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Luton Airport

1938 , Luton (Bedfordshire)

Cat no. 6527

A newsreel-style amateur film celebrating the opening of Luton Airport in July 1938.

A celebration of the official opening of the Luton Municipal Aerodrome in July 1938. Various styles of aircraft are shown on the ground, during take-off and performing flypasts, as WWI fighter ace and aircraft designer Captain Edgar Percival signs an autograph for a young boy. Still in its prototype stage, the de Havilland Albatross transport plane is featured both on the ground and in-flight, as parachutists perform daring jumps from other aircraft at a height of just 150 feet. Also featured are Maia and Mercury, stars of the Short Brothers' Mayo composite aircraft experiment, which tested a piggyback system in attempting to solve the problem of fuel levels in long-distance air travel. Concludes with a brief visit to the gardens of a nearby mill.

Featured Events

Official opening of Luton Municipal Aerodrome (Luton Airport), 16 July 1938

Keywords

Airports; Aviation; Opening ceremonies

Background Information

Edgar Percival (1898-1984) was a noted Australian aircraft designer and aviator. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Percival This demonstration of the Short Mayo composite aircraft system was only five days before the team successfully complete a non-stop transatlantic flight in just over 20 hours.

Manifestations

Luton Airport

  • Barcode
    INV343517
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:03:51
    Modification Date
    22/09/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    727695
  • Barcode
    INV327535
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:03:51
    Modification Date
    31/08/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    724597
  • Barcode
    INV383729
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    MP4 H264 digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:03:51
    Modification Date
    31/08/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    723805
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV330191
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    DV digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:02:28
    Modification Date
    10/05/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    710803
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV332258
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    master digital
    Dimension
    Modification Date
    06/12/2010
    Parts
    Reference
    698539
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV243937
    Canonical Identifier
    1998/58
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Details
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Colour System
    bw
    Colour Type
    bw
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:04:10
    Has Image
    Y
    Has Sound
    N
    Identifier
    Image Polarity
    pos
    Modification Date
    17/11/2010
    Parts
    Reference
    697328
    Sound
    silent

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