Reid and Sigrist

An important product was a type of gyroscopic turn and slip indicator invented and developed by George Reid.

A later version of this device was incorporated into the standard blind-flying panel adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1937.

[8] At the time, the company did not possess an airfield, so a rapid countrywide search for a suitable site was undertaken, which identified Desford Aerodrome as a potential location.

Development of the aerodrome was carried out by En-Tout-Cas Ltd, of Syston, whilst new building work was undertaken by Fairby Construction Company Ltd. A mere three months later, on 13 December 1935, the new Flying Training School was officially opened by the Minister of State for Air, Viscount Swinton of Masham.

In 1937, the school was expanded to accommodate training of RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) pilots and was renamed No.

However, no production orders were forthcoming, so the R.S.1 was eventually relegated to communication duties for the company, based at Desford.

However, the sole prototype did receive a new lease of life in 1949 when it was purchased by the Air Council for experiments investigating the prone position pilot concept.

The initial contract covered the repair of the Boulton Paul Defiant two-seat turret fighter, with the first airframe being delivered to Desford in January 1940.

This was later followed by an additional contract to convert the obsolete Defiants into the TT target towing version of the aircraft.

Work on Defiant airframes finished in June 1945, and the last Mitchells left Desford in November the same year.

After the Second World War, the company was requested by the British government to produce the Reid camera based on the Leica patents and drawings which had been seized by the Allies.