Moorpark
Note: The map is I believe accurate but I would appreciate confirmation.
MOORPARK: Military later civil aerodrome/airport
(Later to become part of RENFREW airport - see the RENFREW listing as I really am not at all certain when the name of this site changed)
Military users: WW1: Aeronautical Inspection
1925: 602 (City of Glasgow) Sqdn (Airco DH.9s)
AAS Sqdn (Airco DH.9As)
Operated by: 1920s: The Air Ministry on lease from Renfrew Town Council
1933: Scottish Flying Club on behalf of the Royal Burgh of Renfrew
Airline user: It seems that the Aircraft Transport & Travel concern commenced an air mail service from presumably from HOUNSLOW (?) to here in 1919
Flying schools: 1915 to 1918: Beardmore Flying School
1923 to 1929: Beardmore RAF Reserve Flying School
1925 to 1933: 602 (City of Glasgow) Sqdn (DH.9s, Fairey Fawns, Westland Wapitis)
1927 to ?: Scottish Flying Club
Location: Near Renfrew, about 5nm WSW of Glasgow city centre
Period of operation: Military: 1915 to 1933
Runways: 1933 Max landing run: 914 grass
NOTES: William Beardmore & Co operated a Reserve Training School in the 1920s and in 1920 started experimental airline services to BROUGH and CROYDON.
It appears that in 1933 there were seven hangars.
SIR ALAN COBHAM MAKES A VISIT
Note: Mr Michael T Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide' tracked down this article published in The Scotsman on the 11th July 1929.
This was the 31st venue for Sir Alan Cobham during his Municipal Aerodrome Campaign, arriving here on the 10th July. 107 venues were planned but in the end due to a couple of crashes and other problems, he managed to visit 97 venues. Still a quite magnificent achievement.
The aircraft he mostly used was the de Havilland DH61 'Giant Moth' G-AAEV, named 'Youth of Britain', and this was a ten-seater. In those days known as an airliner type. More information about this tour can be found in my article about Cobham in 1929.
Note that in this article, MOOR PARK is referred to as RENFREW.
SOME HISTORY
In James Allan’s excellent history of the Scottish Flying Club Wings Over Scotland he cites an example taken from the Club’s magazine about the flying conditions during March 1930:
Dense fog = 4 days Snow & sleet = 4 days Gales = 5 days Mist & poor visibility = 5 days
Fair = 6 days Good = 7 days This sounds remarkably like conditions we’d expect today!
FLYING CIRCUS VISITORS
Venue, (5th to 7th June 1931), for the North British Aviation Co ‘Tour of Britain’
Venue, (17th & 18th 1932), for Alan Cobham’s National Aviation Day UK Display Tour
On the 17th and 18th September 1932 Alan Cobham’s National Aviation Day tour displayed here. The venue then listed as ‘Moorpark Aerodrome’.
THE SCOTTISH FLYING CLUB
Note: This article was published in the Edinburgh Even News on the 1st April 1932, and was provided by Mike Holder. It illustrates that in 1932 the future of the Club was far from being assured - at MOORPARK at any rate.
It is well worth mentioning that the Scottish Flying Club also organised some large Air Pageants themselves in the 1930s with, in 1933 an astonishing 36,000 people attending! Here again it’s well worth reading Wings Over Scotland for detailed accounts of the various Pageants and Air Shows held during the 1930s.
BRITISH AMPHIBIOUS AIRLINES
One intriguing note I’ve come across describes British Amphibious Airlines running a RENFREW-GREENOCK-ROTHESAY service for one week only in August 1932 allegedly using two Saunders-Roe A.17 Cutty Sarks. Did they land on the River Clyde or MOORPARK? If the latter is the case it illustrates that the name RENFREW was being used as the name for this location earlier than 1933.
Typically, when you look into it, the story becomes more complicated as it now appears that British Amphibious Airlines only operated one Saunders-Roe A.17 Cutty Sark - G-ABBC named Progress 1. However, their main route was BLACKPOOL-ISLE of MAN and on the Isle of Man another company, Isle of Man Air Services, were also operating a Cutty Sark, G-AAIP. So did the two companies get together in August 1932? One operating the RENFREW-GREENOCK- ROTHESAY service and the other the GREENOCK-BELFAST service? Or a combined service using both machines on both routes?
A CHANGE OF NAME
The one point I’ve yet to discover is exactly when MOORPARK changed it’s name to RENFREW but I suppose this occurred when regular/scheduled airline flights started using this location as the airport for Glasgow? 1933 seems to be the turning point however when the Scottish Flying Club were granted a five year lease with Renfrew Town Council and deciding to take over and improve the site and upgrading the facilities to become an ‘Air Port’ to be known as Renfrew Aerodrome. Then again the Air Navigation Regulations issued in 1919 refers to GLASGOW (RENFREW) as a terminus aerodrome!
602 SQUADRON
Many Scottish Flying Club members also belonged to 602 ‘City of Glasgow’ Squadron based here in the 1930s. One such was George Pinkerton who is claimed to be the first pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft over mainland Britain in WW2 on the 19th October 1939, destroying a Junkers 88 it seems.
A BIT MORE INFO
The Blackburn Bluebird Mk.4, G-AAOJ, was registered to Winifred C Slack and based here from 27.05.31 until 12.03.38. However, another source claims it was broken up at GATWICK in March 1937. It has been noticed before that many owners seem rather tardy in informing the authorities about a registration being cancelled.
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