Causewayhead
CAUSEWAYHEAD: Early powered flight testing site, erroneously attributed by some as being the the site of the first Scottish powered flight location?
Operated by: Archibald, Frank & Harold Barnwell of the Grampian Engineering & Motor Co
Location: On a field near the Wallace Memorial which is roughly 1nm NNW of Stirling city centre
Period of operation: 1909 to 1911 only?
NOTES: The Barnwell brothers, (for some reason Archibald seems to have dropped out), are said to have made many significant developments in aviation history and they both went on to become really quite famous as aircraft designers. More research reveals Frank Barnwell became a Chief Designer for the Bristol Aeroplane Co and Harold Barnwell was involved with design and flight-testing for Vickers.
Note: This picture by C F Andrews was scanned from British Aviation - The Pioneering Years, by Harald Penrose, first published in 1967.
Their first “flight”, in July 1909, which was more of a long hop really - and covered 80 metres. Resulting in a crash landing.
By 1911 they had a monoplane design which had flown a mile, gaining the J R K Law Prize for the first flight over half a mile conducted in January that year. For some reason they moved to BLAIR DRUMMOND for a couple of months before going to LANARK which was, since the enormous success of the ‘Meeting’ in August 1910, really was the centre for aviation in Scotland.
Bizarrely it would appear both brothers died in separate flying accidents and both in machines of their own design. It appears Harold died whilst flight-testing the Vickers FB.26 from JOYCE GREEN (KENT) on the 25th August 1917, and Frank in his own Barnwell BSW.1 at WHITCHURCH (SOMERSET) on the 2nd August 1938.
A memorial to their first Scottish flight achievement was unveiled on the 27th April 2005 at CAUSEWAYHEAD.
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