Grange Aerodrome 1917

Grange Aerodrome 1917

Travel back to the dawn of pilot training with Time Machine Designs.

In 1917 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) established “No 1 School of Special Flying” (1SSF) at Grange Aerodrome in Gosport.

Its commander was Captain Robert Smith-Barry, aristocrat, holder of the Royal Aero Club’s Aviator's Certificate Number 161 (gained in 1911) and recently returned from serving with 60 Squadron in France.

Smith-Barry was convinced that the RFC’s method of pilot training was not only inadequate but also positively dangerous. He had been lobbying for a change and was now given the job to deliver.

The “Gosport Method” that Smith-Barry and his team developed in 1917 & 1918 was designed to show pilots that they could control their aircraft at the limits of its performance. They were then posted back to their squadrons to pass on this knowledge.

The principles of Smith-Barry’s “Gosport Method” continue to underpin pilot training worldwide.

This scenery was developed as a trainee project and demonstrator for a larger heritage project in Gosport. It includes custom built hangars alongside other library objects.

However, the under-appreciated role of Grange Aerodrome in the history of aviation and of pilot training means that we have decided to release it in its own right.

1SSF operated over 90 aircraft at Grange Aerodrome, with no air traffic control, in all weathers and with no defined runways. A contemporary description described the sky over the aerodrome as being “filled with Avros stalling, spinning, looping, apparently missing one another by inches, whilst aircraft took off and landed in all directions”.

To give a sense of this you will need the following packages to display the static aircraft

• Captain Sim’s Sopwith Camel
• Aircraft Collector v2

We have also created custom liveries for Captain Sim's Sopwith Camel based on two of No 1 SSF's personalised flight commander's aircraft, available here:

hangaraddons.com: sopwith camel no 1 school of special flying 191…

hangaraddons.com: sopwith camel no1 school of special flying 1917…