Display takes flight to show early aviation pioneers

IT’S an airline operator best known locally for its daily flights from Humberside Airport to Amsterdam. But back in 1934, KLM was operating out of a long forgotten airfield outside Hedon, a fascinating exhibition reveals.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Jul 2012, 07:00 BST

“From Racing to Flying – a 100 years of Hedon history”, which has opened at Hedon Museum, celebrates the history of the site, originally a racecourse and remarkable for its “straight mile”.

But flying was opening up new horizons and in 1929 the airport at Hedon was opened by Prince George, Duke of Kent.

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Outstanding pilots from the early days flew in, Hull-born aviator Amy Johnson and ‘Gus’ Moses and Englishman Gustav Hamel, to name just three.

On July 13 1912, Hamel made the first flight over Hull and the Humber - but when he tried to make it to Withernsea, was forced to turn back because of the cloud.

Commercial flights only lasted five years, and by the outbreak of the Second World War ended altogether. As well as film of Johnson landing at Hedon, and a model aeroplane loaned by Brough Heritage, the museum is displaying a life-size model of ‘Gus’ Moses whose family of funeral directors lived in Thorngumbald, as well as collections and photographs of racing and airline memorabilia. On now, every Wednesday and Saturday, the exhibition runs until August 18.

Related topics:AmsterdamHull