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
