The Lancashire Aero Club is the oldest established

flying club A flying club or aero club is a not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and associated services, as ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, it was founded in 1909 to organise the Blackpool Aviation Week, Britain's first officially recognised

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

Early history

* October 1909: The original club was founded in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. * Late 1922: The club was re-formed by

John F. Leeming John Fishwick Leeming (8 January 1895 – 3 July 1965) was an English entrepreneur, businessman, early aviator, co-founder of the Lancashire Aero Club, gardener and writer. Early life and family John was born in Chorlton Lancashire in ...

and a group of friends who had started to build a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

in Leeming's garage at his home in Bowdon near

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. It was named "Aero Club" because at the time many

racing pigeon Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of trave ...

clubs called themselves "'''' Flying Club". * Early 1924: The LPW Glider was completed and was taken to

Alexandra Park Aerodrome Alexandra Park Aerodrome was the second purpose-built aerodrome in the Manchester area in England. The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfie ...

. The club flew the glider many times at Alexandra Park, launching it by towing behind a car. * August 1924: Alexandra Park Aerodrome closed. The club moved to

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

Woodford Aerodrome Woodford Aerodrome is a former airfield and aircraft factory at Woodford, Greater Manchester, England, north of Macclesfield. It was opened by the Avro company after the First World War and became an important production centre for military ...

. * 21 July 1925:

Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life and family As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croydo ...

delivered the club's first powered aircraft (a

de Havilland DH.60 Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...

) to Woodford * August 1925: Another followed it. * 22 December 1926:

and

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

(1892–1933), the chief test pilot of A.V.Roe

Manchester, landed on

Helvellyn Helvellyn (; possible meaning: ''pale yellow moorland'') is a mountain in the English Lake District, the highest point of the Helvellyn range, a north–south line of mountains to the north of Ambleside, between the lakes of Thirlmere and Ulls ...

in the Lake District. This was the first aeroplane to land on a mountain in Great Britain. * Mid 1927 onwards: Woodford-built Avro Avians joined the club. The LAC's fleet continued to be based at Woodford. * 1929: Aircraft were frequently detached to

Manchester (Wythenshawe) Aerodrome Manchester (Wythenshawe) Aerodrome was the first airfield built to serve Manchester, England. History * Mid-1920s: A campaign was inaugurated by interested aviation-minded people, including John Leeming and Sir Sefton Brancker, then the UK m ...

for the convenience of locally resident members. * 5 July 1930: Winifred Brown, a club member, won the

King's Cup Air Race The King's Cup air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, ...

hosted at

Barton Aerodrome City Airport is an airport in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester. Formerly known as Barton Aerodrome and City Airport Manchester, It is known by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as Manchester/Barton. The U ...

, flying an

Avro Avian The Avro Avian was a series of British light aircraft designed and built by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s. While the various versions of the Avian were sound aircraft, they were comprehensively outsold by the de Havilland Moth and its descendants ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

built at Woodford. * September 1939: The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

stopped club activities. The club's aircraft were stored in Avro's hangars at Woodford where the club was based until then.

Post-war operations

* 1946: Avro asked the club to relocate elsewhere. The club moved to

. Flying training and aircraft rental was provided to members, initially using

Auster Autocrat The Auster J/1 Autocrat was a 1940s British single-engined three-seat high-wing touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire. History As the end of the Second World War approached, the designers at Taylorcraft d ...

and

De Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

aircraft. * 2007: The club decided to leave Barton, due to terms being required by

Peel Holdings The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former ports ...

that the Lancashire Aero Club's committee deemed to be unacceptable. * July 2009: The club started operating from a single grass strip airfield at Kenyon Hall Farm, near

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, which it is hoped will become its new home if planning permission is granted.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

The Flightglobal Archive, of 'Flight Magazine' published 1925–1929, numerous issues, feature aviation and business news of John F Leeming, his wife, Lancashire Aero Club and his company, Northern Airlines (Manchester), Ltd. {{refend

External links

Lancashire Aero Club
Aviation organisations based in the United Kingdom Flying clubs Clubs and societies in Greater Manchester 1922 establishments in England Organisations based in Salford