PHOTO of the DAY...

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
15/12/22

06.44, 15th December..pitch black beyond the window but according to the Blackbushe Airport webcam the vis is good, just the temperature is a bit on the chilly side at a cool minus 8C across the road at Farnborough.

15th December. Just for one minute do me a favour close your eyes and drift back to 1959. It's 15th December, but fog is the enemy! Well, it is unless you're flying into Blackbushe!! Actually, don't close your eyes, you'll need to read some of the flights that diverted from Heathrow and Gatwick into Blackbushe on this day in 1959. A year later Blackbushe was a devasted scene of utter destruction as political 'requirements' brought doom to this wonderful airfield.

However, go back to 15th December, 1959..

BEA Dakota G-ALLI LHR diversion
BEA Viscount G-AMOK LHR diversion
Morton Air Services Dove G-AMYO LGW diversion
BOAC Britannia G-ANBJ LHR diversion
Atlantis Air Dove G-ANPH LGW diversion
BEA Viscount G-AOFX LHR diversion
Morton Air services G-AOGO Dove LGW diversion
BEA Viscount G-AOHO LHR diversion
BEA Viscount G-AOJB LHR diversion
BEA Viscount G-AORD LHR diversion
BEA Viscount G-AOYL LHR diversion
BEA Viscount G-AOYS LHR diversion
Air Ceylon 4R-ACH L1049 Constellation LHR diversion
Aer Lingus Viscount EI-AKK LHR diversion

other arrivals same day included
Airwork Cessna 310 demonstrator G-APUF
Private Tiger Moth G-ANRM
United States Navy Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune 133592
United States Air Force Douglas C-47 43-48675
Eagle Airways Bermuda Viscount EI-AFY - delivery from Cambridge

Such was the diversity of Blackbushe life in the fifties..



You get the picture, Blackbushe became a valuable friend to airlines planning to arrive at LHR but forced by fog to seek an alternative. Couldn't get much closer than Blackbushe to run coaches down the A30 to collect those who landed in Hampshire rather than Hillingdon..



There was even a movie featuring foggy London Airport and an airline coach sent to Blackbushe! "The Run Away Bus" with a great cast including Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford, Terence Alexander, Petula Clark, and George Colouris.





Fog free days, BEA were very much a part of Blackbushe life apart from fog diversions.. Crew training was a regular event, BEA Viscounts were regulars with their own parking areas clearly painted in yellow "BEA VISCOUNTS". Long faded, worn away by the decades, but the sight and sound of Viscounts still lingers in the memories of Blackbushe past...



British Airways were planning to bring an Airbus A318 to our Blackbushe 75th show back in 2017. They had two that operated a great service from London City to New York. Sadly, one of the aircraft was sold and taken off the fleet strength before our 75th and thus we were not able to enjoy the amazing sight of a British Airways aircraft on the same tarmac that their predecessor BEA occupied so frequently..

Happily, Blackbushe and British Airways are still linked.. The British Airways Crowdfunder appeal continues to grow in support of the Blackbushe Heritage Trust's plans to return a Viking to Blackbushe that will eventually wear the colours of BEA on one side and Eagle Airways on the other..

Hopefully our morning meeting has given you food for thought, and once again, a link to the Crowdfunder appeal that will help so much toward our returning a page of history to its rightful place at Blackbushe!! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond

Thank you for your help!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
16/12/22

Kinda cool again, -8C over at EGLF this morning. Vlad screws up the gas supplies and the weather gods join in the fun by delivering our current brass monkey days. Wet n windy not too far behind.

Yesterday's "POTD" reflected on the value of Blackbushe in the fifties when a suitably fog free runway was needed to take air traffic for whom Heathrow was below limits.

The aviation world has changed beyond recognition from those days of the early jets, turbo props, and big piston powered wonders.. Received yesterday from "Horizons" was an article on electric power for air transport for tomorrow. Thought I'd share it with you....

"An electric jumbo jet could arrive in a decade with the help of hydrogen

Giant e-planes could take off relatively soon — if engineers figure a few things out first.


As governments around the world come to terms with climate change and are facing more pressure to slash carbon emissions, more businesses are shifting to make operations greener.

Despite contributing over 10 percent of the world’s transportation emissions, plane manufacturers haven’t stepped up in the same way that car makers have. This slower shift may be due to unique aspects of the industry itself. “Aviation is a really, really conservative sector. [It has] very strict safety requirements, so that makes [technological change] more challenging than in other sectors,” says Jonas Kristiansen Nøland, an engineer who studies cryoelectric aviation at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Still, engineers are working hard to make electric planes a reality. So far, companies have made progress with tiny commuter planes; for example, the world’s first all-electric plane, called the Alice plane, took its first flight in September. But the Alice plane, from the aviation company Eviation, can only carry nine passengers and can travel just 150 to 250 miles at once.

Airbus bets on hydrogen

Last month, Airbus announced that it’s working on an emissions-free system for passenger flights as part of its ZEROe initiative. The company is currently modifying an A380 jumbo jet and adding pods that sit on the side of the aircraft.

Inside these pods, a fuel cell engine turns hydrogen into electricity and drives a propeller, providing the plane with the thrust it needs to lift off.

Fuel cells function similarly to batteries, but they don’t need to be recharged. When they receive fuel — in this case, hydrogen — they produce electricity and heat through an electrochemical reaction. In most of today’s planes, meanwhile, combustion in conventional engines spin propellers to create thrust.

By specially designing this equipment to fit in the pods, Airbus aims to leave room for more passengers, cargo, and fuel in the fuselage, or main body, of the plane.

“I think they have come to the reality of what it would take to actually integrate this fuel into the fuselage of the airplane,” Nøland says.

The fuselage will hold liquid hydrogen in cryogenic tanks, which ensure that the fuel remains under its super cold boiling point, or negative 424 degrees Fahrenheit. (Before it heads to the fuel cells, it’s converted into gas so that it doesn’t freeze parts of the plane.)

“I think the designs make reasonable sense,” says Dustin McLarty, a mechanical engineer who specializes in energy systems and hydrogen at Washington State University. “If the technology can meet and deliver on the specifications, those designs will work.”

Test flights will begin in 2026, and the goal is to create a new zero-emissions aircraft that will enter service by 2035".



The last ever DC-6 departure from Blackbushe back in 2008 when G-APSA came home for one last look at her old Blackbushe base.. They will never ever build an aeroplane that sounds like that as take-off thrust is delivered, or that sounds like it what ever phase of flight it may be in.




Sorry, no sounds available..




Short final for 26 at Blackbushe, long gone days when the sights and sounds of big multi engined aeroplanes was just 'normal'. I wish as a schoolboy observer I could have appreciated just how precious memories of those days would become in the future. But, like so many events and people in life, you don't know how much you'll miss them - until they're gone..



That's it for today, time for another log on the fire me thinks..

..meanwhile the Viking rescue fund continues to grow, your support greatly appreciated!! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond



PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
17/12/22


She's a lady of great respect, a lady whose influence swept the planet, a lady who you could listen to at any time, a lady whose lines were just perfect, a lady you could trust, a lady who will be greatly missed when her days are finally done, but a lady never to be forgotten...

On this day in 1935 she felt the wind beneath her wings for the first time, the lady was the Douglas Dakota, the lady whose name was to become one of the best known in aviation circles as her perfect lines and low wing all metal construction brought an almost futuristic style to aeroplane design.

The Dakota and Blackbushe formed a steady bond throughout the Second World War, throughout the civil days from the end of the War and until the end of May, 1960, when the Airport was closed. Since 1960, Dakota movements have been at but a trickle, the last one to date being in 2017 when Andrew Dixon brought the Dunsfold Dakota over for Blackbushe's 75th Anniversary weekend..




Was this the last of the many as far as Blackbushe is concerned? They are few and far between today, but it would be nice to think the Dak days are not over yet, maybe for a Dakota to visit the Blackbushe Heritage Trust's Viking some day..



The Dakota and Blackbushe became well associated during the war, in particular returning injured troops back to the UK where fleets of ambulances would await the casualties. On 27th December, 1944, RAF Blackbushe was the only airfield open in the whole of the UK, five Dakotas made it in with their loads of injured soldiers, seventy seriously wounded and thirty walking cases.

The Dakota/Blackbushe relationship became well known when from September, 1945, the RAF's 24 Squadron commenced a daily Blackbushe-Prestwick service. Throughout the coming winter months until the following April the service suffered only two flight cancellations! Blackbushe 'clearly' demonstrated her ongoing aspirations as the south's natural airfield, while the Dakota demonstrated her reliability... The service was known as AWAS, All Weather Air Service.




Eagle Airways, a Dakota, a Viking... Blackbushe. Between 1953 and 1958 "ZZ" would be seen in and out of Blackbushe bearing Kuwait insignia.. Ahh, hangars too.




Demobbed Dakotas found their new lives through Blackbushe based Aviation Servicing. G-AMZZ to be!




G-AMYT arrived in April 1953, she left in July as VP-YKL to start a new life with Central African Airways.




An image typical of Blackbushe in the fifties. Danish Air Force 721 Squadron Dakotas being frequent visitors.




Central African Airways Dakota with a familiar backdrop!!




A day of miracles! Our first Dakota since AVM Bennett purchased Blackbushe, 1963...I stood transfixed awaiting her arrival, joined overhead from the north, turned downwind, gear down, it was really happening - a Dakota landing at Blackbushe again, something the government had never imagined having closed the place three years investing heavily in Gatwick...




Another Blackbushe resident of the fifties..




The dynamic duo, Dakota and Viking....




1970s Doug Arnold kept the Dakota story going with his ex Spanish examples. Seen here dressed for a movie role..




..and my baby, G-BVOL. Based her at Blackbushe for the summer of '95 having been 'commissioned' by the Army to put her into service and make some money to keep her flying. What a great summer, flying from Blackbushe to air shows all over the place. Owned by the Army, presented to the UK by the South African government having been 100% totally refurbished, she was a beautiful aeroplane. When not flying I endeavoured to keep her spick and span, but birds would poop over the most hard to reach places on our dark military colour...



So much history between the Dakota and Blackbushe, but time for breakfast! Perhaps, if you've found interest in these weeks, months, years of free morning Blackbushe 'stuff' within 'POTD' perhaps a donation to the Blackbushe Heritage Trust and the Crowdfunder appeal aimed at the return of a Viking to Blackbushe would be a nice gesture??? It's here... www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond

THANK YOU..and Happy Birthday Dakota!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
18/12/22

07.00 just one week until Christmas Day and the weather has given just one more Christmas card dusting overnight as a fresh layer of snow adorns the already well frozen ground. The change is coming though, the OAT is already at a balmy +1C at London's Blackbushe Airport, the westerlies soon will blow with their characteristically damp breath...

At least we can stop trying to work-out the central heating bill and its "£s per minute" cost as cash saving warm air from the south takes over..

Talking of the weather, it was on this day in December 1944 that the weather had a profound effect on the Pacific war effort as Typhoon Cobra struck Task Force 38 in the Philippine Sea. Weather extremes are very news worthy events in the 21st Century, but new they are not. The United States Third Fleet had been attacking Japanese airfields in the Philippines when the storm struck. Low on fuel many ships were caught refuelling at the time. Losses due to the Typhoon included three destroyers, over 800 men, and serious damage to many ships. Task Force 38 lost 146 carrier aircraft as they went into the sea while battleship and cruiser floatplanes were also removed from the inventory. Some might call it an act of God, but surely a highly perverse one should that have been the case?



Nature has a kinder face though. Standing where the main Terminal at Blackbushe once reached and gazing into the scrub and tangled brambles that have taken possession of Blackbushe's old eastern end, now under under civic control, Mother Nature over the past cold spell cast her enchanting patterns over each and every twig, thorn and tree. A sobering thought is that had AVM Bennett been defeated by the local powers that fought tooth and nail to defeat his ambition to save Blackbushe Airport in the very early 1960s, the entire Airport would have looked like this over the past cold days. You wouldn't be reading this and I would have found something else to do early on this Sunday before Christmas..




A home based Viking enjoys cool conditions at Blackbushe in the fifties...



Yesterday's "POTD" celebrated the Dakota and the date of the type's first flight... It was some years later in June of 1945 that Britain's first post-war commercial transport aeroplane took to the skies. The Vickers Viking lived as it first ascended from Wisley, not too far from Blackbushe, to become another famous shape in the twin engined airliner market. Perhaps only 163 Vikings were built, but it cut a swathe across the new commercial air routes of Europe in the fifties and became the predominant type at Blackbushe during the Airport's the roaring fifties..



Christmas approaches, the Blackbushe Heritage Trust continue working toward the day when it will be possible to bring a Viking back to Blackbushe for restoration and permanent display. A salute to the Viking and her operators, many of whom were Blackbushe based, a permanent heritage site where this trusty aeroplane and the airlines who together forged our place in European air transport may be remembered for generations to come..

The Heritage Trust truly values the support received to date, we are closing in on the time when funds will enable the task of bringing "Vagabond" back home, but we're not quite there yet..



That's her in one of her varied outfits. Started with BEA, it was with Hunting-Clan that most of her Blackbushe days were enjoyed..

All donations are very gratefully received!! Here's the latest from the Crowdfunder appeal where with British Airways support Blackbushe gets daily closer to being reunited with an old friend!

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond

Thanks very much in anticipation... A few pounds and you'll be a part of this project that will be preserving a valuable piece of our British aviation heritage for many generations to come..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
19/12/22

Plus twelve on the OAT monitor, a few early mornings ago the north Hampshire value was minus nine celsius, a shift of 21 degrees - in my books that's almost like the old 707 days and opening the door on arrival somewhere nice where a whoosh of super warmth awaited!

Our good friend Mike Biddulph was in the air during the recent cold period, before descending for a delicious Lasagne lunch at the Pathfinder Cafe, he secured some images of Blackbushe and I'm pleased to share these with you this morning..




From overhead looking east one may look longingly at the Airport's long severed eastern extremity. The main runway terminates at the intersection with runway 14/32, its ghostly trace still tells the story of times gone by. Talking of 14/32 you can easily see the trace of runway 14 as it still heads toward the A30. A triangle is formed by this runway's refusal to disappear, the current eastern boundary of the airfield and the extended line of the main apron to where it would meet with the old runway, the holding point for runway 32.

Look at the still active main Blackbushe apron and then project and continue the upper curve of its outline until it almost reaches round to the aircraft's wing strut abeam the A30... The 32 hold was found was found just beyond the end of the main apron back in the days, it truly was a very large area of super strong tarmac. It's easy to imagine how useful that apron would be today when the remaining apron section is filled with jet traffic.




I took this image in 1962 as the council were removing those elements on their side of the fence. The caravan adjacent to the Terminal indicate the point from which some years later the full length of the Terminal met a similar fate. ]




Taking our view round to the north a bit, it's easy to see British Car Auctions' occupation of the north and west of the airfield, the Kart track that has been in situ since the early sixties, and out east again to the area of white buildings that comprise the Blackbushe Business Park. Once the location of the United States Navy's only UK land base, a vast hangar, and the movement of many military aircraft. The Navy added a significant chapter to the extraordinary history attached to our old aerodrome.




Another of my snaps from the circuit, taken in 1964, final approach to 25 (it was 26 then!) and the United States Navy's massive hangar - now cut off and detached from any hope of protecting aeroplanes in the future.. Now long gone.





It's interesting to note the growth of Yateley to the north and east of the Airport. In the sixties when Blackbushe fought for her survival under the ownership of AVM Bennett this was open land, pastures, and winding lanes. Since then the two intersecting cross runways have been closed, the remaining operational main runway today offers a superb asset to General Aviation being both environmentally friendly, within easy access of London and the huge business catchment area within which it is housed - it's the gateway to an affordable, friendly, and professionally run facility.



An aeroplane who will remember the feel of that Blackbushe runway under her tyres is Viking G-AGRW.. The Blackbushe Heritage Trust are bringing her back to Blackbushe for history and heritage. Her tyres won't touch the runway again, but they will feel the secure feeling of Blackbushe beneath them...

We still need to grow our funds that will facilitate her return and restoration. That's where you can help!! Here's the Crowdfunder appeal.. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond

Thank you so very much if you have donated, if you have not, well there's still time to and become part of our plan to save a vital piece of our nation's proud aviation heritage..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
20/12/22

I guess we've arrived at that reflective time of year as December matures and the year's shortest day from the perspective of daylight is tomorrow... What you've achieved, or failed to achieve since the Sun was last in its present position, or more correctly since the Earth was last in this position in relation to the Mother Star comes into question.. I know I've failed to achieve objectives that I set myself in a year that has seen dear friends pass on to the next world, while the glorious news of a second grandchild's arrival will be realised in the middle of next month. A seasonal shopping expedition yesterday proved a great contrast to recent Decembers when 'lock-down' brought silence to the shops, the pandemic raged across the land and families were forbidden to mingle for Christmas. Apart from the depressing strikes designed to bring the nation to its knees taking place, the world seemed fairly content, Covid's anger seemingly passed to history - although its tragic aftermath remains for many.

20th December... What of this day? Had you been at Blackbushe Airport on his day in 1957 a Royal Canadian Air Force Fairchild C-119F, 22110, might have caught your eye, while in the USA on the same day in 1957 the bendy Boeing 707 first took to the sky - 65 years ago!! A delightful aeroplane, compared to flying in the very solid VC10, the 707 lived for turbulence - her tail end seemingly wagging when the bumps got busy!

"Somewhere" on the very large estate once called RAF Blackbushe there is a point where unspeakable things took place. Well, there may be several depending on what you consider 'unspeakable', but this location must be the most shocking... Mosquito aircraft operated from the airfield in considerable numbers doing incredible work for the war effort, but by December of 1945 Mosquito XXVs were available in such numbers that any type of damage, even CAT A (repairable in 24 hours) was automatically downgraded to CAT E (not repairable). CAT E aircraft were thus written off. The sad CAT E Mossies were thus towed to a pit somewhere on the airfield and unceremoniously set on fire. That 'somewhere' must house significant bits. I can tell you it is NOT on the currently active Blackbushe Airport of today...If only at the time the value of a Mosquito come the 21st Century could have been appreciated we might be that much richer in terms of our present Mosquito heritage?




The last of the Blackbushe Mosquitos, Doug Arnold's G-MOSI when the airfield was actually home to the type just once more.. No waiting pits for this one, just an Atlantic crossing to her new home..




Winter 1962/63. The time when Blackbushe Airport as AVM Bennett's purchase was finding her feet and I was enjoying my time working for the man for a couple or so years. Those winter months were tough, this was the scene at the airfield's western end, today lost under the British Car Auctions complex.. Back then an eerie quiet consumed the forests that surrounded the airfield's western end. From my point of view the wind sighing in the trees just spoke of days gone by, the many who lived and died engaged with the airfield in war, the many airlines who made this airfield their home during peacetime..It was lonesome and moving, unique days when we just did not know how the future of Blackbushe would pan out, certainly it was not expected that in six decades the airfield would still be endeavouring to overcome the obstacles put before by various parties.




January, 1963...Early resident Jackaroo G-APAL. Some of us would meet at the weekends in the Blackbushe Aero Club's Terminal office, drink tea and wonder if the winter would ever end. This was the winter to end all winters of 62/63. The snow started on Boxing Day 1962, the thaw finally came in March of 1963. The runways were snowbound throughout, we did run up engines to keep them happy at weekends although 'prop swinging' on the icy surfaces required additional care! It was totally normal to hand swing aero engines back then, but you had to trust your colleague on the switches 100%. We took 'swinging' in turn, those metal prop blades could be rather chilly, the cockpit was much nicer!




June, 2022. Same aeroplane, G-APAL came to home to Blackbushe to join the Airport's 80th Anniversary celebrations. Only difference being she had gone back to her original shape as a Tiger Moth.



Meanwhile, the pot for funds to support the Blackbushe Heritage Trust's Viking campaign continues to grow!! The spring should see a Vickers Viking return to Blackbushe! Imagine, never thought I'd write such words....

If you wish to support the programme the Crowdfunder appeal is ready and waiting!! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond

Thank you again, or thank you in advance!!



A pair of Eagle's Vikings, Eagle were the most prolific of Viking operators based at Blackbushe..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
21/12/22

21st December. The shortest day of the year for the UK, but for the residents of Lockerbie, Pan Am, emergency services, the relatives and friends of all involved as Pan Am 103 fell to Earth this day in 1988 would surely prove to be the longest? 270 fatalities at the hands of the darkest and most despicable side of humanity. The evening would leave a permanent scar on the memory of millions. As N739PA climbed on her way home to the USA such irony occurred. I worked for another American airline at the time, Northwest Airlines, and was on my way home after a fabulous evening where we'd put on a panto for staff and guests at our London offices. About to catch the last train out of Waterloo I rang my wife - no mobiles then - to let her know I was on my way. She asked if I'd heard about Pan Am. I had not. Such irony, from a great evening which had concluded with a giant conga winding through West End streets and the occasional public house, to the unspeakable..


On a more recent December day, the 12th this year, snow fell across the south of England. The conditions restricted fixed wing flying at Blackbushe, but well equipped rotary operations were captured by Keith Heywood whose very timely presence captured the swirling snow as a visitor blew freshly fallen snow into a gyrating circus of excited snow flakes! Keith's presence and resultant photos are a wonder, I remember saying, as I happened to be in the Terminal at the time, what a great photo could have been taken... In fact two great photos were taken!











Thanks Keith, you're a star!!!



Also stars are ALL the lovely people who have supported the Viking fund to help bring our Vickers Viking back to Blackbushe!!

Here's the latest today, www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond The funds continue to climb, our objective is getting closer, there is still time to contribute and secure the great heritage the Viking represents, the heritage of British post-war civil aviation's growth AND the airport that so much of it was conducted from..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
22/12/22

It's the time of year when we get reflective, looking back on days gone by, the value of friends, and just looking back and perhaps wondering where all the time has gone - and so quickly!

An airfield called Blackbushe has been responsible for a fair share of my reflective moments, she crept into my life when I was four and has never really let go during the intervening years...The important thing to do now is hang on a while longer to see the results of the past 60 years of endeavour as the Airport will hopefully be able to provide the facilities necessary for the super General Aviation base it should be. ie hangars, permanent hangars, and other necessary attributes necessary for an airport that means business.

Very sadly, there are others who also bitten by the Blackbushe 'bug', who after many years of devotion, will cruelly not see a 'new' Blackbushe take shape. One such person is Stuart Marshall who very sadly was taken from us last December. Stuart and his wife Sandra, my wife Pauline and I had made a tradition of joining up for a pre Christmas lunch at some suitably atmospheric Hampshire country pub for some years. This year we maintained the tradition toasting the one absent person who would have surely have smiled down at the occasion?

It was back in 2015 when Stuart and I discussed the need for some kind of on-line 'production' where something of the history of Blackbushe and images of her past could be preserved. Social media resources so abundant today had not really taken hold perhaps, but we decided that some kind of web based resource would be useful, bond people of like minded Blackbusheness, and preserve something of the spirit that belonged both to Blackbushe the military air base and Blackbushe the civil airport. Beyond that, it would be a focal point perhaps for the good souls who had been a part of the Blackbushe scene through the eras of AVM Bennett, Doug Arnold, BCA and onwards..

We launched what I called "Blackbushe Airport - the One-stop Forum", and while Stuart wrote copious amounts regarding the airfields past and the aircraft that used it, I scratched together something called "Photo of the Day", a task that on this day in 2022 is apparently still ongoing... I recall thinking we'd be lucky if "Photo of the Day" ever scratched past a couple of hundred visits. Seemingly my forecasting was inaccurate, as a while back it looked as if we'd reach 600,000 visits by the end of this year, judging my our daily visits "POTD" will pass her 600,000th hit in about four days time, certainly by the end of the year. The Forum also gained its 700th member this week..

Amazed, thanks to all who look in each day!! Hopefully, the old computer will continue to work a while longer..the one on my shoulders that is. Stuart is still here working with me each day, for it is often his material and resources that contribute to what can be produced on these early mornings. The same goes to my numerous Blackbushe friends who are no longer here, but their wisdom, photos, and memories live on and will never be forgotten.




A lasting memory... The Stuart Marshall seat overlooking Blackbushe, somewhere to sit and reflect.....and remember.



Stuart would be thrilled to know how the Blackbushe Heritage Trust are progressing toward the return and restoration of a Viking. The great move forward in raising the funds necessary to ship "Vagabond" back to the UK is progressing well, but your help with donations toward her return and subsequent restoration will be valued for a significant time ahead. Here's the latest from Crowdfunder, please do feel free to contribute!! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-return-of-vagabond



PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
23/12/22

23rd December, one of those days where apart from Father Christmas working hard on preparing his multi-sector mission for tomorrow, a couple of notable aviation moments occurred. Back in 1941 the Douglas C-47 'Skytrain' made its first flight, the DC-3 having made its first flight on 17 December, 1935.. A cargo door, strengthened floor, and absence of a tail cone for glider towing purposes being the prime differences between the C-47 and her predecessor DC-3..

ON this day in 1986 Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. So what? The outstanding difference of their flight was that it was the first to fly around the world non-stop and also non refueled. The all fibre glass Voyager took nine days to complete the mission, shared by the two crew one can but imagine the cramped sleep deprived conditions endured before landing back on the good Earth..

If we look back to RAF Hartford Bridge's activity on this day in 1943 the airfield had been operational for just over a year. The war looked to RAF Hartford Bridge to play its part and it did so with courage and excellent results. V1 launch sites were of prime interest to the airfield's resident bomber squadrons during the run up to Christmas while the aerial photography units were focused on places such as the Pas de Calais area where V1 launch sites were appearing. Crews were sadly lost during this time, the consequence of such heroic action, others were posted missing or injured - I find it hard to imagine what life on the airfield must have been like where life and death were such close partners, but the human spirit has amazing depth when faced with the threat of a tyrant. In 2022 that spirit is surely evident in Ukraine?




This British Airways photo of Viking "Vagabond" reflects the pride of BEA when she was a new aeroplane. Next year, thanks to the magnificent help of British Airways and all of you who have contributed so generously, she'll be returning to the UK and a new home at Blackbushe. The Blackbushe Heritage Trust look forward to the moment when after refurbishment we may take a similar photograph of the aeroplane and those who have brought her back from the brink...




Meanwhile, it's been a busy year at Blackbushe! Business flying, flying schools producing plenty of first solos, the Pathfinder Cafe reaching from success to success, the Airport's 80th Anniversary under perfect skies, and the Twilight Runway Challenge once again resulting in great sums of money being raised for local good causes..



Blackbushe Airport is making her mark. A mark that will only get greater when the days come that allow positive developments and those new dearly needed hangars built. The Heritage Trust and the Viking will stand for so much of the Airport's history and the contribution made by both toward the growth of post-war civil aviation in this country while Blackbushe becomes the perfect General Aviation centre dreamed of throughout the six decades that have elapsed since AVM "Pathfinder" Bennett saved the day, bought what was left of the airfield, and changed the lives of all of us who have been in any way connected with her story..


PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
24/12/22

Christmas Eve.. The words still send servings of how as a very much younger being the words sent excitement and expectations surging through the grey cells - not to mention a sleepless night and the prospect of finding Santa had mysteriously been at some point overnight.. Tonight as Santa surely lifts off on his annual sortie the eyes of a grandchild will no doubt reflect similar excitement as that shared with "Grandad"..




The Viking!! One of the fabulous models at British Airways Heritage Centre that reflects a coming event at Blackbushe. It may not be arriving tonight with Santa, but thanks to British Airways and all who have donated toward the rescue of "Vagabond" our Blackbushe Heritage Trust Viking should arrive at her new home around springtime of next year.




A warm and sunny memory from this year's 80th Anniversary Fly-In... Watch out for details of the next Blackbushe Open Day Fly-In, it's coming!



Well, we've ended with a technical hitch from our photo supplier who seemingly have mislaid the majority of our photos!! So without more ado, from the "POTD" editorial desk may I wish all who spend a moment or two in the company of our Forum a very Happy Christmas!!! Stay safe, see you soon!

PB