photograph Central Scotland Airport's building layout, with the terminal between the two large hangars—a picture taken shortly before the opening ceremony, while the guests and visitors were indoors. SERVING CENTRAL SCOTLAND Grangemouth Airport is Officially Opened by Lord Trenchard : Rapid Development SOMETHING like five hundred guests, the majority of them capable of being described by the customary word "distinguished," were present at the official opening last Saturday of the new Central Scotland Airport at Grange mouth. Apart from representatives from the Services, from the various Scottish towns and cities, and from British airline operating companies, there was also a strong contingent from Holland, led by Mr. A. Plesman, the managing director of K.L.M. He came over in a D.C.3, and the machine later flew on to Prestwick, the headquarters of Scottish Aviation (the company behind the Grangemouth project), and then, on Sun day down to Birmingham and up to Manchester and Liverpool for the operation of the regular North of England service. This K.L.M. visit was one of the more interesting features of the airport opening day, particularly as there is a very good chance that K.L.M. may, next year, be running a direct service from Amsterdam to Grangemouth in order to give business people in Scotland the same opportunities which are at present offered to those in the North Midlands. Before the luncheon there was a preliminary opening cere mony. Lord Trenchard spoke briefly of the record time in which the aerodrome had been constructed, of its national importance, and of its primarily civil interest, and the moment of the official opening was signalised by the firing of a smoke bomb, at which a flight of Harts took off from the aerodrome and flew over the terminal building. News in Speeches The main features both of the aerodrome and its history were explained in the various speeches which were made after the official luncheon. This was held in one of the two big hangars, and was presided over by Lord Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, who is one of the directors of Scottish Aviation. After welcoming the guests, and before introducing Lord Trenchard, Lord Nigel Douglas-Hamilton said that though he regretted the delay in establishing a civil aerodrome to serve the east of Scotland, this delay had not been without advan tage, because during the last fifteen years the requirements of civil aviation had increased far more than was anticipated. For some time negotiations had been in progress with the Edinburgh Corporation, but it became clear that Air Ministry requirements could not be met by the original plan, and in January Scottish Aviation submitted the Grangemouth scheme to the Air Ministry as a private venture. On February 2 the plans were approved, and four days later the work was put in hand. By April 16 North Eastern Airways were able to initiate their summer services, using this centre. To-day the guests could see what was tantamount to the first development scheme, which had reached maturity in less than five months, this giving a minimum runway of 1,360 yd. and a maximum of 1,500 yd. These figures could be increased to 2,000 yd. in all directions, with a bad-weather runway of as much as 2,700 yd. The latter also offered a clear seven-mile approach from the sea. He hoped that the Lorenz system would presently be available, but in the meantime medium- wave D/F was being installed. The company hoped eventu ally to be able to install lighting facilities, so that the pro jected night mail service between London and Grangemouth might be started, thus fulfilling a specific recommendation of the Maybury Committee. The immediate use for the aerodrome was that of training t'.ie Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, for which a centre had been formed there for the east of Scotland. Training actually started on May 1. Lord Nigel Douglas-Hamilton reminded his audience that the general location of the new airport had been specifically re commended by the Maybury Committee. There were good rail and road communications with the two largest cities in Scotland. In this connection he stressed the future importance of long-distance air services. In his reply Lord Trenchard congratulated Scottish Aviation, and briefly described the features of the site before expressing the view that an airport was not, in his opinion, a financial proposition for a private company. Airports such as Grange mouth should be supported by the Corporations of the towns in the vicinity. He understood that meetings were already taking place to discover whether such an arrangement could not be made. He looked back on the day when we had, in 1918, the largest Air Force in the world, with 300,000 officers and men; even now we had only 200,000, including those in the Reserves. After seeing the Force of the war period reduced to practically nothing, we were now watching it gradually regaining its former strength. He referred particularly to the Auxiliary Air Force, which was well represented at the airport opening, and stressed the importance of Service morale, on which so much depended. He was a firm believer in the Air Force as an attacking rather than a defensive weapon, and was convinced that the greater proportion of our resources should be devoted to those weapons which would win a war rather than merely defend the country. From the important civil point of view, he felt that a tre mendous future lay ahead of the Central Scotland Airport, which would later prove to be a great national asset. By establishing such an airport it was possible to educate a large number of people in the advantages of air travel. Air Marshal C. L. Courtney, A.O.C. of the new Reserve Command, proposed the toast of "World Aviation," and men tioned the names of the various distinguished visitors, in cluding that of Mr. Plesman, who replied The managing director of K.L.M. said that three years ago, when he first heard of an Edinburgh airport plan, he had asked his repre sentative in the North of England to request the authorities of Edinburgh and Glasgow to get together and to establish an airport to serve both cities. He was, therefore, particularly glad to be present on this occasion. Scotland—Holland ? After speaking of the sa'.ient principles and advantages' of air services, Mr. Plesman said that the traffic on the K.L.M. North of England service had so improved this year, after nearly five years of effort, that he hoped that the service could from now on be continued during the winter months. Other speakers weie Mr. W. Y. Darling, Treasurer of the City of Edinburgh, and Sir George Stirling, Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire, Remembering the short period in which work has been going on, the new Grangemouth aerodrome is certainly a remarkable achievement. More remarkable still, the buildings (two large hangars and a distinctly attractive and roomy terminal) are also ready—unusual enough on official opening days. At present the surface of the aerodrome is a little "ridgy" for light aeroplanes, but it should soon settle down, and the magnitude of the extension possibilities are obvious from the air. The site is only a very short distance from the Firth of Forth, which provides a wide, obstructionless approach of a virtually indefinite length—as well as an unfailing landmark for pilots of radioless machines, and trainees in Darticular.
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