U3A member Robin Dewell on a horrific crash at Croydon Airport:

14 BURNED TO DEATH IN AEROPLANE

KLM Liner Crashes in Fog a Mile from

Croydon Airport

AUTOGIRO INVENTOR A VICTIM

     One of the worst disasters in the history of early aviation occurred on December 19 1936 when a K.L.M. Douglas DC-2 crashed into an empty semi-detached house in Hillcrest road, Purley, and burst into flames. Less than a mile from Croydon Airport the giant Liner had taken off just a few minutes earlier in mid-morning.

The dead included Senor de la Cierva (below left) the inventor and developer of the Autogiro.

The aeroplane's conventional engine and propeller would enable it to move forward and take off as normal. Air flowing past the rotor would turn it like the sails of of a windmill creating sufficient lift upon the wing-like rotor blades to raise the aircraft into the air and keep it there.

Whilst correct in theory, Cierva's early prototype (a five-bladed version) tended to turn over on its side due to uneven lift. To overcome this Cierva devised attaching the blades to the rotor head via “flapping hinges“ which varied the lift between advancing and trailing rotor blades.

The development of the autogyro was a very necessary step forward in the progress of helicopters.

The C.8L became the first rotorcraft to cross the English Channel between Croydon and Le Bourget, on September 18 1928.

Living Near the Airport: Accidents

U3A member Peter Day continues his post on the sometimes dangerous consequences of living near Croydon Airport:

Nothing was more likely to raise a storm of complaint, though, than an aeroplane crashing close to the airport, especially if it collided with a nearby house - such events were not infrequent: 

How Safe was Flying in the 1930s? Part II

Rapid Development in the 1930s.

The graphs showing the number of flights (Machine Flights, left), the number of Passengers and the amount of Cargo and Mail carried show a huge increase starting in 1931/32. We also know that Croydon was handling about half of all UK passengers, 62% of the mail and 84% of the cargo - so this increase inevitably made for a much busier Croydon. So did this increase bring with it an increase in accidents and fatalities?

How Safe was Flying in the 1930s?

U3A member Peter Day examines the safety of flight in the 1930s:

Air Ship Hindenberg burning

In the 1930s flight in heavier-than-air aeroplanes was still in its infancy. The Wright brothers had made the first such flight only in 1903. Aeroplanes were flimsy with some parts of the fuselage still covered with cloth, to save weight. Engines were underpowered and unreliable. Planes flew slowly and could not climb to a great height because of lack of oxygen, they weren't pressurised like modern planes, so flights were subject to turbulence. So were those early passengers risking their lives? Read more.....