 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aviation: |
| Founded | November 1928 in London, UK |
| Founder | Freddie Guest |
| Defunct | 1935 |
| Fate | Bought out |
| Headquarters | London , England |
Key people | Freddie Guest Master of Sempill |
National Flying Services Ltd was a company aiming to create and manage a large number of airfields and flying clubs around Britain. It relied on government subsidy, and it collapsed when the subsidy was withdrawn in 1934, because the aims had not been achieved.
National Flying Services (NFS) was founded in November 1928 by Freddie Guest, a cousin of Winston Churchill, who had been the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North, losing his seat in the general election held in May that year, and had been Secretary of State for Air in 1921-2. [1]
The objective of the company was to create a network of landing grounds and flying clubs around the UK. In 1929, the government published a white paper that effectively established a subsidy for the company’s operations, especially in training new pilots and maintaining their proficiency. This caused some controversy, as local councils were already establishing their own airfields, with flying clubs that would be undercut by NFS. [2] The company would be granted finance for “20 new aerodromes and 80 new landing grounds”
In Parliament Captain Guest said that he would be taking no fee from his new venture, and that the plan was for around 25 flying schools and at least 100 landing grounds. By providing standardised training with a large fleet of British-built aircraft, the whole industry would be supported. [3]
The scheme went ahead. A head office was established at Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London WC2, but the centre of operations was at Hanworth Park where a country house and its grounds were renamed London Air Park. An inaugural luncheon was held at the Savoy Hotel on 17 April 1929, [4] and an advert in August 1929 claimed that NFS would “form a chain of 71 flying clubs and landing stations, with London Air Park at Hanworth as the centre". [5]
The London Air Park opened on 31 August 1929, with the house now a country club, and it operated with a great deal of success, becoming a social and aeronautical hub. [6] Within weeks, the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Light Aeroplane Club at Woodley Aerodrome, Hull Aero Club at Hedon Aerodrome, and The Yorkshire Aeroplane Club at Sheburn-in-Elmet had signed up.
The following year only Nottingham (Tollerton Aerodrome) was added to the chain. With this slow progress, two noted aviators joined the board, Sir Alan Cobham [upper-alpha 1] and Colonel the Master of Sempill who became chairman. [1] Freddie Guest left to return to politics as Conservative MP for Plymouth Drake.
In 1931, Blackpool Municipal Aerodrome (Stanley Park) joined the NFS scheme, and in 1932 so did Leeds-Bradford (Yeadon Aerodrome) and Stoke-on-Trent (Meir Aerodrome). In addition to the successful Hanworth Air Park, just six airfields had joined the scheme.
From a 1932 NFS advert [7]
| Area | Airfield | Club |
|---|---|---|
| London | London Air Park, Hanworth | The Hanworth Club |
| Blackpool | Stanley Park | Blackpool and Fylde Aero Club |
| Hull | Hedon | Hull Aero Club |
| Leeds-Bradford | Yeadon (moved from Sheburn) | Yorkshire Aeroplane Club |
| Nottingham | Tollerton | Nottingham Flying Club |
| Reading | Woodley | Berks, Bucks and Oxon Aero Club |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Meir | Staffordshire Aero Club |
Along with their club and training operations. NFS also did some maintenance and repair work, ran air taxi services, and became dealers for second-hand light aircraft. They were sole UK distributors for Desoutter aircraft. [8]
By 1933, with hardly any growth in the previous two years, the financial situation was dire. Apart from the London Air Park at Hanworth, NFS had not created any new airfields or landing grounds. The company was nowhere near fulfilling its agreement with the government, which as from August 1932 [9] withdrew its subsidy and grant, which had been £5,000 the previous year, (equivalent to £429,100in 2023). [10]
The company went into receivership in June 1933, but continued operating until 1934. Most of the airfields were taken back into council control [11] and many clubs took ownership of the NFS aircraft that had been allocated to them. The remaining aircraft were disposed of by October 1934. The Desoutter Aircraft Company collapsed with the loss of its major customer; at least 20 aircraft had been ordered but were not going to be delivered. Blackburn also had to write off orders for 15 Bluebird IVs from a planned order of 25 [4] which would have been built by Saunders-Roe. [12] [13] Hanworth Aerodrome was put up for sale in July 1934. [14]
Remaining assets were taken over by a company called The British Pacific Trust (BPT), who had previously acquired General Aircraft Limited (GAL). They integrated the two concerns at Hanworth in 1935 to build GAL’s Monospar aircraft series at NFS’s Hanworth facilities. [15] National Flying Services Ltd was officially struck off in 1937. [16]
in 1929 NFS reserved a huge block of civil registrations, from G-AAMA to G-AAPZ, amounting to 98 aircraft. [upper-alpha 3] 39 of these were not delivered, [12] and some others were dealer aircraft for prompt onward sale.
The mainstays of the NFS fleet were the de Havilland DH.60 Moth, with around 30 operated, the Desoutter 1 with around 19, the Simmonds Spartan (12), and the Blackburn Bluebird IV with 10. Aircraft operated in smaller numbers were the Avro Avian (3), and single examples of the De Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth, de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth, and Southern Martlet.
The standard livery was overall black, with silver wings and the lower half of the fuselage orange.
The following are fatal accidents involving aircraft registered to National Flying Services, so do not include those registered to individual flying clubs. [17]
| Date | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 28 July 1929 | Simmonds Spartan G-AAMC | Crashed during aerobatics at Hanworth Park. Sole occupant killed |
| 6 April 1930 | Blackburn Bluebird IV G-AAOA | Spun in and caught fire on take-off from Hanworth Park. Sole occupant killed |
| 6 May 1930 | de Havilland DH.60X Moth G-AAPN | Dived into ground at Hampton, Middlesex during test flight from Hanwoth Park. Sole occupant killed |
| 22 October 1930 | de Havilland DH.60 Moth G-EBPR | Spun in on take-off from RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire. Both occupants killed |
| 12 September 1931 | Desoutter Mk I G-AANC | Hit trees in dense mist en-route from Cowes to Hanworth Park. All three occupants killed |
| 20 February 1932 | de Havilland DH.60X Moth G-AAPO | Spun in during climb from Hanworth Park. Sole occupant died of injuries 10 months later |
| 18 May 1932 | de Havilland DH.60X Moth G-AAPL | Crashed south of Grimsby due to wing failure en-route Hedon Aerodrome to Hanworth Park. Both occupants killed |
Straight Corporation, a similar but more successful venture started in 1935. [18]
Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. During the early/mid-1930s, it was one of the two airfields handling scheduled services for the Merseyside region. Hooton Park was home to No. 610 Squadron and, post Second World War, to No. 611 and No. 663 (AOP) Squadron.
Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew from Heston to Germany three times in two weeks for talks with Adolf Hitler, and returned to Heston from the Munich Conference with the paper referred to in his later "Peace for our time" speech from 10 Downing Street.
The Lancashire Aero Club is the oldest established flying club in the United Kingdom, it was founded in 1909 to organise the Blackpool Aviation Week, Britain's first officially recognised air show.
Desoutter is a British monoplane liaison aircraft manufactured by Desoutter Aircraft Company at Croydon Aerodrome, Surrey.
The Desoutter Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based in Croydon. It was founded by Marcel Desoutter and produced aircraft during the late 1920s and the 1930s.
Alexandra Park Aerodrome was the second purpose-built aerodrome in the Manchester area in England. The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfield, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Whalley Range, Withington and West Didsbury, at the junction of Princess Road and Mauldeth Road West, three miles south of Manchester's city centre: the land was owned by the Egerton Estate. The aerodrome's brief existence is commemorated on a plaque in the sports pavilion at Hough End Playing Fields, which now occupy part of the site. A commemorative plaque was unveiled on 7 July 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the aerodrome and is located in the grounds of No. 184 Squadron, Air Cadets, in Hough End Crescent.
André Marcel Desoutter was an English aviator, who lost a leg in an early flying accident, but went on to a successful career in the aviation industry.
Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways.
Stanley Park Aerodrome was an airfield located in the Stanley Park area of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was also known as Blackpool Municipal Airport, and was in use for civil and military flying from 1929 until closure of the airfield in 1947. The site is now used by Blackpool Zoo.
Lympne Airport was a military and later civil airfield, at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. The airfield was built out of necessity in the First World War. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returning from, France but was later designated as a First Class Landing Ground, RAF Lympne. It became a civil airfield in 1919 and saw the operation of early air mail services after the 1918 armistice. It was one of the first four airfields in the United Kingdom with customs facilities.
London Air Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park, was a grass airfield in the grounds of Hanworth Park House, operational 1917–1919 and 1929–1947. It was on the southeastern edge of Feltham, now part of the London Borough of Hounslow. In the 1930s, it was best known as a centre for private flying, society events, visits by the Graf Zeppelin airship, and for aircraft manufacture by the Whitehead Aircraft Company during World War I and General Aircraft Limited (GAL) 1934–1949; in total over 1,650 aircraft were built here.
Penshurst Airfield was an airfield in operation between 1916–36 and 1940–46. Initially a military airfield, after the First World War it was used as an alternate destination to Croydon Airport, with some civil flying taking place. The airfield closed following the crash of a Flying Flea at an air display in 1936, and was converted to a polo ground.
Marden Airfield was an airfield in Marden, Kent, United Kingdom. It was operation from 1917 to 1935. Initially a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War it was used post-war as an Emergency Landing Strip, RAF Marden by the Royal Air Force. It was also known as Pagehurst Emergency Landing Ground. Later serving as a civil Emergency Landing Ground, the airfield closed in 1935. The site housed a Royal Air Force transmitter station during the Second World War.
Charles Douglas Barnard was a British pilot, who took part in 1920s air races and record-breaking flights.
Bekesbourne Aerodrome was an airport located at the southeast edge of the village of Bekesbourne, southeast of Canterbury, Kent. It operated from 1916 until 1940, and had both military and civil roles.
Headcorn Aerodrome is a private airfield in Kent, England. The airfield is located 8 NM south of Maidstone; about 32 miles (51 km) southeast of London.
Haldon Aerodrome was the first airfield in Devon. Established in the 1920s as a private flying field, it developed into an airport with scheduled airline service, and was used by the Navy during World War II. The airport has also been known as Teignmouth Airport, Little Haldon Airfield and, in its military days, RNAS Haldon and HMS Heron II.
Midland & Scottish Air Ferries was Scotland's first airline, operating from 1933 to 1934. It is particularly noted for pioneering flights to the Inner Hebrides
Cramlington Aerodrome was a military airfield established in Northumberland during the First World War. It became a civil airfield serving the Tyneside area of north-east England and operated until 1935, when it was replaced by Woolsington Airport, now known as Newcastle International Airport.
Winifred Sawley Brown was an English sportswoman, aviator and author. She was the first woman to win the King's Cup air race. The race has been running annually since 1922.