Portobello
PORTOBELLO: Temporary flying site and also a balloon launching venue
Operated by: For one fixed wing flight - H E Ewen and/or the British Deperdussin Aeroplane Syndicate?
Location: Marine Gardens, Seafield in Portobello which is an area of Edinburgh roughly 2nm E of the city centre.
Note: The Marine Gardens were opened in 1909, using some of the buildings constructed for the Scottish National Exhibition. It was closed and used for Military purposes during WW1.
Period of operation: For this apparently singular flight, late August 1911
NOTES: This first flight across the Firth of Forth from PORTOBELLO to Kinghorn and back, (Kinghorn being on the coast roughly 3nm SSW of Kirkaldy), was presumably organised by W H Ewen (?) from LANARK fame as a publicity stunt. But I’m a tad confused because the advert below states the flight was performed by H E Ewen. Most accounts of this period only mention a W H Ewen. I assume they were related? One report states that on his return he didn't land at Marine Gardens but decided to land short. Is this location known and the reason for landing 'short'?
I have attempted very roughly below, an approximation of the layout of an advert produced afterwards by the Deperdussin company, simply because it both illustrates several points of interest and raises a couple of questions worth considering.
The first point of interest, I think, is that the sponsor of the advert was ‘The British Deperdussin Aeroplane Syndicate, Ltd’ of ‘30 Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, London, S.W.’ But, who came up with the idea? As the sole Scottish agent I suspect H E Ewen or W H Ewen probably devised the plan? It is I think interesting that the return flight, (assuming he didn’t land at Kinghorn?), is very roughly the equivalent distance over water of a Cross-Channel flight. Which of course Blériot achieved in 1909. Ewen could have chosen a much shorter route to be the first to fly across the Firth of Forth.
I think it is also significant that the advert mentions the altitude flown, 1,000ft. The aeroplane Blériot flew had a service ceiling of 500ft at best. But, W H Ewen was a major figure in organising the major flying meeting at LANARK in August 1910 when the American pilot Drexel set a World Altitude record of 6,750ft. So, why was the altitude this flight was flown at worthy of mention in the advert?
The claim that “12 miles in 10 minutes” were flown is also worth looking at. On what basis does this claim exist? It certainly doesn’t relate to this flight in any meaningful way because the shortest distance from Portobello to Kinghorn is roughly 8 miles, so the return flight would have been at least 16 miles. In fact the nearest landfall Ewen could have made across the Firth of Forth from Portobello is barely half a mile closer.
In 1911 they didn’t have any form of Advertising Standards of course but claiming “12 miles in 10 minutes” (about 70mph) is certainly over-egging the cake. I say this because I reckon the 3-cyl Anzani engine is the clue because as far as I can make out only the Deperdussin ‘A’ type had this engine and the top speed for that was, apparently, 70km/hr (43.5mph). But, with a 25mph tailwind, common enough in the UK, such a speed over the ground, (or sea in this case), is easily achievable.
BEING ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH
Making totally false claims for speed aided by a tailwind continued for many years, certainly up to 1938 when, it was claimed a Hawker Hurricane flew from TURNHOUSE (near Edinburgh) to NORTHOLT (near LONDON) at an amazing speed, (see EDINBURGH /TURNHOUSE for more details), when they conveniently ‘forgot’ to mention it had a 60mph tailwind to assist the flight.
Another aspect is that the advert makes no mention of W H Ewen being their sole agents in Scotland. Something seems amiss here? Perhaps the answer is that the advert was intended solely for an English audience? This being supported because they advertise the ‘Aviation School at BROOKLANDS’ with no mention of the W H Ewen School at LANARK
It is of course a huge mistake to try and deduct too much from very flimsy evidence but, at the risk of trying to be far too clever, and as this Guide is dedicated to discovering our flying sites, is it just possible that Ewen did land at KINGHORN (FIFE) to refuel before making the return flight?
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS
Most aircraft in those days had very limited endurance simply because they couldn’t lift much fuel, and this would certainly have been the case with this 28 hp type despite the fact that the endurance record set in 1911 was just over 11 hours. So, assuming the ‘70mph’ claim was correct it is conceivable, seeing as a return flight was claimed, that a 25mph headwind might have been encountered on the way back? In which case it would have taken about half an hour or so. Having half an hour endurance was quite typical. In fact the Deperdussin company made much of the fact that they flew one of their aeroplanes in France with three and even four passengers over 80kms in just over half an hour!
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