Vivary Park
VIVARY PARK: Temporary venue for an exhibition of flying
Operated by: Bentfield Hucks
Location: Just S of Taunton town centre
Period of operation: 7th August 1911 (For the "Coronatia" Fete)
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for doing the research and providing us with the following information and illustrations. Clearly the event did not run smoothly, not least because the venue for the display, (or exhibition), was unsuitable for landing and taking off. Mainly because it was too small and with a steady sou-westerly wind, as the synotic chart shows, this did not favour having to take off and land for most of the day.
This said, it appears he did land early in the morning, but then his aircraft had to be manually repositioned at a more suitable site nearby. And, even then, finding out the best site took two or three attempts. As an aside, note that the date for an August Bank Holiday is near the start of August, not the end of the month as it is these days.
Note: The advert was published in the Chard and Ilminster News on the 5th August 1911.
The article was published in the Western Daily Press on the 8th August 1911.
The two part article was published in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser on the 9th August 1911.
This last article was also published in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, but on the 16th August 1911. But, with no explanation of why repairs were needed.
NOTES: Reading the two newspaper reports above, one might well wonder why it took Hucks at least three attempts to get airborne later on in the day. Twice taking off but then landing in the next field. For me the most likely answer is all due to wind gradients, which can vary to a very large extent. I can remember taking off from two airstrips, partly surrounded by trees, in quite calm conditions on the ground, only to find at around fifty feet or so, we had collected a tailwind. Fortunately nothing more than a brisk breeze at best, but by heck did it degrade our climb performance.
Back in 1911, few aircraft could manage a top speed of over 45mph, and even that being quite close to stalling. Obviously it can only be a guess at best, but this could well explain why Hucks took off twice, only to land in the next field. There is another aspect too, and this is height. For example, the reason Blériot 'crash' landed on NORTHFALL MEADOW just west of Dover in 1909 was simply because his aeroplane could not climb high enough to land on top of the cliffs.
Advances were soon made afterwards in all respects of powered aviation, but even so, those machines still had a very limited performance envelope. If you look at the local area map c.1961 above, the contours show rising ground towards the south. So, putting both these aspects together, I have arrived at a theory. Could all be a load of balls of course.
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