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Post by PB on Nov 22, 2016 6:22:14 GMT
"Photo of the Day 22/11/16"Another Dakota from the post 1960 privately owned Blackbushe. These were taken in 1976 at the west end of the airfield, the area that is now the heart of BCA's used motors operation. Just another war movie being shot on an airfield that 30 years before would have required no actors or repainted civvy aircraft to create the scene..Sadly very few photos of RAF Hartford Bridge in action..Name of the movie?? "A BRIDGE TOO FAR"... Aircraft (the original) KG736 was written off 1st January 1945 due enemy action. This one was ex Portuguese Air Force 6154, civil N9984Q Genuine Blackbushe dust as Three Counties Aero Club get a good view.Finally, a snippet found yesterday regarding real wartime event at Blackbushe, ie RAF Hartford Bridge and the captured Ju88 11May43 Professor R V Jones (Assistant Directorate of Scientific Intelligence and an expert on German radar systems) arrived at Dyce to take charge of evaluation of the aircraft and its equipment and asked for it to be hangared to hide it from Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft. 14May43 Flown from Dyce to RAE Farnborough by Sqn Ldr R A Kalpas, escorted by Beaufighters. Given temporary markings `B63' Schmitt had offered to ferry the aircraft himself but this was refused. 17May43 British serial number PJ876 allocated. 18 May 43 Photographed at Farnborough with RAF roundels applied and radar removed -
25May43 After application of British markings, commenced test programme with the RAE Wireless and Electrical Flight. Made 83 flights totaling 66 hours 55 minutes with the RAE, mostly from Farnborough but on 7 occasions flew to Hartford Bridge and made long flights from there at night to test the radar. These tests were in conjunction with the Fighter Interception Unit and resulted in the issue of Enemy Aircraft Report EA 35/9 in December 1943. Jun43 Flown on various radio trials and radar investigation flights using both Farnborough and Hartford Bridge Flats (Blackbushe). 20Jun/13 Jul 43 Made 7 night flights during which combat trials were carried out against a Halifax and the results reported in Fighter Interception Unit report no.211, 23 Jul 43 (PRO Ref.Air 40/184) to test radar and aircraft effectiveness. The report commented favorably on the Ju88s handling qualities but criticized poor pilot visibility; Flown by several RAE pilots including Sqn Ldr R J Falk and Sqn Ldr Martindale. Other pilots included Sqn Ldr Christopher Hartley, and Wg Cdr Derek Jackson, the two pilots most closely connected with the tests, Hartley being author of FIU unit report No.211 23 Jul 43, on the aircraft. Jul43 Trials ended when aircraft grounded by a blown cylinder head. 08Sep43 Flying again after repairs; A&AEE carrying out flame damping exhaust tests at Hartford Bridge. Mar/Apr 44 Final series of RAE tests conducted to evaluate the effect of `window' (chaff) of varying lengths on the performance of the FuG202 radar. Photo at RAE in Luftwaffe c/s (black green upper surfaces and light blue under surfaces) and minus radar antennae: Captive Luftwaffe (009336)
06May44 Flown to RAF Collyweston by Flt Lt H J King
Seventy three years later we can but imagine the scene on this lonesome windswept new air base known as RAF Hartford Bridge.. PB
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Post by PB on Nov 23, 2016 6:01:33 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 23/11/16Another day nearer Christmas, but more on my mind is next July... Site meeting yesterday, another today, like some huge jigsaw the pieces will eventually slot into place - and we can all celebrate the old aerodrome's 75th in style. Bridges still remain to be crossed, no one said this would be easy, but it's encouraging to get approaches from foreign sources seeking to take part in our 75th Anniversary with their jets... not that that does much to help the sleepless nights as ground exhibitions, static park, flying display, facilities, contracts etc etc all jostle for the front seat when sleep would really be the number one asset!! No problem, wouldn't change a thing, and there's always POTD to start the day... Through the 5am fog the world seems a very peaceful place today, time to clear another path through the fog of time.... Hopefully you've had some time, or will have, to look through Stuart's amazing account of the Dakota at Blackbushe during the 'civil airport' days spanning 1946-1960. Continuing POTD's post 1960 look at the Dakota, here are a couple more appearances by this wonderful old girl during the year's since Blackbushe's bacon was saved from total closure by private owners.. Handley Page's Dakota, G-ATBE, used as the Jetstream support aircraft..Fairey Air Surveys "WC", a regular Blackbushe over-flyer in the sixties, she had to land when her home base at White Waltham became flooded.G-ALWC with a couple of friends! A brief scene almost reminding you of the years when Blackbushe was the province of the somewhat bigger piston engine. Loads of 'em...PB Comment re Anson blackbusheairport.proboards.com/post/5844
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Post by PB on Nov 24, 2016 7:06:07 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 24/11/16My soul seems to have been sold to Blackbushe 100%, suppose it had to happen, but yesterday had a nice break from Blackbushe business while 'enjoying' a stress test on my heart. Two things. One, I lived, which was useful,two, it gave me a change of scene! I await the results, but remain confident that my soul will remain in its shoes until July next year. After that, 2018, hmmm...?? The test being a continuation of NHS care since I was ambulanced to hospital two days before this year's Blackbushe Air Day following a degree - and mildly worrying - alteration of heart beat etc.. Yesterday ran something like this..Forum from 0530, hospital, 75th phone calls/emails, afternoon four hour site meeting at BB, evening Forum stuff, 75th emails until bedtime.. too stirred to sleep following the evening's email content - (excitment at possibilities..). Now it's another day to be filled with Forum, phone calls and emails, ground exhibition, flying programme, you name it. I will be looking for one or two names to add to our strength before too long as this thing is growing and specialists will be needed, and the jobs will not be easy... Main thing is that the 75th is taking shape, beyond that I'll say no more... Now, back to the Forum. POTD is currently taking a look at post 1960 Dakota operations, but following the last couple of days diversion as focus shifted toward the antiquated Annie, perhaps some reminders of the Anson at Blackbushe so far as the POTD vaults are concerned?? Having emerged covered in cobwebs, been mocked by mice, and burned through several candles down in the vaults this morning, herewith some memories of the venerable Avro product over the years at Blackbushe.. I have no photo evidence of the Annie at Blackbushe during the war, but she was a regular part of activities... Here's another view of one of the Biafran "Annies" during her stay at Blackbushe.. September, 1953, Farnborough Week..63 Group Communications Flight.G-AHIJ, 1950, Ministry of Transport's Anson. Parked at the mouth of the main apron - long dug up by local influencesFarnborough Week in the fifties..RAF Ansons were everywhere, many photos had one - or more - in the background!There's one..includes three types I'd like to see at Blackbushe for the 75th.. who knows?Couple more... Modern times. Farnborough Week in the very early sixties, Blackbushe survives!! Just.EKCO's other Anson, G-ALIH. She and I became firm friends..Your scribe in the right hand seat, taxiing out to do radar calibration during the week prior to SBAC show. 31 August, 1962. Note the vast apron local influences were about to destroy. Still hurts. 08 departure from a very deserted Blackbushe. Terminal 100% intact and in great condition, and all that tarmac!!!Lord Trefgarne's Anson operation, Treffield Aviation. His Lordship was an avid supporter of Blackbushe....finally, our most recent Anson at Blackbushe. I've re-opened the conversation that brought her here this July in hopes that BAe Systems will again sponsor her return for another visit come July 2017.At the moment her return is just another question mark among millions.. Thanks for staying with the Forum dear Reader, I'm about to add photos to Stuart's latest work on heavy aeroplanes at Blackbushe pre 1960, hopefully to be released later this morning. Never a dull moment!! Have a nice day! PB
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Post by PB on Nov 25, 2016 5:53:44 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 25/11/16One month. One month to turkey, twinkling lights, tinsel and terrible jokes tumbling from Christmas crackers that refuse to crack.. Just a month to button up so much in the way of next year's 75th, the campaign has now got to move into top gear or I'll have failed, and failure for next year's celebration is not an option. Perhaps now is the most stressful time when you're surrounded by a multitude of lose ends that, try as you may, refuse to tie up!! There'll be a call for some extra manpower, personpower, before too long - as soon as the event's structure is securely in place. Meanwhile, I've got to leave the office and track out west to Welsh Wales for the day with non Blackbushe business awaiting. Shocking, but life goes on! Before I go, it's time to return to the Dakota's that have blessed Blackbushe during the long years since the airfield was closed by HM Government... Moormanair and a Messerschmidt - can offer no more detail than that, except it was Blackbushe, the state of the visible Common suggests early seventies..??Tyne Tees Air Charter Dakota that changed its colours for "The Winstone Affair" recently discussed in POTD..It all washed off too!More Dak tales tomorrow, the weekend, but no time off, Blackbushe is a tough master! Bye bye PB
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Post by PB on Nov 26, 2016 6:37:55 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 26/11/16Running well ahead of the lark today, in a strangely buoyant mood. Not too sure why though.. six hours sleep maybe? Back to the Dakota at Blackbushe this morning...Stuart, as you now know, has done a study on the Dakota when at Blackbushe in the years leading to the 1960 closure. We're doing a quick recall of this wonderful aeroplane's visits to Blackbushe after the 'closure'.. Wartime Blackbushe first saw the Douglas design on our runways, in particular the US Air Force 9th Troop Carrier Command's C-47s. Field Marshal Montgomery, "Monty", made numerous visits to the then RAF Hartford Bridge with his Dakota. The war days were recaptured to a small degree thanks to various movies being part shot at Blackbushe..Doug Arnold's ex Spanish Dakotas looked good when they played their parts.. The Army gave me one of the luckiest breaks I can recall when one evening back in 1994 a phone call came from the midst of Aldershot's Army HQ asking if I'd be interested in taking on their Dakota for air show work. Up to my ears in my airline career, domestic duties etc., but this was too good to turn down. So it was that G-BVOL came into my life for a couple of years. Initially based at Farnborough, this was the most immaculate Dak you ever saw!! Presented to this country by the South African Air Force, she was in the most fantastic condition, and it was love at first flight from my view point. She was officially greeted into the UK by Prince Charles and various dignitaries before going to Farnborough and sitting around. How I wish we'd still got her for next year having recently lost the C-47 I'd earmarked.. We moved "BVOL" to Blackbushe as it was easier for me to pop up and clean the bird poo off her, attend to the quantities of oil that leaked from her engines, and sometimes just sit in her and marvel at my luck! One of the ladies in my life!! G-BVOL.We travelled the air shows, made some money (for the Army and BVOL's upkeep), had a blast at events like Flying Legends where we flew with the BBMF, and had a bunfight in the officers mess as part of the weekend's proceedings. Flew her over Belfast for the big fly-past that was part of the VJ Day celebrations where below the Duke of York was apparently taking the salute.. Revolting weather, we lost the B-25, or rather he lost himself, encountered a VC-10 with two Tornadoes in pseudo refuelling mode who were in a most unexpected bit of sky at 90 degrees to our route, plus a sky full of Chinooks and other rotary devices, the Blenheim was somewhere in the fly past, rain squeezed into the cockpit...but, we had great time. Belfast was clear for the flypast, I think a cold front must have gone through just ahead of the formation. Later we gave Newtonards the chance to see what a Dakota can do at their air show in the afternoon before our departure back to mainland UK in formation with the B-25 and Blenheim. During that summer we participated in numerous air shows, but sadly all good things come to an end. The CAA demanded some mods, the bank would not support them, and she was sold to the Netherlands. Struck me as a bad show having had her presented to the UK amid pomp and ceremony, but that is sadly what happened. No chance of keeping her as a gate guard at EGLK. Today her fuselage is on display at Schipol in KLM authentic colours of the era. Thus ended our weekend fun.. we left her with Air Atlantique at Coventry and had to return home by train. A train journey that seemed endless compared to the lost joy of the Dak and the company of her two P&W's that roared so reliably wherever we went... Now, I must continue trying to find a spare Dakota for next year. Surely there must be ONE?? BBMF perhaps, but won't know about that until January as with all our MoD bids. Anybody got a DAK spare on 1 and 2 July next year??? PB
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Post by PB on Nov 27, 2016 6:36:33 GMT
"Photo of the Day 27/11/16Some more morsels from the Dakota days at Blackbushe following the 1960 closure of the airfield.. The Doug Arnold Dakotas imported from Spain looked like this on arrival...Cannot remember, must have been around five at some point, but together they gave the Blackbushe observer the tiniest inkling of how things were prior to 1960..No other type can have come and gone through Blackbushe and endured so many rapid changes of colour scheme..?One genuine Dakota, no changes of colour, USAF example supporting the Three Counties Aero Club air show in September, 1965.As above..Dakota as above. Man about the Airport, marshaller to Manager, none other than the very aptly named Stuart M....some of us have been around a while at the old airfield! Easter in the sixties. Another USAF Dakota popped in to try the Blackbushe air stairs for size, and to pick up their parachute team...Our most moving Dakota movement since the dreaded end of May, 1960...The French Air Force Dakota above arrived one sunny day around 1963/4. It carried survivors of the Free French Air Force Lorraine Squadron who flew from Blackbushe/RAF Hartford Bridge during the Second World War. They returned to remember those days when they flew from here to bomb their homeland, they returned to remember their air crew colleagues who were unable to be with them on that day, who had never returned to Hartford Bridge. And there were many who did not. The airfield would have looked very different following the closure and the freshly excavated east end where rubble mounds added to the scene of devastation. It's hard to imagine what must have been in the hearts of those brave French aviators that day.. PB
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Post by PB on Nov 28, 2016 5:57:37 GMT
"Photo of the Day 28/11/16It's a fairly certain bet that 9 out of 10 visitors to Blackbushe in 2016 are unaware of the airfield's varied history. Sadly, if you mention, "Blackbushe" in conversation the other person's eyes will light up while emitting the words, "Sunday Market!", followed by, "yeah, such a shame it closed...", (not referring to the airfield) followed by an accusing look as if the mean people who run the Airport had the Market closed. The old Sunday Market was all part of the British Car Auction's empire and what happened there is their business. Sadly, it looks as if the BCA empire has got its foot into Blackbushe's north west corner for keeps, along with the hangars! However, going back to the 9 out of 10 visitors to what's left of Blackbushe it's an even fairer bet that they won't know that this was the United States Navy's only UK land base. They had admin offices in London, naturally, but otherwise until the 1960 closure Blackbushe was host to the US Navy's UK air operations. The US Navy not only had FASRON 200 based here, it was a popular staging post for long haul flights, Super Constellations especially in dark drab colours with radomes, antennas and things sprouting out of their sleek Lockheed skin. The Martin P4M-IQ Mercator was a fascinating and mysterious looking craft, and just one of the types that frequented our local airspace during the chilly Cold War era... US Navy Martin Mercator parked in the US Navy complex located on Blackbushe's long gone north-eastern corner.The photo was taken long ago, you can just see the old Blackbushe control tower with the old top that was replaced when the Tower was refurbished. Could be during a 1954 Mercator movement? PB
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Post by PB on Nov 29, 2016 5:37:05 GMT
"Photo of the Day 29/11/16November looks like going out on an icy blast, December lurks round the next bend and then it's full speed to Christmas. Again! As we often know to our own cost, the festive season is not always festive, especially so if you are in the armed forces and subject to the whims of war. Blackbushe witnessed Christmas festivities and tragedies during her WW2 days in uniform. The following years have proven not to be altogether peaceful with uprisings especially in the Middle East... I'm very grateful to the kind soul who forwarded the photo and text beneath regarding the mass transport of troops from Blackbushe to Cyprus back in the fifties. Blackbushe was literally covered in Shackletons and Hastings to give our boys not the smoothest ride to their Christmas operations.. "Thank you" to the very kind person who sent me this!The Shackeltons were hastily stripped of their usual onboard equipment so as to squeeze in their lucky passengers..I suppose it's possible to imagine the scene, but Blackbushe covered in RAF Shacks and Hastings nose to tail must have been an incredible spectacle. A sight hard to beat with fly-ins or any other flying event should we happen to have one... PB Comment from Chevvron blackbusheairport.proboards.com/post/5885
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Post by PB on Nov 30, 2016 6:13:28 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 30/11/16If I were a brass monkey, I'd be worried. Just stuck my nose outside so far this morning, and it's cold...... Before I whizz off to the wilds of Oxfordshire, just one view from the Blackbushe vaults... The perfectly formed plateau known as Hartford Bridge Flats - as proven, the most perfect place for an aerodrome.The above from dear Harry Hobden, a controller from the original 1950's Blackbushe Air Traffic, shows the airfield in her very early years, and still relatively new to the "Flats".. It shows an airfield that to this day is still naturally perfectly flat, naturally well drained, that rises above low lying mists, is easy to spot from afar, is in an excellent catchment location, has long clear approaches to her main runway in both directions and is probably the most environmentally acceptable airfield in the south east of England. It's an airfield called Blackbushe - an airfield with so much potential that's just bursting to be let out... Think that says it all...? PB
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Post by PB on Dec 1, 2016 6:22:08 GMT
"Photo of the Day" 01/12/16Welcome to December! It's 'only' -4C according to my OAT equipment, tropical compared to yesterday's -8C as recorded in the car en route to EGLF at 08.00. The dreaded dawn temperature plunge worked well as the minus temps added to the defrosting challenge. December registers three things on my alert monitor. One, Saturday - the dentist! Hopefully an end to the agony of the past week. Two, it'll soon be 2017 and the pressures regarding the 75th (Blackbushe's 75th...) are bound to intensify, and Three, maybe - just maybe - there will be a significant step taken toward Blackbushe's aeronautical future. That is all in the hands of legal beagles and those who hold power over all of us. Don't get over excited, but rays of hope are not extinguished. Talking of the 75th, as it did cross my mind briefly just now, there is an interesting assortment of flying hardware lining up. I won't say more until things are 100% confirmed and we've written the cheques. The Air Day, now far back in July, depended on the generosity of operators, this time it's more on the generosity of one's available bank resources... By February when I have the result of various bids for our military brethren to join us I should be able to give a better picture. Below is a type of aeroplane under consideration for the 75th. It's been offered, but no decision taken as I'm juggling with a basket of possibilities.. Great excitement back in the sixties having such a large aircraft on Blackbushe!! Look at the Common in the background, the scene today shows what fifty plus years of neglect have achieved...Again dated by the state of the Common, Short's demo Skyvan during a long past Farnborough Air Show Week...Dear old Skyvan, another British design that has pretty much faded into the history books. It, and its successor the SD360 were fun to fly in, somewhat akin to taking the garden shed for a flight but they did what it said on the tin.... Ahh, one thinks of others of a similar disposition seen at Blackbushe over the years. Names that conjure instant sentiment like Bristol Freighter or Miles Aerovan. Memories...... PB Comment from A26 Invader blackbusheairport.proboards.com/post/5893
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