Dundee flying sites
Note: This map only gives the position of Dundee within the UK.
DUNDEE see also ARBROATH
DUNDEE see also FAIRMUIR RECREATION GROUND
DUNDEE see also LOCHEE PARK
DUNDEE see also THE BARNS OF CLAVERHOUSE
DUNDEE: Early experimental flying site
NOTES: An exact location doesn’t appear known but nevertheless it seems certain it was somewhere in or near Dundee that Preston Watson first experimented with a most ingenious glider design which had a fixed lower mainplane plus a hinged parasol upper wing to effect turns which was highly successful; in fact earning him a French award for improved stability!
Later on Mr Watson moved to a site on the banks of the River Tay, pretty close it seems to the WW2 ERROL aerodrome which is still partially used today.
The glider was catapulted from a lubricated, (lard and/or graphite), wooden plank runway using weights, including an anvil borrowed from a blacksmith friend, strung from the branch of a tall tree. James Allan in his book Wings Over Scotland tells that people living in the area, even up to the 1950s, could remember the clattering noise these weights made.
Later Mr Watson fitted an engine, possibly two, to this glider and is recorded to have made several flights near Errol in or around 1903 and 1904. Indeed, photographs exist of a similar design with a single engine, but by this time fitted with a wheeled undercarriage dating from the 1906 to 1908 era.
Here again another intriguing question arises. Circumstantial evidence indicates it is just possible Preston Watson actually flew his powered aeroplane just before the Wright Brothers! He himself never claimed this but it is very important to remember that most early experimenters didn’t keep accurate dated records, or even any records in those days. It does seem there is little if any doubt that Preston Watson was experimenting on powered flight during 1903 and we must remember the Wrights first recorded flight was on the 17th December that year.
Michael T Holder
This comment was written on: 2020-05-23 16:52:54Barns of Claverhouse - 56 29 45"N 002 57 24"W lie to the North of Dundee on fairly flat ground. The ground slopes gently to the south and 2 good sized fields lie to the south and east of the farm.
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