Chapel Farm
CHAPEL FARM: Temporary aerodrome (Aka KIRKCALDY)
Note: These three maps and the Google Earth © view were all kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder
Operated by: Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day No.2 Tour
Location: N of the A910, S of the much later A92, just NW of Kirkcaldy town centre
Period of operation: 13th & 14th July 1935
NOTES: All credit for this entry has to go to Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', who did all the research. He also unearthed the advert below, published in the Fife Free Press on the 13th July 1935.
The concept of what we now call the 'Flying Circus' era started after WW1, mainly led by the Berkshire Aviation Company. Without any doubt Sir Alan Cobham's Municipal Aerodrome Campaign Tour of the UK from May to October in 1929, visiting one hundred and seven towns and cities, using the de Havilland DH61 'Giant Moth' G-AAEV, named 'Youth of Britain', raised public awareness of aviation, especially civil aviation, no end.
But, he wasn't the first to 'cash in' on the idea of having much bigger displays lasting just a day or two. In 1931 for example, Aviation Tours visited seventeen venues, the North British Aviation Co. thirteen venues and Modern Airways (The Crimson Fleet) eleven venues. (Or at least, we now know of these - there might have been more?). However, it was probably the C D Barnard Air Tours tour of the UK visiting (at least) sixty three venues from April to October that probably caught Cobham's attention.
In 1932 he launched his 'Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day Display Tours' and took the whole concept to an entirely new level, visiting one hundred and seventy four venues. This was so successful he took this 'Tour' to South Africa for the winter season. The next year, in 1933, saw the 'Tour' dividing into two parts visiting an astonishing two hundred and sixty seven venues, (more or less). The 1935 Tour was the last, again divided into two Tours after the 1st July, with a total of two hundred and forty four planned venues.
But, however, this wasn't the end, other 'Flying Circus' operators, such as CWA Scott's Flying Displays, and British Empire Air Display continued into 1936, and indded Coronation Air Displays continued on into 1937. With it appears, just three displays in SE England and fifteen in the Republic of Ireland. The obvious question must be why? Had the frenetic splurge in the earlier part of the 1930s exhausted the publics enthusiasm?
But of course we really must remember that the emergence of the really big 'Flying Circus' operations coincided with the Great Depression, the 'Great Slump', which lasted from 1929 to 1939 in the UK. There must surely be a lesson to be learnt here - but maybe others can tell what it is? And of course, how apt in 2020, (when this entry was made), the UK, (and the rest of world of course), are now facing very similar economic problems.
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