Rhos Ucha
RHOS UCHA: Civil Landing Ground (Aka WREXHAM and RHOS UCHAF)
Note: But apparently located in FLINTSHIRE rather than DENBIGHSHIRE.
Operated by: Mr C P Hunter (Hunters of Chester)
Location: On a large field, (apparently formed from eight much smaller fields), NE of Plas Rhos Uchaf , 6nm NW of Wrexham, N of minor road from Llanfyndd. So roughly halfway between Wrexham and Mold
Period of operation: 1930s only?
Runways: NNW/SSE 311 grass SW/NE 293 grass
(Rather oddly the map in the ‘A.A. Register of Landing Grounds’ actually shows two SW/NE runways, very closely parallel and partially overlapping, both 293 metres long. I can see no obvious reason for this possibly unique arrangement and it would seem a single runway of some 400 or more metres would be an altogether better arrangement. Does anybody now know the reason? Another map showing the NAD display (see below) airfield layout shows the NNW/SSE runway as being aligned E/W 311 and the ‘single’ SW/NE runway 475
NOTES: In 1933 Alan Cobham’s NAD (National Air Display) tour visited this airfield. Exactly why this was seems a mystery as it was then a somewhat sparsely populated area. One explanation was that the choice of this venue was simply a mistake, (owing to ignorance of the region by Cobham’s planning staff in London?), and that it really should have been a display held at Rhosllannerchrugog near Wrexham whose over 10,000 inhabitants were seeking recognition as an independent urban entity and who were eagerly expecting a visit. I loved the wry comment in Wings Across the Border by Derrick Pratt and Mike Grant to the effect that the display at RHOS UCHA was probably witnessed by more sheep than human spectators!
It might be wondered why on earth was there an airfield here in the first place? The answer it seems is perfectly simple; Mr Claude Pierrepoint Hunter who was the chairman of James Hunter Ltd, based in Chester and a company specialising in aerodrome construction, lived nearby. Not only that but he was a keen pilot himself owning a Avro Avian (G-AAWH), and the Klemm L.25-1 (G-AATD). Plus the Robinson Redwing (G-ABNX). For anybody really interested in grass airfield/aerodrome construction a study of the James Hunter company warrants serious attention. This is a subject which deserves being regarded almost as a science in it’s own right such are the complexities involved.
AN A.A. APPROVED LANDING GROUND
This was also one of seventy-four Landing Grounds approved by the A.A. (Automobile Association) in the 1930s in mainland Britain.
Fuel and transport, (the latter being typically a taxi service), was available from the Alyn Motor & Engineering Co, Chester Road, Mold. About five miles distant from the LG. The hotel recommended was the Dolphin Hotel, also in Mold and still in business, in 2013, as the Dolphin Inn and Hotel. A telephone was available at the nearby Llanfynydd Post Office. One hangar was listed on site in 1933 but it isn’t stated if this was available to visitors.
Michael Holder
This comment was written on: 2020-05-14 16:59:49A bit out in the sticks - 5 photos exist on Britain from Above - WPW038577 WALES (1932) is one of them. Couldn't see any a/c parked up. Agree with your notes, why display up there unless there were a lot of sheep interested in aviation - baa!
Andy Hill
This comment was written on: 2021-01-09 20:44:02Theres a single page write-up about this in Rapide Magazine (No15) (The Magazine for the North-West Vintage Aviation Enthusiast)
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