The land on which the current aerodrome is located was originally used for flying in 1933 by a small number of private pilots with their own aircraft. They operated the de Havilland DH.60 Moth. They approached Sheffield City Council on Friday 5 April 1935 with the intention of taking advantage of the growing trend in aerodrome development and forming the Sheffield Aero Club (SAC). Following protracted negotiations, funding was found for a clubhouse which was located to the right of the existing runway 24 threshold and to upgrade an existing hangar, located to the left of the existing runway 24 threshold; this was extant until 1996 when it was destroyed by high winds. The landing ground also received upgrade. The convention at the time was to take off and land using the whole mown field with no designated runways. A white circle was whitewashed to identify the centre of the field where take off and landing was conducted through the circle, the identification letters 'NT' were enclosed in the circle. After initial hesitation mitigated by hedge removal to reveal a larger landing area, Air Ministry (AM) approval was granted to allow flying training, operating the de Havilland Moth which was loaned to the club by its chairman, Mr Jakeman, with operations starting on 31 July 1935. BA Swallow G-AEIC moved to Netherthorpe in 1939, owned by the club director Mr Horrox, though it is unclear if this was used by the wider club membership. It was commandeered as a communication aircraft when the Royal Air Force (RAF) arrived at Netherthorpe in 1940. On the declaration of war with Germany on 3 September 1939, an AM telegram was signalled to all flying clubs to cease operations immediately. The aerodrome was closed and studded with wooden spikes to deter landing German aircraft and paratroopers.North, Roger, Netherthorpe at war: a history of the airfield to the end of the Second World War (1996)
