Literary & Scientific Flight Over the Calder Valley

AFTERNOON FLIGHT OVER HEBDEN BRIDGE Literary and Scientific Society’s members have thrilling experience. 1950 When aeroplanes pass over the Calder Valley to-day…. .people give them no more than a cursory look, but a machine which flew over Hebden Bridge last Sunday caused interest reminiscent of the early days of flying. Residents went out of doors to look at the ‘plane because they knew it had been chartered by seven members of the Hebden Bridge Literary & Scientific Society to fly over their own district. The members of the party were Mrs Alice Longstaff, Messrs G.R. Wilkinson, A. Whiteoak, K.T. Crabtree, E. Watson, E. Mayson and A. Blackburn. “As far as I know, this is the first organised flight over the Calder Valley” writes G.R. Wilkinson., “I hope it will not be the last.” The party assembled at Yeadon by 2. The aircraft they were to fly in, had a board in front of it saying Hebden Bridge, as if it were a bus. The machine had just come back from Douglas, and I watched it being re-fuelled. It was a De Havilland 7-seater twin-engined bi-plane. After paying our fares we clambered board (even more like a bus), . . . . . . . We climbed fairy steeply to 2,000 feet, just under the cloud base, and levelled off. Those who had never flown before had not imagined the comfort of flying, and were fascinated by the picture of the countryside as it rolled past. We set out for Halifax and somebody shouted ‘Stoodley Pike!’ It was about 16 miles away but clearly visible. We passed over Shibden Park and then one of the familiar landmarks appeared – Wainhouse Tower at King Cross. . . . . . . .. The excitement grew as Luddenden Foot and Brearley were passed. And then Mytholmroyd, with its orderly streets of houses and gardens, and above all the new school standing out. Then the big moment had arrived. Exposure meters flashed out, film cartons fell to the floor, and cameras were brought out. Everybody went to one side of the aircraft, and it sounded like a slot machine with shutters clicking and the cine cameras whiring. There below was Hebden Bridge, reached in 10 minutes from the other side of Bradford, 21 miles away. Above Mytholmroyd the engines were throttled back and there was some consternation among the less experienced as the machine dived steeply to 700 feet, then levelling out. I had the unique experience of looking down at Heptonstall Parish church. Going over Heptonstall I noticed a bus in the main street and two figures waving madly. After 2 circuits in either direction the pilot put his head round the door for a consultation, and let the aircraft find its own way. This was not well received by some of the passengers but the machine appeared to fly as well without the pilot as with him. After the fourth circuit and fifteen minutes over Hebden Bridge the plane turned towards Yeadon. A pink blaze of colour was noticed and was recognised as the rhododendrons at Castle Carr, with Fly Flats Reservoir in the background. All eyes were looking for Yeadon. There it was on the port side. We swung round to the head of the runway, slackened speed, and reduced height down to 50 feet. This is the most difficult part of flying, and is somewhat exciting. We descended and then felt a slight jar, and we knew we were down. The brakes were applied, and the aircraft taxied to its original position and stopped. So ended a most thrilling and instructive excursion, which had ended only too quickly.