BOAC Sports Festival at Heston Airport

[lawrence hole]

On the 9th June 1951, BOAC organised a popular Sports Festival at Heston Airport on the sports field next to the Speedbird clubhouse situated on the Cranford side and a specially prepared airstrip was cut into the cornfield to the east of the old airfield which allowed five aircraft from the Airways Aero Association at Denham to fly in on that day once a heavy rain show abated. This included the veteran D.H.Dragon G-ACIT, and an Auster Aiglet Trainer which gave joy rides to about 300 people at 5s per time.
The other aircraft were displayed statically on the sports ground to help promote the Airlines' flying club at Denham. These were G-ALOX, a D.H.Tiger Moth, G-AKKV, Miles Hawk Trainer (see Air-Britain : Picture Details) and possibly another Hawk Trainer. If anyone has any pictures of these aircraft, I would be very keen to obtain copies for my Heston Airport memoirs collection.
According to the BOAC newsletter of this period, the Festival President Mr Whitney Straight (BOAC Board Member) flew in for the day in a D.H.Dove, but it would be interesting to know if this was perhaps Heathrow rather than Heston due to the nature of the airstrip. If it was Heston, then this may well have been the last commercial aircraft landing there since the Airport closed in 1947 apart from some later helicopters.

[John T]

Heston

Hi Lawrence

I worked over there from 1953 to 1955, and all the men that were there when you wanted info on have long died.

I never remember any photos about those planes,but there may have been at the Speedbird club at Brentford, they moved to Cranford, but they may be now over at Heston?.

Worth calling in if you pass, and you may be lucky.

All the best

John

[lawrence hole]

Hi John,

Which company did you use to work with at Heston that could be interesting for my general research ? I was able to obtain some details of the BOAC Sports Festival from British Airways Museum at Heathrow who sent me a newletter (6 pages) about the event, although unfortunately no aircraft pictures included. Also the Museum were
unable to find out from their collection of records about the D.H.Dove that possibly landed at Heston carrying Mr Whitney Straight. British Airways Flying Club has some vintage photos of some the aircraft that took part taken at Denham which I am hoping to get copies of which would be of interest.

[lawrence hole]

BOAC Sports Festival 09 June 1951

Whilst at the GA Expo in June at Booker Airfield, High Wycombe and seeing the latest aircraft and technology in general aviation, I was able to visit John Harthill, the CFI of British Airways Flying Club and view his collection of early photos of the Airways Aero Association from the 1950's and later.
Since I had been in touch with him over the last year about pictures of the Fly-In by the AAA at Denham to the BOAC Sports Festival, I had the opportunity to take some digital photos of the original ones which are to be scanned, improved and digitalised in due course for saving onto CD archive disk format.
I was delighted to see the picture of the D.H.Dragon, G-ACIT which along with an Auster Aiglet of AAA gave public sightseeing flights from Heston at 5s per passenger ! Also my long standing query of whether the DH Dove taking the Festival President, Mr Whitney-Straight had landed earlier in the day either at Heathrow or Heston have been resolved and it did land onto




the strip cut into the cornfield, making it the last commercial propeller aircraft to use Heston Airport.
I was unable to find any picture of the aircraft lined up at Denham before this mass exodus which also included 2 Miles Hawk Trainers and DH Tiger Moth, however have included a similar possibility taken probably about the same time.
If you view the aerial pictures in maximum close up, you can make out the D.H.Dove to the left of the main marquee, whilst the 2 Miles Hawk Trainers and D.H.Tiger Moth can just be made out nearer to the hangars on the southern side of the Airport.
Pictures by aerofoil - Photobucket

[edskarf]

Denham Aero Club Auster J/4 G-AIPS can be seen in the photograph of the line-up. Six days after the BOAC Sports Festival (9.6.51) it was written off at Denham after a stall (15.6.51). That might help with dating the photograph. This particular Auster suffered at least 5 notified accidents in its short working life of just under four years.

[lawrence hole]

BOAC Sports Festival 09 June 1951

Thanks for that information about G-AIPS Auster J/4 from Denham Flying Club. I wanted to give an idea of what the 5 participating aircraft from Airways Aero Association might have looked like on their pre-departure from Denham to Heston on the 9th June 1951, so this could have been a similar picture. Perhaps an old AAA member or someone who used to fly from Denham can give an idea of which Auster flew on this day, it could have conceivably even been G-AIPS rather than an Aiglet Trainer since I believe that these came into service with the AAA in 1952 from what I have seen from G-INFO so far. Pity that no earlier BOAC member has been able to add to this post, although they would of course now be at least over 75 year old and I was a youth of only 12 years then, so I am slowly getting ancient too !

[Props]

BOAC Sports Day

I was taught to fly at the Airways Aero Club in 1948 on Miles Magister G-AKKY was not at Heston that day but in the RAF but still flew with the Club. On leaving the Service I got my Civil Licences at Croydon with AAA Club and flew with them after joining BEA.Stopped flying from White Waltham on November 2nd 2006.
The Heath Parasol in your photo was written off in a forced landing en-route to Hurn.It was attacked by cows!

[lawrence hole]

BOAC Sports Festival 09 June 1951

This is how G-AKKY looks today using major parts of the Hawk Trainer and other parts from a number of Magisters to recreate an earlier version of "L6906", a Miles 14A Magister. This is a photo I took earlier this year when I visited the Berkshire Aviation Museum at Woodley with my aviation group. G-AKKY was one of the two Hawk Trainers from the AAA which visited the BOAC Sports Festival at Heston , together with G-AKKV (Picture on Air Britain Photographic web site) Jack Randall who you maybe know, also flew with the AAA at Denham in 1948 is also involved with the Museum, which is well worth a visit and are their volunteers are currently working on the Miles Student and a Miles Martinet as restoration projects. Perhaps you are able to advise what type of Auster from the AAA flew in to Heston on the BOAC Sports Festival day.

[Props]

BOAC Sports Day

Thanks for the photo Lawrence, I too enjoyed the Airways Aero Club display at Aero Expo.
But I have to confess I am Jack Randell

[lawrence hole]

BOAC Sports Festival 09 June 1951

Another picture of the DH Dragon taken at Denham probably around 1950.
Was this aircraft used for the Board/Committee of Airways Aero Association for their business schedules or just for club members for longer "jollies", possibly abroad, as per Hampshire Aeroplane Club's 4 engined DH 86 Expressliner" G-ACZP owned by Viv Bellamy also in the 1950's ? Peter Masefield who was a director of BEA later owned "CIT" when he was CEO of Beagle Aircraft, I have a photo of the same when it sported a different colour scheme of gold and white markings over a silver fuselage. The original in this picture was a striking red and silver scheme. It would be interesting to hear what use it was put to by the AAA.

[lawrence hole]

B.O.A.C.Sports Festival -09 June 1951

A reported sighting of the Airways Aero Association D.H.Dragon G-ACIT by Air Britain member David Munkenbeck at Heston around September 1950, seems to indicate that an executive or representatives of the Association flew in from Denham in order to prearrange landing rights with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Heston for aircraft from Denham to attend the future B.O.A.C. Sports Festival and allow flying possibilities for sightseeing.

Since the airfield had been officially closed since 1947, this was a very necessary requirement and would have involved some special arrangements and insurance cover no doubt.

[lawrence hole]

B.O.A.C.Sports Festival -09 June 1951

The DH Tiger Moth G-ALOX was displayed as a static exhibit along with two Miles Hawk Trainers G-AKKV and G-AKKY to give B.O.A.C. staff more awareness of flying possibilities with the AAA, whilst the Auster gave sample pleasure flights at 5s per passenger.

[lawrence hole]

B.O.A.C.Sports Festival -09 June 1951

The Auster was almost certainly an Auster Autocrat G-AGYO according to well informed sources, seen here at Denham, whilst the DH.Dove which flew in first with Mr Whitney-Straight, B.O.A.C. Board Member and Festival President was most likely G-AKCF. see.De Havilland DH.104 Dove 1B, G-AKCF, BOAC

[Speedbird48]

Lawrence,

I was a boy at Denham in the 1950's and before the Airways Aero Club moved out to Croydon. The Dragon G-ACIT did not fly very often but I seem to remember Ron Gillman flying it fairly often. It sat in the hangar with the wings folded the rest of the time. He took it to a Redhill Breakfast Patrol one Sunday morning with a full load of passengers. The Redhill folks thought it was a Rapide going into Gatwick so didn't intercept it and they all got free breakfasts!!
The picture doesn't look like Denham but the Magisters in the background would make it seem so. There is a very hurt Maggie in the background and I can't quite make out the registration. Does the original show it better??
There was a small hangar at Heston to the East, and behind the tower where Airways Aero Club stored some aircraft. I went in there once and saw several Magisters, Aeronca 100's and others I can't remember.
I also saw a Swiss registered Bonanza at Heston and that would have been after 1951 so he may have been the last to land there?? He had missed Croydon??
Speedbird 48.

[lawrence hole]

Speedbird 48,

I did not have the original photo of the D.H.Dragon G-ACIT so unable to identify the registration of the Hawk Trainer in the background, but it is definitely taken at Denham probably around 1950.

Your sighting of the swiss registered Beechcraft Bonanza at Heston might have been in connection with the sale of a Messerschmidt Bf108 Taifun HB-DUB (ex G-AKZY) which I witnessed flying near my home at Heston sometime in 1952 after reconditioning by Heston Aircraft. This was far from the last aircraft to fly from Heston, at least 5 others passed through the defunct Airport between 1952 and 1964 as noted in my forum "Miles Monoplane landing at Heston Airport ".

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Festival of Britain, for which the BOAC Sports Festival was a part of the celebration. Even as a young observer aged 12 years who witnessed this fly-in unexpectedly, I am still surprised that there are no other persons still around who also experienced this unique airline venture of the time.

[Speedbird48]

Lawrence,

The Bonanza was definatly lost and he had his family with him. I recall him giving the customs officer the lost excuse??

Speedbird 48.

[lawrence hole]

Well at least with the massive complex of Heathrow Airport less than 2 miles away to the south west, he at least knew where he was located relative to Croydon if that was his original intended destination.

Heston had up until 1939 when WW2 commenced been very much London's second major airport in terms of overall movements, both domestic and international and would have been possibly London's major airport rather than Heathrow later, had expansion plans gone ahead prior to the build up of war preparations.

[lawrence hole]

Some further memories by courtesy of the British Airways Museum at LHR.

[lawrence hole]

[lawrence hole]

A larger picture showing the view to the east of the Festival site with Mr Whitney-Straight's DH Dove of B.O.A.C. just visible in front of the furthest marquee. The three static aircraft of the AAA were on display further towards the old defunct control tower.