Castle Douglas flying sites
Note: This map shows the rough location for the first listing.
CASTLE DOUGLAS see also GLENSWINTON
CASTLE DOUGLAS: Civil Landing Ground
Operated by: Mr G Rae
Location: 2.5nm NW of Castle Douglas, W of the A715, just S of B795 junction
Period of operation: 1930s only?
Runway: Max landing run: 366 grass (some say 293 grass)
NOTES: Info source: ‘AA Landing Grounds’ publications, 1930s. Later I found in a list published by the Airfield Research Group that the address for Mr G Rae was “Mains-of-Greenlaw” and, the nearest telephone was in his house, so this seems to pinpoint the location.
CASTLE DOUGLAS also features elsewhere in aviation history. On the 19th April 1918 the famous WW1 fighter ace Capt. James Thomas Byford McCudden, (who had already accounted for 57 enemy aircraft), made a forced landing in this area, (presumably due to poor weather), flying a Bristol built FE.2b after departing from AYR where his immense experience was being used to educate fledgling pilots at the No.1 School of Aerial Fighting.
It would appear that he was simply flying around the area, (perhaps just for fun really, albeit backed up with a serious reason like local area familiarisation?), but he obviously got back to AYR somehow by road, no mean achievement in itself in those days, and flew back to Castle Douglas with Lieut Robinson in an Avro to retrieve the FE.2b the very next day. I only mention this, as elsewhere, to illustrate how very common it was to make forced or precautionary landings whilst en route in the early days of aviation.
They were obviously usually very good at it as damage to the aircraft rarely resulted let alone injury to the pilot. Not so today of course when similar circumstances invariably result in extensive damage and often serious if not fatal injury. It does seem strange that today, (and for many years), forced landings are no longer properly practised, the exercises for this today are pathetic and woefully inadequate…a ‘recovery’ normally being made at 500ft very often, giving little if no idea at all as to the eventual outcome, especially for pilots still undergoing training. But of course the chances of an engine failure today, or a need to land because of a lack of accurate weather forecasting, are fortunately pretty rare.
In fact, just to prove the point, McCudden made yet another precautionary landing on May 3rd that year, this time flying an Vickers prototype F.B.16D collected from HOOTON PARK. This time he landed at Closeburn, 11 miles N of Dumfries, but resumed his flight to AYR later in the day
CASTLE DOUGLAS: Temporary aerodrome
NOTES: On the 28th June 1933 Sir Alan Cobham’s No.1 displayed in/near Castle Douglas.
On the 9th July 1935 Cobham’s No.2 Tour visited Castle Douglas presumably using the same 1933 site?
If anybody can now identify these sites, or site, this advice will be most welcome.
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