The Centenary of Flying off Formby Beach 2010
Reg Yorke - 27 February 2010
14th May 2010 marks the Centenary of the first successful flight from Freshfield
beach and below are the outline proposals in which this event will be celebrated.
During the afternoon 
of Friday 14th May there will be a fly past of a number of vintage
Planes over the Formby point, National Trust property, Victoria Road, where the first
experimental flights originally took place in the period 1910 to 1912. At that historic
time, there were of course, no constructed aerodromes so the early fliers took advantage
of this long stretch of firm sandy beach to use instead. It was in fact known as
‘Freshfield Aerodrome’. Five wooden hangers were constructed behind the frontal dunes
where the planes were kept.
Prior to the flypast on the afternoon of 14th May the vintage aircraft will assemble
at RAF Woodvale to form a display for invited guests/enthusiasts and the press. Unfortunately
it will not now be possible to land these aircraft on the beach at Freshfield but
a photographic display will be set up in Formby Library during May to celebrate this
historic event. A special pull-out supplement to the Formby Civic News will also
be produced and be distributed to schools and also be available at Formby National
Trust and other outlets throughout the year. A special meeting to describe these
early flights and the achievements of the pioneer pilots is to be held at Ravenmeols
Community Centre. (Details available soon).
The celebrations will be extended into September at the Southport Airshow by means
of an display in the Aviation marquee with talks to engage the general public.
Further information about the Centenary will be available on the Sefton Council
and this website
