Uig
Note: This map only shows the location of Uig within the UK.
UIG: Temporary landing site
Location: In/near Uig on the Isle of Skye. The town of Uig is at the end of the A87 on the E side of Loch Snizort at the northen end of Skye
NOTES: Here again I’ll quote from Air Ambulance by Iain Hutchinson. “On the 19th July, (this was in 1933 - my note), Dr Alan Fothergill of Edinburgh chartered an aircraft from Midland & Scottish to fly from Renfrew to Uig on Skye, where he had taken ill while on holiday, to carry him at low altitude to Turnhouse for specialist treatment at an Edinburgh hospital. Jimmy Orrell circled over the countryside around Uig seeking a suitable spot on which to land Dragon G-ACDL."
Eventually he had to settle for a risky landing up a hillside, strewn with rocks and stones, at Kilmuir. (My note: Kilmuir is roughly 3nm N of Uig just W of the A855). Dr Fothergill was put on board, with his wife and another doctor in attendance, and some stones were moved to reduce the risk of accident when the Dragon trundled down the hillside to take off again. The pilot is recorded as having navigated by the Caledonian Canal, (My note: Obviously a total nonsense!)
He may have used crossing the Canal as a waypoint, or following part of it to establish another waypoint, on the return flight to TURNHOUSE? The Caledonian Canal runs at roughly a right-angle across a track flown from Skye to Edinburgh), and the whole exercise was carried out during a raging storm, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The bill for this exciting journey came to £35.”
THE DH.84 DRAGON
Without too much doubt the de Havilland DH.84 Dragon was ideal for these operations, and I suppose it is doubtful if the later Brittan-Normand Islander could exceed its abilities?
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