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Post by PB on Mar 20, 2023 6:59:58 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 20/03/23I know you won't forget about tomorrow, but just in case it slipped your attention, tomorrow evening's action is at Blackbushe's Pathfinder Cafe starting at 7pm. The Blackbushe Airport Consultative Committee meet for their first of two meetings in 2023 whereby the Airport Management may engage with key stakeholders, local residents, and parties with an interest in the Airport's state of play. It costs nothing to attend and visitors may join the public gallery and during the proceedings they will be given the opportunity to ask the Committee questions regarding the Airport's operation.
Public interest can perhaps be gauged by the level of attendance at these meetings, and a healthy level of attendance reflects on where that interest stands. At least 200 people will read this today...Hopefully see some of them tomorrow evening.... If you've got an hour or two tomorrow evening to show support for this wonderful airfield it'll be great to see you at the Pathfinder by 7pm!!PB
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Post by PB on Mar 21, 2023 7:24:53 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 21/03/23Did you feel it? At 21.24 GMT last evening we sailed across the Spring Equinox, once again light and dark served in equal daily amounts but happily the daylight hours winning supremacy over the darkness for the next few months. After a winter of assorted health problems, strikes, unspeakable brutality from Russian sources, soaring energy bills, climate concerns, natural disasters, we can but hope for brighter times ahead literally and metaphorically....
Wouldn't it be great if from this rather bleak background the news we've waited for for six decades came to fruition and dear old Blackbushe, who has boldly sailed through stormy weather for so long, emerged into that bright new future where she was at last able to become the fully fledged airport she wants to be? One day.... A de Havilland moment in November, 1959. The Caribou was about to leave for the DH works at Hatfield prior to starting a Far east sales tour. She routed back through Blackbushe the following March. The Rapide belonged to Fairey Aviation at White Waltham. She was clearing Customs prior to leaving for Gosellies... Blackbushe was a key and convenient point for international clearances.Here's a photo I took in 1963. Three Counties Aero Club premises in situ, now the home of the Pathfinder Cafe, the Terminal still at full length, the apron sadly being 'reduced' by the parish council, AVM Bennett's Proctor by the roadside, the hard standing base of where Eagle Airway's offices were located marked by the rectangle close to the A30 and opposite to where the Pathfinder is today. The car park typically empty. The caravan at the front of the Terminal adjoining the apron is where Airport Manager Bill Freeman and family lived, the signal square confirms we were using 08 at the time, the new Shell fuel installation is seen at the west side of the apron and the old blue fuel bowser sits north of the apron. All aircraft were parked on the apron overnight back then, tied to various concrete blocks to combat the winds that could blow across the airfield with a distinct lack of mercy.. ..and here's one I took somewhat more recently. Indicates the positive changes that have taken place in Blackbushe's life over the last sixty or so years...Hopefully see some of you tonight at the Consultative Committee meeting?? Pathfinder 19.00.
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 22, 2023 10:51:36 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 22/03/23As recently advertised in "Photo of the Day" last evening witnessed the first of this year's Blackbushe Airport Consultative Committee meetings, events where local council representatives gather plus members of the public to glean the latest news from Blackbushe and discuss matters of interest that might be raised by the attending council members and also the public during visitors 'question time'.
Attendance levels were low from both council and public attendees, with the public side yielding the same very few totally dedicated Blackbushe faces.. These evenings are the one occasion when all can learn straight from the heart of the Blackbushe operation and gets the facts direct from the Airport Management.
Last evening would not be a disappointment, and following Chris Gazzard's excellent and detailed presentation attendees could leave glowing with the good news pertaining to daily operations while perhaps a little frustrated by the ongoing processes that have to be undergone before any structural changes can be made to the Airport.
For the sake of those unable to attend last night, some highlights from Chris's presentation....
The lockdown periods of 2020/21 obviously restricted aviation operations so comparative figures were provided 2019 vs 2022.
Movements 2022.
GA Fixed Wing up 18% at 36,560 GA Rotary down 45% at 1,953 Exec Fixed Wing up 56% at 1,449
TOTAL 40,842 up 11%
Fuel Sales 2022
AVGAS 381,394 up 2.4% JET-A1 435,622 up 94%
TOTAL 817,016 up 37%
In December 91 aircraft were Blackbushe based, this comparing to 61 when the current management started...
2023 so far..
This has proven to another bumper year. February was the busiest month on record, March continues the trend!
Helicopter activity is returning to Blackbushe as Helicopter Services now operate a similar number of movements to Phoenix.
These very encouraging facts and figures confirm the viability of Blackbushe as an airport and can only make you wonder how this performance would be further magnified when the day comes and Blackbushe is able to start work on the development programme thwarted over many past years.. Chris outlined the status of the project to deregister a portion of the Airport's Common Land..Since the Supreme Court rejected the Blackbushe case to the surprise of both the Airport and the Open Spaces Society this long case has now been referred back to the Planning Inspector. Hampshire County Council and Opens Spaces Society are in agreement that the footprint of the Terminal and Cafe should be deregistered. The Inspector's decision is awaited to close the matter.
Meanwhile the possibility of a land exchange in the future provides the opportunity of exchanging a parcel of Airport land with some 35 acres of nearby land acquired by the airport owners. Once the deregistration matter is resolved the Airport anticipate submitting a land exchange application. Once complete this would then enable the long awaited development of hangars and new modern Terminal, some time yet but at no time is Blackbushe looking at defeat in her long quest to provide the type of airport that was visualised the day AVM Bennett stepped in and saved the majority of Blackbushe from annihilation. There is no doubt that this airfield in her 81st year has an exciting future serving the needs of General Aviation in a location that could not be better from so many points of view..!!Sorry we're running a bit late today, bit of a problem in the 'engine room'... OK now.
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 23, 2023 7:56:30 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 23/03/23Aviation has matured to such a degree that "world records" are somewhat difficult to beat in 2023? if we pop back to this day in 1948 it was possible to establish 'records' as jet engines took over the job of propulsion. Group Captain John Cunningham, historically referred to as 'cats eyes' following wartime successes during the hours of darkness, established a new record on this day in 1948. Flying a DH Vampire he ascended to 59,446ft (18,119m) this setting a new world altitude record. Poor old propellers and piston engines were left staggering around far below with a max of 35,000ft if boosted by a turbo super-charger. However, the extraordinary German Burkhart Grob Strato 2C research aircraft set a world altitude record for manned piston-engined aircraft of 60,897 ft (18,552m) on 4 August 1995, on its 29th and what turned out to be final flight.
I well remember climbing to 10,000ft in a Three Counties Auster 6 a long time ago to taker some photos of the Odiham area. My first ascent to such dizzying heights it's hard to forget the sinsus response to the spiral descent, 'quite unpleasant' putting it mildly but it didn't happen again following further ascents into the blue!Happy memories of Three Counties days and fun with Austers! 'Flour Bombing', dear old "GB" with Rex Coates at the wheel and your scribe dangling arm out of the starboard side ready to release his McDougalls weapon. Flour bombing competitions were a popular activity back in the sixties era..but probably only held three or four times.
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 24, 2023 7:35:12 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 24/03/23Last evening the Pathfinder Cafe once again played host to the Blackbushe Heritage Trust and our last of the series of winter talks, they'll resume again in September. Last night's talk was "The World of Air Traffic Flow Management" by the very knowledgeable Richard Dyett. A man who knows his subject, Richard's career spanned five decades working in ATC units across Europe plus a extended period working Central Flow Management Unit at Eurocontrol, Brussels. An absorbing talk highly appreciated by all, it created great appreciation of exactly what lies behind the skies of Europe and the work ensuring its traffic flows with both safety and smoothness..Richard and his Pathfinder audience last night who could not fail to have been impressed by Richard's knowledge and detail of what goes on in our skies!Back in the 1950s the skies were not quite so full and we had Blackbushe serving the air transport world as London's second airport. A BEA Viscount enjoys the welcome of Blackbushe tarmac beneath its wheels after another diversion from a foggy Heathrow..It was not just fog that brought BEA to Blackbushe, being conveniently close to London Airport (as Heathrow was known) Vikings, Viscounts, Ambassadors and Comets carrying the familiar BEA logos were a part of the 'Blackbushe scene'. The Viscount above rests on BEA's tarmac that was clearly marked BEA. Sadly the yellow paint wore away with time removing the last evidence of days gone by.Another classic British airliner that carried the BEA logo into Blackbushe was the Viking, again the Airport providing an ideal crew training location that was none too far from HQ.. Watch out for news coming very soon as to the arrival of Viking G-AGRW as she returns to Blackbushe and her new home in the UK!! She'll be coming soon, full details will be published here and on social media as to exactly when. BEA were the first airline to operate the Viking and as "RW" started her life with BEA you may be sure she will reflect the fact once she has undergone restoration at Blackbushe. British Airways support combined with that of Blackbushe Airport toward the ultimate return of a Viking to the public gaze at Blackbushe has made a great difference to the Heritage Trust's plans to open a page of aviation history where the Viking and Blackbushe were such close partners throughout the fifties..PB
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Post by PB on Mar 25, 2023 11:08:14 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 25/03/23You know those nights when you cough throughout and your lungs seem intent on making a bid for freedom? Well, last night was one of those although it's nice to report that neither of the lungs managed an escape! However, granted a couple of hours kip the "POTD" editorial machine is in situ and well, ready to find a photo of the day I guess?
It's true that aviation is one of humanities greatest sources of emotional inspiration, nostalgia, spiritual uplift, fear, and bonding of those who share in these facets of humanity. Whether you fly, are a ground born individual, work or play amid 'aviation', there's something about the magic of flight and the sight of wings lifting the impossible into the waiting tumult that grips the soul.. When does 'aviation' first grip your soul? When young, old, or any age when it suddenly becomes a part of your life?
I was four years old and living in Sandhurst. I had a model aeroplane that I loved passionately, and I must have spent time watching aeroplanes fly over home as one moment of one day is frozen in my mind until the day I leave the planet.. A red biplane, no doubt a Tiger Moth, flew overhead probably around 1500ft, and heading to the north. It's like it was yesterday, I was outside in the front garden and watched until the red machine could no longer seen or heard. Something about flight found a vacant nodule in my brain at that moment and decided to make a home there. The rest is history, rather too long a history but it's been a fun journey!!
Blackbushe Airport was not far away from home, the sound of heavies taking off in the distance was a part of life. One of life's joys was a trip to Blackbushe in the car to see first hand this amazing place in action!
Parked so close to the road!! Stopping on the side of the A30 - you could back then - you felt as if you were a part of the Airport....Now decades later we're involved in bringing one of those wonderful airliners back to Blackbushe.... In due course a Viking will once again be on view at Blackbushe! Independent were just one of numerous Blackbushe based airlines for whom the Viking was a key piece of equipment and very much a part of Blackbushe life.It's a long while since that red biplane captured my mind, but through all those intervening years Blackbushe has played her part. I don't see that changing now!!
FYI, the latest news update for Blackbushe Heritage Trust supporters has just been distributed. Dates for the task of dismantling and shipping to the UK are agreed. If you wish to be kept up to speed on the delivery journey progress suggest you join the supporters WhatsApp Group by emailing team@blackbusheheritagetrust.com
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 26, 2023 8:02:30 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 26/03/23Well, it's summer time!!
Rain and 8/8 cloud cover, promising start....June 1958, a Curtiss C-46 Commando in the process of negotiating crossing the A30. Go back in time to this day, 26 March in 1940 and the Commando would have celebrated making its first flight.Another photo from Graham Jones is this Lockheed 12 Electra also caught in June, '58 owned by Zemenes Flyvestsseneste...Another Blackbushe Lockheed 12 moment is NC79820 in 1949. Ex Blackbushe based G-AGVZ..2023 and another Lockheed 12 Electra is readying itself for the UK 2023 season....had a chat with the operator yesterday.
That's it, time for the Weetabix.
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 27, 2023 6:40:10 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 27/03/23T'is a fine Monday morning and I don't doubt that some of our "POTD" viewers/readers/whatever will be heading off at the start of another working week. Some won't!
With the best part of 800 sworn Forum members and many who travel through our daily gathering of thoughts as guests I wonder which side of the Blackbushe equation are YOU?
Split into perhaps three categories all are incredibly welcome. There are the good ol' boys n gals who remember the 'real' Blackbushe prior to 1960 when bulldozers ran rampant and rather spoiled the place, the Blackbushe that resounded in big piston engine sounds, airliners leaving for points far and wide, the US Navy base, and Farnborough Week's of the fifties and mind boggling gatherings of aircraft from 'everywhere'. Maybe you're one of a younger generation with no recall of Blackbushe in her true glory, but nonetheless find the airfield's operation a suitable attraction and a chance to hear the sounds and remember the aroma of jet fuel being consumed? Or are you a futurist who sees Blackbushe just for her future potential and none too bothered about what goes on today?
By virtue of the passage of time some of us are ring fenced into the good ol' boys category, haunted by the past but also very much concerned with the present and indeed the future. While the editorial passion for Blackbushe was inflamed in the fifties by a full sized commercial airport operation, hopefully today's increasingly busy Blackbushe is securing equally passionate followers from what they see? It's hard to believe that there are any 'futurists' who simply think of the future with no interest in the here and now Blackbushe?
Hopefully with Rob Belcher's written histories of Blackbushe, perhaps this Forum's emotional links with the past, and the Pathfinder that gives a focal point for all who spend some time at the airfield, most of our followers fall into the category where past, present, and future all jostle for a position of equal priority?
Wherever your interest may lie you're very welcome to share the rather captivating effect Blackbushe can have. Blackbushe past, the land of special memories for some..Memories made for sharing, they may be getting a bit grainy but...!Blackbushe 'today' has many followers, thanks to John for this captured moment as a Falcon reaches for the sky and Blackbushe's present day varied traffic mix is obvious.If you're a 'futurist' maybe your thoughts wander in this direction? Ultra modern structures and whisper quiet craft linking important places far more efficiently than public transport of today might manage?Whatever and wherever your Blackbushe leanings take you, thanks for being here today!!
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 28, 2023 6:58:38 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 28/03/23Flick back the pages to 1990 and you'll find this was the day when the 737 became the world's best selling airliner. United took delivery of the 1,832nd 737.. It's 11,324 to February this year! Apparently the A320 family has reached 10,747 which I gather includes the A318,A319 and A321.
On this day in 1980 the 1,000th production Learjet was delivered..
For those with a leaning toward big props, on this day in 1947 a dual ceremony was held as the first two DC-6 airliners were delivered to American and United. The Blackbushe DC-6 days finally closed in 2008 when G-APSA made her last call, most aptly to collect the one and only Harold Bamberg..A moment captured from the 1977 Blackbushe Air Festival.. Part of the Leisure Sport WW1 display team, the early days of air show battle reenactments..This Sopwith Pup was Blackbushe based in seventies..Doug Arnold's Meteor soon after delivery by Neil Williams.A warbird memory from 1959, this one means business - just one of the many US Navy Neptunes to frequent Blackbushe when the Navy were based here..Have a nice day...
PB
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Post by PB on Mar 29, 2023 5:36:55 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 29/03/2310C outside, 0600 on the clock, the fun bugs that insist on making me cough have won the nighttime battle...so why not focus on Blackbushe to start the day? Nothing new there then, so today it's time to read another letter received by Stuart Marshall from crew members who flew from RAF Hartford Bridge in WW2.This letter, received in April 1994 comes from N.T. Fairfax a Weapons Operator Air Gunner with 107 and 88 Squadrons..."I served on Bostons, in fact I spent time with both 107 and 88 squadrons. I was a WOP/AG with 107 Squadron when it moved from West Raynham to Hartford Bridge on 20 August, 1943. At that time we were equipped with the Boston 111A and our main operations consisted of daylight low level attacks on power stations, airfields etc and the duration of the trips was only some 2-3 hours. However, on 27th August 1943, our first Operation from Hartford Bridge, six aircraft were detailed to attack Gosnay power station in the Pas de Calais area. Three aircraft were lost including our own - two were hit by flak over the target area, collided and crashed. Our own aircraft was also hit but, on the way out, we were attacked by FW190s, hit, and forced to crash land. We were extremely lucky in that no-one was hurt and even more fortunate in that the operating crew (Pilot, Navigator and WOP/AG) eventually managed to get back to the UK by November 1943. As a matter of interest, on this particular trip we had a member of the RAF Photographic Unit with us but, unfortunately, after being some three months on the loose he was captured in Paris and spent the remainder of the was as a POW.
Our pilot Jim Allison got back to the UK via Spain and Gibraltar, setting foot in the UK again on 13 October, as I did with our navigator MacLeod, arriving 15th November. The three of us rejoined our Squadron at Hartford Bridge in February 1944 and when 107 converted to Mosquitoes, we were posted to 88 Squadron".Just one more example of the heroism, courage and sacrifices made by the many aircrew who flew in anger from Blackbushe's runways in the last war. Just one more reason why Blackbushe must 'remember' with a permanent memorial once the airfield's construction work has at last been completed...Never forgotten...PB
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