Ryde flying sites
RYDE see also NEWNHAM FARM
RYDE: Civil regional airport (Also known simply as the ‘AERODROME’)
British airline users: Pre WW2: Great Western & Southern Air Lines; Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation, Railway Air Services, Spartan Air Lines
Post WW2: A brochure for Isle of Wight Airways published in the 1950s/1960s (?) clearly shows RYDE as being a destination for their DH Doves (Isle of Wight Airways being the ‘new’ trading name for Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation.)
Note: This picture of G-AIZZ, from a postcard was kindly sent by Mike Charlton, with the caption 'Isle of Wight Airways' - and opens up a new 'can of worms'. Looking into the history of this Auster nothing indicates a direct association with Isle of Wight Airways. First registered to Auster Aircraft at REARSBY from the 31st January 1947 until the 22nd March 1947, it then went to Honiton (?) Airways from the 7th May 1947 until the 19th August 1949. I found the listing on the British Aircraft Register, handwritten in those days difficult to decipher.
It then appears to have been registered to W/Cdr Hugh Charles Kennard from the 21st September 1949 until the 20th April 1961. Then operated by Skyfotos at LYMPNE (KENT) from the 26th April 1961 until the 18th September 1963. It then appears to have gone into private or group ownership from the 18th September 1963 until the 11th July 1977 when it went to the Royal Oman Air Wing from the 2nd Feburary 1978 until the 1st April 1980 - still registered as G-AIZZ. It returned to the UK until 1982 when the records seem to end.
As is so often said, a picture is worth a thousand words, but what can be made of this? Any advice is most welcome.
Location: On a 1935 Ordnance Survey “Ten Mile Aviation Map” loaned to me by the Shuttleworth Collection it appears this aerodrome/airport was situated about 1.5nm SSE of Ryde town centre. A more exact description is given by Neville Doyle in his excellent book The Triple Alliance: “Early in 1932, an area of 82 acres was acquired at Barnsley Farm, just outside Ryde on the east side of the Sandown road (A3055). See the Mike Holder Gallery below.
Period of operation: 1932 to 1950s possibly 1960s?
Runways: 1933: N/S 549 grass NE/SW 613 grass
E/W 613 grass NW/SE 517 grass
Note: These strike me as being a tad marginal for operation by fully laden DH Doves, so was one or more of these runways extended later?
Note: This picture from a postcard was kindly sent by Mike Charlton who has an amazing collection. See, www.aviationpostcard.co.uk
It is captioned "Ryde Airport" and was, almost certainly (?), taken in the 1930s. Unfortunately the poor quality of picture affords no clues, for me at least, as to which airline was operating this de Havilland DH84 Dragon. If anybody can kindly offer advice, this will be most welcome. Notice that the engines were kept running - common practice in thos days.
NOTES: Again from The Triple Alliance: Ryde as an aerodrome, was a comparative newcomer, and made into an aerodrome in time for the summer of 1932. The company responsible was Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd which had started life as Inland Flying Services Ltd at Maylands Farm aerodrome, near Romford, Essex. Inland’s main activity was joy-riding and in 1929 they moved to Apse Manor Farm, Shanklin, changing their name to Wight Aviation Ltd in 1930. On June 27th 1932, PSIOW Aviation inaugurated their Portsmouth-Ryde service with a specially modified Westland Wessex (my note: a tri-motor type) G-ABVB. This service became widely known as the “Spithead Ferry – the World’s Shortest Air Line!” Further air services followed as well as joy-riding and other activities.
“At that time, there were no facilities of any description but within a year or two there was a small hangar large enough for a Moth with its wings folded, and fuel, oil and fresh water available. By the end of 1934, there was also a public enclosure and a wooden terminal building combining restaurant, waiting room, offices and a control tower and this remained long after the airfield ceased to operate, latterly as a night club called “The Spider’s Web”!”
REGIONAL AIRPORTS
It is a point made elsewhere in this Guide but well worth repeating here. In the early 1930s many regional 'airports' in the UK were nothing more than a field with a windsock. Those having a tent or wooden cabin/shack were quite well equipped. It has to be remembered that those aerodromes ‘adopted’ or specifically developed by City Councils as airports, with hangars, a flying club, terminal building etc were the exception rather than the rule.
FLYING CIRCUS VENUES?
Venue perhaps for Sir Alan Cobham’s No.1 Tour on the 17th August 1933 and later, on the 8th July 1934 for Cobham’s 1934 Tour of the UK?
A NEW AIRLINE DEVELOPMENT
Neville Doyle also adds this interesting observation: “To replace the Heston – IOW service which ended at the beginning of 1936, a new service was inaugurated on Monday, May 25th over the route Gatwick – Ryde – Cowes. It was described as a joint Railway Air Services and Spartan Air Lines arrangement…” But he then adds: “A director of Portsmouth, Southsea and IOW Aviation told the ‘Isle of Wight Times’ that Ryde was to be the chief Island airport from which all services would operate, with Cowes in a secondary position. In consequence of the co-ordination between PSIOWA and Railway Air Services, both Bembridge and Sandown (Lea) were now eliminated from the time-table.”
Please forgive me for a bit of advertising, but I really do think the above information does justify the compilation of a basic ‘Guide’. Despite being an avid ‘spotter’ some fifty years ago, and always taking an interest in aviation matters since, including becoming a pilot and often flying to the Isle of Wight, it wasn’t until researching this ‘Guide’ (and even then some time after) that I became aware of an airport existing at RYDE. Let alone, in 1936, it then being the main airport for the Island. As pointed out elsewhere, many times, I am always astonished how quickly most of our aviation history seems to disappear and how difficult it can be, just a few decades later, to re-discover it. Without any doubt the internet search engines have been a wonderful method to gain information, most of it pretty accurate it seems, but, you cannot search for something about which you have no knowledge.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
In 2022 Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', seeing how doubtful my estimates were, regarding this location, very kindly decided to investigate and provide the definitive answers.
The picture of the terminal was published in Flight magazine on the 4th April 1935.
The local area and area views are from my Google Earth © derived database. Note that not all, by any means, of the locations listed in this 'Guide', are marked on this database.
RYDE BEACH: Seasonal 'joy-riding' operation
Operated by: Martin Aviation
Period of operation: 1922 & 1923 seems pretty certain. Perhaps used by other operators?
NOTES: Martin Aviation were, it seems, based at TAYLOR’S FARM.
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