Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 11 October 1929

Flights For The Million.

Popular Aviation at Wombwell.

Crowds Enjoy Stunts.

The establishment of an aviation base at Wombwell by the Berkshire Aviation Tours, a subsidiary company of them Northern Area Lines (Manchester) Ltd is proving a success from every point of view.

Flying is indeed the most popular craze over a wide radius around Wombwell, while visitors anxious for a “flip” are arriving daily from places as far distant as Sheffield and Doncaster. Last weekend the pilots were given little respite for the machines were in commission from early morning until dusk. Some of the passengers were satisfied with a gentle cruise over the village of Broomhill and around the immediate environs of the aviation ground; others were carried according to their wishes of Wombwell, Mexborough, Wath, Barnsley or Hoyland.

Quite a considerable number insisted in sharing with the pilot the thrills of looping, diving and banking. Among the latter category were not a few women, the ladies being keener perhaps than the men to experience the joys of being up in the blue.

The passengers were taken in rotation as they came and not one was disappointed. Charges for flying are graded according to the nature, duration and distance of the flight, five shillings being the minimum fee. Those who do not care to fly themselves have found much enjoyment is studying the expression of the passengers and observing the daring and skill of the pilots who came to give displays of stunt flying.

Flying Upside Down

Sunday was something of a gala day at the flying ground, a special program of exhibitions being put on. This proved an enormous attraction, many thousands paying for admission at Old Moor Farm, Broomhill. After a long queue of passengers had been disposed of, H Lawson, senior pilot of the Basic Aviation Tours, thrilled the vast throng by somersaulting, nosediving and last but not least spectacular upside down flying. Thus inverted Captain Lawson flew right across the aerodrome. An official of the birch aviation tours described his feat as a most difficult in aviation. Captain also was followed by Mr W Mackay, a no less skilful airmen who entertained the crowd with various stunts, including spinning, rolling, diving, looping and zooming.

Next Sunday will witness an even more daring exhibition of stunting at the aviation ground. The demonstration will include upside down flying and wing walking. The intention is for one of the pilot to rise to a thousand feet at which height one of the staff will climb from the body of the plane and walk across out to the wing tip. This fee will be performed while the pilot is flying across the aerodrome before the crowd.