PHOTO of the DAY...

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
26/10/22

2022 managed to further build what will an historic year yesterday. The year of significant heat both from the meteorological point of view and the political furnace in Downing Street... Today at 06.30 the outside air temperature indicated +15C and the latest political leader of our nation will have had some sleep (?) in his new dwelling at Number Ten. The forecasters predict a warm winter weatherwise, one hopes that our new PM navigates a similar outcome for our United Kingdom.

Our aviation friend the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP becomes the UK's Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. His aviation background and appreciation of the benefits of General Aviation will hopefully get the opportunity to reflect in the next stage of his political career..

The Business Secretary's duties include overall responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy which brings together responsibilities for business, industrial strategy, science, innovation and energy. This involves:-

*leading the government’s relationship with business
*ensuring that the country has secure energy supplies that are reliable, affordable and clean
*ensuring the UK remains at the leading edge of science, research and innovation, this includes responsibility for:
*the UK’s membership of Horizon Europe
*the Advanced Research & Invention Agency
*the Innovation Strategy and R&D People & Culture Strategy
*the Office for AI
*our European Space Agency membership
*steel and metals, critical minerals and the maritime, automotive and aerospace sectors

Me think he's going to be busy, one feels/hopes that general aviation airports and facilities might find some room within? Hopefully the All-Party Parliamentary Party for General Aviation within which Grant Shapps was a prime mover originally will come back to life at some point. Since Covid nothing much has been heard...



Meanwhile Blackbushe Airport moves firmly forward with positive steps towards overcoming the planning impasse that has confronted our hopes for so many decades. A news update will be out soon and included on "POTD" at the earliest opportunity.

History's part in Blackbushe will not be forgotten as the Blackbushe Heritage Trust march toward the day when their Vickers Viking makes the journey from Austria to Blackbushe for eventual display as a salute to the Airport's history, it's resident airlines, and the fist British post war civil airliner to take to the skies. The Trust does not take the word "heritage" in its title lightly.


You can help, every pound raised is a step nearer the day!!!




Raffle tickets are available at the Pathfinder Cafe! Go buy some.... Amazing prizes, First Prize is a session on one of the most advanced flight simulators at Heathrow worth hundreds of pounds, Second Prize no less than one of three flights in a light aeroplane from Blackbushe worth some £80 at least, Third Prize a framed Viking print, BHT merchandise PLUS a £50 voucher to use in the Pathfinder Cafe... ASK for your tickets when next at the Pathfinder




Goodies to buy at the Pathfinder Cafe! Every item sold is another step nearer to the Viking's return!





Today's parting picture...Flying back to the sixties when Piper products proliferated amid Blackbushe's home based fleet of aeroplanes. The Common to the right was beginning to grow the scrub that has now filled the old views to the east, while through the mist the north side of the airfield was wide open before it too became the wild side.



Time for me to go.. tea brewing duties call!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
27/10/22

Hopefully yesterday's 'POTD' stirred some to look to supporting the Blackbushe Heritage Trust and our ambition of returning an historic Vickers Viking to spend her days in splendid retirement on Blackbushe's green and pleasant land? Obviously, every ounce of support received is of immense value, and we know there are many out there who appreciate the value of a Viking coming home to Blackbushe.




Chairman and Founder of Eagle Airways, Harold Bamberg, the man who brought so many Vikings to Blackbushe, is seen here back in 2017 during the Airport's 75th Anniversary surrounded by some of the refugees he rescued from the clutches of the Russians in 1956 during the Hungarian uprising. Harold sadly left us recently, but our work with the Heritage Trust is resolute in returning a Viking to Blackbushe and in doing so ensuring the names Bamberg and Eagle Airways are for ever held in perpetuity with the Airport's history..




The Tiger Moth. Another famous face from British aviation. This photo from Colin Smith is of G-APAL during her visit to Blackbushe in June as we celebrated the Airport's 80th year of operation. Yesterday was a day of great significance for the Tiger Moth as it was on that date 26 October, back in 1931 that the type first flew. G-APAL's historic links with Blackbushe go back to the early 1960s when she was one of our very early residents along with two or three other aircraft. That was it, the bleak past so far as conditions at Blackbushe were back then, and G-APAL was known as a Jackaroo! The Jackaroo was the four seat modification with cabin for creature comfort. As you can see, AL has now returned to her designers dream shape and is once again a pukka Tiger Moth.




The way we were... G-APAL as a Jackaroo. Sadly a winter storm shifted her from her moorings on the apron and pushed her onto the parish council's wretched smashed and broken Blackbushe. Happily the aeroplane was soon fixed and back in the air again, sadly the council continued its vendetta against the airfield and destroyed the large area we refer to as Blackbushe 'east'....



Today's date marks the move of ladies in aviation. On this day in 1909 Mrs Ralph van Denman flew for four minutes with Wilbur Wright at College Park, Maryland. She thus became the USA's first female air passenger.




Let's hope in this enlightened age common sense will see the virtues of a Blackbushe Airport with hangars and other facilities currently blocked by decades of authoritarian officialdom? Let us hope that scenes such as this are relegated to the history books once and for all..six decades have been a long wait, just hope my circulatory system keeps pumping away for at least another couple of years?? Imagine the joy of seeing the first turf being lifted as and when, that will be a day of celebration for sure!!

See you tomorrow...

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
28/10/22

Back on this day in 1957 the first production 707 was rolled out at Boeing's Renton assembly plant. The start of an era of big jets that would never set foot on Blackbushe due to size and the Airport's closure in 1960. Comets were the largest of the big jets to grace Blackbushe's 6,000ft of tarmac, but plenty of heavies of the time found solace on the airfield that topped the Hartford Bridge plateau. Looking back to school boy days when my bike and I found our own solace in the airfield's daily offerings the spread of aviation activity from heavy multi engined movements to the lighter end of the flying scene was amazing. The spread was from airline operations, varied military from the US Navy base, Army liason work and troop movements around the world while RAF Beverlies were regular sights on para training sorties, crew training, aircraft development operations with Airwork for the RAF, manufacturers delivering aircraft to international customers, fog diversions from 'London Airport' now known as Heathrow, home based airlines, home based light aircraft, imports of US built light aircraft, helicopters, and don't forget the amazing spectacle of Farnborough Week when visitors to the Air Show used Blackbushe, the airfield being covered in an extraordinary mix of machines from around the world, large, small, civil, military... On this day in 1959 scanning the records Continental Airlines Viscount N250V departed Blackbushe on delivery to her new home in the United States.




Hunting-Clan, one of the names long associated with Blackbushe, seems a while since the sound of the Viscount's four turbo props let you know there was a Viscount around!




The dear old Viking was one of the most predominant shapes seen on the airfield back in the fifties. Some thirty were based here, operated by a number of resident independent airlines. One of those Vikings being G-AGRW of Hunting-Clan.




G-AGRW started life with BEA being christened "Vagabond"... She moved onto other operators during her life , but flew into Blackbushe just once while under BEA colours, on 19 March, 1947.

Subsequently G-AGRW operated from Blackbushe between 1954 and 1959 flying the colours of Hunting-Clan. In 2022 the Blackbushe Heritage Trust was founded with the objective of returning G-AGRW to Blackbushe and placing her on permanent display. A token of yesteryear at Blackbushe and a salute to the numerous Viking operators who had the courage to pioneer post-war routes for British independent airline operations.

The Trust has already held volunteer evenings at Blackbushe where all may have the chance to become involved with this exciting project. On 22 November there will be a fund raising talk by Phil Johns on his lifetime of travels. Why not come along too??? Your chance to play a role in RW's long history with Blackbushe Airport...







PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
29/10/22


Step back in time and you'll find that today was a notable day in British private and sport aviation, on this day in 1901 the Royal Aero Club, now the respected body that represents all forms of the UK's general aviation activities. 121 years old today.

Quoting from dear John Blake who sadly left us some years ago, "In 1901, three wealthy motorists, Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls, had proposed a motor tour, but this was cancelled when Vera's Renault 4.5 caught fire. The lady arranged a balloon flight with the distinguished professional Stanley Spencer, as a distraction. Over a glass of champagne during the subsequent voyage, passing near Sidcup in Kent, they agreed that an Aero Club should be formed and after landing this was done without delay. Due no doubt to the presence and personality of Vera Butler, it was uniquely - for the time - agreed that it be open "equally to ladies and gentleman, subject to election".

Initially confined to ballooning, when heavier-than-air flight arrived, the Club embraced it with alacrity. The Club established its first flying ground at Muswell Manor near Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. Early contacts with the Wright brothers in America by Charles Rolls and the redoubtable Short brothers, balloon makers to the Club, led to the latter acquiring a Wright license and laying down the first aircraft production line in the world, at Leysdown, moving the next year to Eastchurch".

The above written by John is just the beginning of "A Brief History of the Royal Aero Club" found on the RAeC's website. John Blake was an incredible character, once met never forgotten!! Famed as the Farnborough Air Show commentator for years, I grabbed him as the commentator for the Blackbushe Air Festival back in 1977. His knowledge and sense of humour welded any event together and I happily recall his comments as to the event's variety as British Air Ferries Carvair arrived in the circuit to do its bit. We became firm friends from then on, having lunch in London from time to time usually concluding with demanding sessions in various wine bars. Life is so much more tame nowadays!




I can't remember John Blake's exact words as the Carvair joined the show in '77, but he was definitely excited! It followed other commercial aeroplanes of the day such as the Boeing 747, DC-8, CL-44 and Herald that participated that weekend at Blackbushe.



Hard to comprehend that 45 years have flown since bolting the Air Festival together... Blackbushe has continued under three different owners since then, undergone various legal encounters in the ongoing effort to to place aeroplanes in hangars on the site, and procedures continue in the now six decade endeavours to establish Blackbushe as a fully equipped General Aviation centre. There is absolutely no doubt that she is in the perfect location to serve all forms of General Aviation activity from the smallest to some of the largest, geographically and environmentally Blackbushe was located by a touch of genius back in the early 1940s!!

On that subject, it is now just a few days until Monday, 1st November.

On Monday, 1st November, 2022, we'll remember 1st November, 1942, it fell on a Sunday, the day Royal Air Force Hartford Bridge was officially opened.

RAF Hartford Bridge contributed heroically to World War Two as a fighter and bomber base, at war's end she became an RAF Transport Command airfield before turning to civil aviation and her glorious contribution to British independent commercial airline operations while also serving as a US Navy base.

The six decades subsequent to Blackbushe being closed by the government in favour of Gatwick have witnessed almost 22,000 days having past since the official 're-opening' air show in 1962. How much has been lost to the obfuscations of blinkered authorities over the period? Lost employment, lost support to the local economy, not to mention the cost of Blackbushe orientated legal battles to local funds spread from the sixties to present times...

On behalf of those of us who have stuck by Blackbushe since those very early days from 1960 onwards may it not take too much longer for the perfect flying location so well located on Hartford Bridge to become the airport with hangars and an appropriate infrastructure once again. I, for one, do not want to miss it, if you see what I mean.......

Enjoy the weekend, I'm sure Blackbushe will be buzzing!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the the Day"
30/10/22



The scene at Blackbushe yesterday afternoon, the day before the clocks go back and descent into the dark age.... Blue skies, delightfully warm, winter's sting felt far away, the sky yielded aeroplanes wherever you should look too! A beautiful vapour trail day indicated a well recovering air transport system after the empty Covid skies of not long ago, the Blackbushe circuit hummed with activity and the apron showed off the day's varied business movements.



It feels a long way, the march to lighter days of 2023, we live in rather unexplored territory with Russian activity doing its best to de-stabilise our world, hacking the PM's (ex PM's) phone, and making threats toward the sanctity of life on Earth. Meanwhile, we get on with life on and the things that are important to us. Take Blackbushe, the airfield that in a very short while will reach a significant birthday for example. We've endured 22,797 days since the last aeroplane officially departed Blackbushe Airport and the government of the day proceeded to tear the place apart at maximum speed. The government's bets were on Gatwick, any others in the race for title of London's new airport were well and truly nobbled. It's a long time since 1960, I was but 14 years old but most of the subsequent years through life's span have been focused on the day when Blackbushe can truly hold her head up and say, "Here I am, and here's the UK's most modern and well equipped General Aviation centre".... She has fought with determination and courage, and at great expense, as the inevitable if unfathomable opponents of progress scattered nails on runways and screamed their obscenities at those who fought to preserve this natural airfield.

However, from Blackbushe's outlook, despite the time change, we are moving into brighter times. More news will be published by the Airport before long as to the latest activity toward securing the Blackbushe Airport with hangars etc that we all wish to see! We're not there yet, but those 'sunlit uplands' are getting closer!

From today, 30th October, the Airport will remain open for an extra hour, until 19.00 local time, until 25th March next year to facilitate those who wish to continue flying in the evenings. It's a great feeling when arriving at Blackbushe by road after dark and the runway lights are blazing. Memories latent for so long spring back from nights when Blackbushe's varied traffic mix would come and go, what we miss now are the huge apron lighting gantries and general airport lighting from its infrastructure..




One of Jacob's great captures as a modern Blackbushe movement in the gathering night illustrates the scrub protruding from the eastern end of the Airport now under the care of the County Council.




Nowadays Blackbushe offers varied air traffic movements, the Pathfinder Cafe offering the perfect place to keep a watchful eye on the activity - indoors or out! Thanks to John for the shot..




If ever an airfield was a fighter it must be dear old Blackbushe, the airfield where her spirit is not only found in fuel tankers!


Enjoy the lighter mornings, it's just turned 07.00 time to turn on the news...

Have a nice Sunday!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
31/10/22

06.00, trees are just visible as gaunt silhouettes against the first light dawn as the time change grants us some extra light in the mornings. Halloween, one assumes that it'll more than trees that provide gaunt silhouettes before the day is done?




Keep your spooks, this is the kind of silhouette perhaps most of us would rather see, along with the accompanying sound effects? The BBMF based this Spitfire at Blackbushe for a weekend some years back, the airfield provided a suitable location to serve the Flight's weekend bookings giving us some impromptu 'photo opportunities'..




Magic in the Blackbushe air!!


Need I say more?

Nope...
PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
01/11/22


HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY BLACKBUSHE AIRPORT!!

Eighty years ago today Blackbushe Airport, then known as RAF Hartford Bridge was officially opened. The story that we're all living today was writing its first chapter, and what a story! It's quite a volume, and it's far from complete!

The following speak for themselves...




















































































































































































Through eighty amazing years the aerodrome on the Hartford Bridge plateau has seen it all. War and peace, triumph, tragedy, grief, ambition, achievement, frustration, and now hope. Hope that the past sixty years of political obfuscation will be replaced by an appreciation of the benefits Blackbushe Airport will bring to the community, employment, and the wider General Aviation movement.

The story might be in its 80th year now, it has far to go, and all I can say now is that it's been a joy to have had the privilege of perhaps weaving the tiniest of threads into an awesome publication.

Long live Blackbushe, and Happy Birthday...

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
02/11/22


..and so we meet again, treading the path toward the next magnificent 80 years of aviation being conducted on the airfield we know as "Blackbushe"... Eighty years ago nobody could have predicted the passage of time that lead to yesterday's day of reflection and appreciation of those past eight decades. Today as we step into the future prediction of who or what will occupy the precious acres on the Hartford Bridge Flats is as mysterious as the question would have been all those eighty years ago? One thing must be for certain and that is there will have been changes. Aviation will have changed, fuel, or whatever it may consist of by then, will be an interesting subject as will the sort of craft used for getting around. Perhaps the whole business will have become so automated that the fun will have been sapped out of the business? I think, perhaps, that we're the lucky ones seeing Blackbushe on the cusp of what we hope will lead to long awaited development of permanent hangars and the infrastructure of which the airfield has been so sadly bereaved during six decades of jobsworth officialdom blocking every route the airfield has attempted to take in order to provide what an airfield located where Blackbushe is located should be able to provide...

"POTD" is grateful to the extreme to the few who made such welcome comments about our shower of photos on yesterday's 80th birthday edition of our daily gathering. I sit here every morning scribing some kind of message pertaining to Blackbushe, or her thereabouts, it's become some kind of habit powered by the driving force of frustration having witnessed the catastrophic way the airfield has been treated by 'authority' (?) for so long. One's health tends to sometimes quiver as the years tick by and take their account, but I have every intention of being on site when the first spade is pressed into Blackbushe soil and we at last can say it was, "worth the wait"!! "POTD" daily gets around 250 visits, the system tells all, 267 yesterday so I think the old Forum is managing what Stuart and I envisaged when we felt a need for some kind of medium upon which to float the subject of Blackbushe. POTD has accounted some 587,846 visits since the start of play a few years back, but with other popular mediums of social media such as Facebook having zoomed into popularity life here on the Blackbushe Forum has been somewhat quiet. No matter, that is where we are and I'm delighted to have the opportunity of sharing 'Blackbushe' thoughts amid the faithful!



Every so often the Forum's 'header' photo is changed. Each time some point in the airfield's history takes pride of place for a few days. The above photo I chose to mark the 80th, and as you'll have seen it is still in situ and will be for a few days more. The occasion is the Three Counties Aero Club's excellent air display held in the late 1960s. The occasion marked another step in the airfield's ambitions to be placed firmly on the map. The USAF Dakota reflected the Airport's past and what she is still capable of supporting, but the focus is on the gentleman in white overalls and acting as an event marshal. The gentleman is, of course, the one and only Stuart Marshall! Stuart, a life long true 'Blackbushe person' was a strong thread through the Blackbushe story for many years and, of course, the person with whom I launched this Forum. A close and dear friend for so many years, Stuart was taken from us earlier in the year.



Each morning as "POTD" takes some form as it's doing right now, I feel as if I'm still working with Stuart, the very process of writing about the airfield and the associated images before me bring him, and all the other now missing friends, back into company. The influences and strength gained from knowing them is still as strong as ever, I could write a list of names, but today and everyday I benefit from their company. The Forum's current 'header' photo of Stuart and a USAF Dakota bring back so strongly the joy of those days in the sixties when youth was on our side and hope for Blackbushe was shared as strongly as it is today with those who cherish the Airport.

One member of our Forum, 'Rocky14' sent me a message yesterday asking if it was Stuart in the photo. I wonder if anybody else came to the same conclusion?




Another image from that same day as the RAF's Red Pelicans aerobatic display team arrived. No idea who is in the photo, but for those of us who had mourned the loss and destruction of Blackbushe it was a day of colossal importance seeing such a variety of air traffic once again on the ground at Blackbushe.


Today, if the weather holds out, I'll be paying my respects to another absent Blackbushe friend at a cemetery not far from the airfield. His resting place is in need of some attention, it's the least I can do for a missing friend.

Here's to a sunny day...

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
03/11/22

Wet 'n windy out there, brings back recall of those days when walking to junior school on wet n' windy mornings. One wished one was grown-up, it all looked so much nicer from what I could see, especially arriving at school wind swept and wet as the newly bare trees waved in the wind as I passed by. Here we are, wet n' windy again out there yet one wishes perhaps that it might be possible to visit those early years again? It's a very different climate to the post-war austere world of the early fifties, one thing in particular is very different - what we see and hear in the sky!!

Living in Berkshire, just a few miles from the Hampshire border, the sky offered its daily treasures. Walking to school around 8.45 I guess, the RAE shuttle would fly over, a Miles Marathon back then, heading north to Bedford or some outlying RAE branch. Farnborough traffic was not unusual, Empire Test Pilot School and experimental flying yielded sights and sounds that often transitted overhead. Not just that, Blackbushe was just seven miles away and her circuit traffic overflew home and school with regularity. Vikings, Yorks, Hermes, Dakotas, you name it. My Dad was RAE based which lead our conversation to flying much of the time. He was involved in radar R&D and had various aeroplanes flying on trials meaning that we talked of his pilots and their aeroplanes a lot! The traffic from Blackbushe was just heaven too!

In those days aeroplanes had a distinct effect on your TV signal, they also had their unique sounds. The picture would go from light to dark with increasingly frequent oscillations as the aeroplane got closer. I was usually on my feet and hurtling to the back door to inhale the sight of a Viking, for example, droning overhead as home seemed an optimum point in the pre landing checks to drop the gear. I recall my Dad brought home a BP Spotters log book, lots of pages for entries, and I happily filled in the waiting spaces with the aeroplanes of the day which were many..

On this subject, a couple of other memories from Berkshire skies in the early/mid fifties. The RAF! London did not hold sway to the atmosphere in quite the same was as it does today. Overhead on many days vapour trails turned and twisted leaving patterns akin to those you see of Battle of Britain skies. Sometimes a thicker straight trail would suddenly yield a couple of break away trails - no doubt fighter tactics to take out a heavy of some kind? Whatever, it was great entertainment. A Valiant over flew home, I was 8 or 9, and as I stared upwards a number of parachutes opened behind it. The Valiant flew on, the unfortunate souls who had to abandon ship landed spread around the area. The Valiant landed safely at Farnborough with just the captain onboard, I think it had had some major hydraulic problem, but all was well except for a broken leg belonging to one of the parachutists. The trial flights were fun if my Dad went along too. The house being buzzed by his Lincoln was a moment I'll never forget!!

Today, all are distant memories, and yes, it would be nice to revisit those days. Failing that, wouldn't it be great to see Blackbushe restored to a fully equipped airport again, smaller than before perhaps, but seeing Blackbushe into which so much time has been invested since I was young blossom into a truly functional airport would be one of the things I'd most like to see before I say farewell to one and all...




Wonderful sounds.. the Hermes overhead, wheels going down, downwind for Blackbushe. Blowing east or west, the Blackbushe circuit was left or right handed to keep her traffic clear of Farnborough.




Or try one of these.. the sounds of the DC-6 in flight were majestic, awesome, beautiful.. Final approach to Runway 26, Blackbushe, as she sails over the vast reaches of Yateley Common.




An altogether different sound as turboprops became more frequent. Still magic though!!




Ahh, such sweet sounds as a couple of Bristol Hercules carried endless Vikings through the skies of home.. Funny, but somehow in my mind I can still hear that sound as I rushed out to the backdoor for yet another helping from Blackbushe..


Enough nostalgia, back to November, 2022, hmm, still wet out there....

PB

[PB]

Photo of the Day"
04/11/22

Good Morning on this chill Friday morning where it's had to believe such a turbulent world lies beyond the serenity of the garden that awaits some further leaf raking.. Financial stresses and strains, the Triple Lock under threat, the present occupation of the Kremlin casting a shadow over our futures, corruption amid the cops, weeks of MPs behaving like lemmings tossing themselves off the parapets of Westminster and dissolving what little faith we may have had in them. We need some good news.

Well, as those reading the above paragraph of dismay are almost all of a collective mind toward the well being of Blackbushe Airport they'll be used to the past six decades where good news and Blackbushe have been rare partners. This may be about to change, and much more will be said about this in due course, it ain't gonna be quick, but I would say that we are moving closer than at anytime before toward a situation where agreement with the necessary bodies might be achieved.

If you read the minutes of the latest meeting of the Blackbushe Airport Consultative Committee held on 20th October, 2022, you will find further details and reasons for optimism.

Please take a look at what lies withing this link to the minutes.. static1.squarespace.com/static/593e87342e69cf4a3e148bb4/t/63614d1cf0b7b80a384e9e6b/1667321123103/2022.10.24++Blackbushe+Consultative+Committee+Minutes.pdf


The turnout by the public at the BACC meetings is usually pretty poor considering now many businesses depend on Blackbushe's well being, and how many supporters the Airport seems to have from social media pages... The next Meeting is on 21st March, 2023. Pathfinder Cafe, 7pm... hopefully see you there. By then the wheels should be turning in the drawn out processes leading toward Blackbushe's eventual 'freedom'.


Now, as you know this month, the first of the month, marked Blackbushe's 80th birthday, "POTD" giving an array of photos that encapsulated something of those eighty years..

Let's now slide back eighty years to that 1st November in 1942. What better than to use Stuart Marshall's words from his writings in, "The Wartime Years"?


....."On the 1st of the month the airfield was officially opened under the control of 70 Group/35 Wing, Army Co-operation Command with S/Ldr Houchin in command. It was to be known as either RAF Hartford Bridge or RAF Hartford Bridge Flats.

The main technical site was to the north of the A30 at the south-eastern end of the airfield and a control tower was built to the south of the main runway adjacent to the site. The tower was initially manned by one Air Traffic Controller and an assistant, with five Radio Telephony operators in a radio monitoring room. The first Controller to arrive was F/O Cole but S/Ldr Cannon, an Australian, arrived shortly afterwards and assumed control of the unit which was to continue to provide the air traffic service until the arrival of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in 1943.

By this time personnel were being accommodated in the newly erected communal site which was situated to the north east of the airfield in nissen hut buildings.

Services were far from complete and conditions were very difficult. There was for instance no electricity which meant that meals had to be cooked and eaten prior to dark or earlier to be in daylight.

As the advanced party from RAF Odiham moved in they took over the first sites to be erected apart from those being used by the hard pressed Aero Airborne Flight and were soon getting to work preparing for the arrival of the first squadron to be based at the airfield".


The Hartford Bridge story will be picked-up again in December...


As our erstwhile students of Blackbushe and her history will know, Airborne Aero Flight had moved in to the vacant spaces of this newly built airbase. Their job was to test the new gliders of war and assess their suitability for future needs. Based at RAE Farnborough, the slow gliders being towed behind sluggish Whitley bombers took too much of Farnborough's airspace, it was demanded by the new high sped fighter aircraft who would also have pressing needs to join the battle against Nazi oppression. The new airfield to originally be known as RAF Hartford Bridge provided the perfect expanse and free airspace for the safe continuation of glider trials. Hence, although officially opened on 1st November, 1942, the air base had already become familiar with the sound of aero engines, the smell of doped fabric and aviation fuel, and the sweet kiss of rubber on tarmac as the tugs returned from towing duties..




I wonder if those who first found themselves based at our 80 year old aerodrome could have envisioned the shapes of aeroplanes that might be here in eight decades' time? Or were would they even care, pressing matters were on their minds..




In the beginning. A very new and raw airfield with much history to make...built by McAlpines at record speed, it shows how scrub can be cleared and given a new life! The square block is the incomplete Control Tower prior to having its upper visual control room added, while to its right we see one of the precious new hangars. This was the beginning of the expansive RAF Technical Area wherein aircraft servicing and repair would be conducted. Later, after the war, this hangar was used by Airwork and a second large hangar was erected next to it. Sadly, the entire area has slipped back to wilderness, control of which has been assumed by Hampshire County Council. Nonetheless, it has found new purpose as a dog walking area accessed by the dog owners who use the Airport car park as the only means of getting there....



Long live Blackbushe Airport, long may she be remembered as a key strategic base in war, a key home to the numerous independent airlines for whom she was vital in the provision of a superb base, convenient for London yet located in the most extraordinarily environmentally suitable place. Factors that are still just a relevant in the 21st Century. LONG LIVE BLACKBUSHE!!!!!!!

PB