Lofthouse Park
Note: This map gives only a rough location for the airfield. If anybody can provide a more exact position, this will be most welcome.
LOFTHOUSE PARK: Company Flying Ground and/or Public Park?
Later named as YORKSHIRE AERODROME
NOTES: In his excellent book British Built Aircraft Vol.5 Ron Smith states that before WW1, (in 1913 at any rate), Blackburn were using LOFTHOUSE PARK which is located about 1.5 to 2nm SSE of Leeds city centre, W of the A61 and just SSE the M1/M62 junction. This area now appears to be part of Wakefield?
Ron Smith states that the first Blackburn Type 1 flew here on the 14th August 1913. The first successful Blackburn aircraft were built at FILEY SANDS and it appears the company moved to premises in Leeds, at the ‘Olympia Works’ either late in 1912 or early in 1913. It now appears quite possible that Blackburn used this site until late 1916, possibly 1917, until moving operations to ROUNDHAY PARK.
AN AIR RACE
From an article by Mike Hallett in the Winter 2011 edition of Prop-Swing magazine; "The high-water mark for both Harold and Robert Balckburn (My note: They were not related) in air racing came on the 2 October 1913 when Harold and Dr Christie won the 'Wars of the Roses' trophy presented by the Yorkshire Evening News for a race between the Yorkshire-built Type 1 monoplane and the Lancashire-built Avro 504 biplane piloted by F P Raynham with A V Roe as a passenger.
The race was closely fought over a 100-mile circuit starting and finishing at Leeds, with checkpoints at York, Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley. In deteriorating conditions, Raynham became lost and Harold used his superior local knowledge to complete the course.
In this article it was also stated that the Blackburn company, short of funds, often augmented their income source by staging 'Joy-Ride' events. A subject I love to learn more about. If anybody knows of any sites not listed in this 'Guide', and there are many, I would much welcome this advice.
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