PHOTO of the DAY...

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
03/01/23

Rapid transit through POTD today, early departure...

January 3rd, just six months to the next Blackbushe Air Day/Fly-In!! Also of note today is recall of the fabulous Cessna 310 making its first flight in 1953. Blackbushe based Airwork first imported the type to the UK as these sleek metal clad aeroplanes from across the ocean looked so futuristic sitting abeam Airwork's hangars with Vikings and Hermes for company. The view from the A30 of the 310 and other Cessna types was one into the future for sure.




This Swiss Cessna 310 attended Blackbushe's Great Re-opening Air Display in October, 1962...




Early days, a 310 at Blackbushe in the company of a Britavia Hermes..




Farnborough Week, 1957, a SABENA 310 arrived..




And the emotional bit! G-APUF was Airwork's demonstrator based at Blackbushe with Airwork before the Airport's closure. Once the Airport was in AVM Bennett's hands a few aeroplanes would appear in the early 1960s..I used to look at G-APUF alongside Airworks huge hangars and think how great she looked. A few years later "PUF" became a regular friend as she popped in and out of Blackbushe quite often. Joe Tyszko, Cessna's Area Manager based in Brussels still lived in Yateley due to his affiliation with Airwork prior to the sad closure of Blackbushe - accordingly he often came home to Blackbushe in a variety of Cessna products, but quite often in "PUF". Joe was the most incredibly nice guy, tragically lost in 1965 when the aircraft he was flying developed a problem. It was an honour to have known him and a delight to welcome him and his aeroplanes, including G-APUF, to what remained of the great Blackbushe Airport in the early sixties..


PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
04/01/23


As the festive season already recedes into the past, stepping outside into the 21st Century world reveals a significant air temperature improvement over the pre Christmas big freeze.. +12C at 06.30 is quite acceptable so far as the central heating bill is concerned!

Tomorrow the Blackbushe Heritage Trust Trustees engage in their first meeting of the new year. A busy year awaits, BHT Volunteers may expect a wide range of opportunities to really get their hands dirty as the plans to return an historic Viking to Blackbushe are unfurled!!

"POTD" likes to embrace the past and the future, so perhaps for a moment we'll step back to this day, 4th January in 1945 and recall how the day went for resident 418 Squadron who were equipped with Mosquito VI aircraft.. F/O Officer Wally Midwood of 418 recalls the day when the weather was not exactly ideal for flying - let alone flying a Mosquito in horrendous conditions, at night, loaded with high explosive weaponry.. Stuart Marshalls account reads.. "On the 4th I flew through 10/10 cloud at 500ft in severe icing conditions between Givet in France and the bomb line. We flew into cumulus cloud which tossed the aircraft out of control. We finally managed to get the aircraft settled down and decided to return to base. My navigator was sick and had slight concussion after being hit on the head by parts of the Gee set, due to the very severe turbulence. We jettisoned our bombs in the Channel and were thankful to land back at base at 0135hrs in one piece".

By the 10th of January in 1945 the weather had changed. Heavy snow showers moved in leaving four inches of snow across the airfield. Flying continued with some difficulty. The runway was marked by flags and patches of cleared snow..




An echo of the sounds of Blackbushe at war as the NHS Spitfire joined last year's 80th Anniversary Fly-In. A Mosquito would be a big ask, but hopefully the sound of the Merlin will return during this year's Blackbushe Fly-In scheduled for June 3rd..




Dear wooden wonder, Blackbushe's G-MOSI before she was sold for a fist full of dollars. Her sound was sufficient for a little moistening of the eyes when Neil Williams took her into the sky, I often wonder if the team who first drew the outline that would be called "Mosquito" knew just how much their artistry would be admired long into the future?


PB

[PB]

04/01/23 POTD LATE EXTRA

POTD announced bask on 28 December that a Blackbushe Heritage Trust Volunteers meeting would take place on 5th January. PLEASE NOTE that due to volunteer activity elsewhere on the same date this meeting is CANCELLED, please do not try to attend as the premises will not be open!! The alternative date will be published in the very near future!!

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
05/01/23

A further reminder to the Blackbushe Heritage Trust Volunteers - and all others who wish to attend - that the Volunteers meeting originally scheduled for this evening has been cancelled. A new date will be posted in the near future, but with key volunteers taking part in a promotional meeting elsewhere tonight the decision to postpone our own meeting was necessary.




In the beginning..a Viking in original BEA colours. G-AIVL joined Eagle Airways in 1955 and was a very regular sight at Blackbushe through to 1959. On 5th May,1958, she arrived at Blackbushe from Manchester carrying a load of Manchester supporters for the Cup Final...




Another Eagle Viking, G-AJBP, turning onto runway 08 in readiness to depart Blackbushe. BP was also a very familiar sight here from 1955 to 1958..



Looking back to those years when my Dad took me to Blackbushe to see the aeroplanes I could never have imagined that so many years later I'd be part of the body planning to return and restore a Viking to live on Blackbushe soil..you never can tell.

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
06/01/23


The beauty of Blackbushe is personified in her extraordinary history and the range within her 80 years of serving aviation - and the nation!

Be it wartime courage and sacrifice, post-war determination of the fledgling civil airlines of whom a significant number were Blackbushe based, or the last sixty plus years where absolute determination, resolve, and refusal to lie down in the path of obstructive activity have kept her operational and a valuable British civil aviation centre alive.

So often when regarding moments in Blackbushe's rich history there comes a date that brings recall of days gone by. Today is 6th January, 2023, one of those days that brings recall of the day in 1944. 79 years ago today four of the airfield's aircrew were lost when their Boston lost the will to carry on flying and crashed just a few miles short of safety. The aircraft Boston BZ387 (L) of 107 Squadron flown by an American, Lt Art Truxler, was overflying Little Sandhurst (NNE of the airfield) when for reasons unexplained (but believed due to engine failure) dived into the ground. Jim Moore of 88 Squadron was in Sandhurst at the time and recalled seeing the aircraft pass overhead. He said, according to Stuart Marshall's records, "During the afternoon of the 6th we were in Sandhurst when we saw a Boston fly over on its landing approach. Inexplicably it crashed about half a mile from us. A local airman who was on leave, together with two civilians, went to the crash scene in an attempt to rescue the crew, but the aircraft blew up, killing not only the crew but also the airman who was trying to help. The two civilians were badly injured in the explosion and when I cycled back to the airfield I was horrified to learn that it was Art and his crew that had been killed".

When I was four we lived in Little Sandhurst, around 1950, and I recall my Dad remarking about our local butcher, Mr Peabody, and how he had been injured trying to rescue the crew of an aircraft that came down in Little Sandhurst. The story left a big impression on me, especially as my Mum and I were regular callers at his shop! Mr Peabody was our local butcher, his selfless action on this day in 1944 had not been forgotten.

Rest in peace Lt Arthur G. Truxler USAAF (pilot),Plt Off Donald H Skipp (bomb aimer), Plt Off Albert John Naisbit (air gunner), and Plt Off Brian Alphonsus McConnell RAAF DFM (air gunner). The crew of BZ387.

This account from "Aviation Safety Network" recorded the incident. aviation-safety.net/wikibase/163242?fbclid=IwAR2PJzWesZo-pM-Qcqe0ffSdq3yeqYiQdJT7JdIonYZdY0u1GVlzboKuwME





Safe home, some of the Bostons of RAF Hartford Bridge, date unknown. The price of war was dear amid the crews based here, records show that this aircraft BZ406 was lost when it spun in near Lille in December, 1944.




The above confirms once again the importance of a suitable memorial being placed at Blackbushe to remember the many sacrifices of life made in search of today's peace.. The airfield was destroyed by various political actions in the sixties, shamefully with no regard whatever of the crews who gave everything flying from here in WW2! The Blackbushe Heritage Trust is intent on recalling the early days of British post-war commercial aviation and how it flourished at Blackbushe, but I feel so strongly that the Airport's heritage must also salute the many young men who served us all flying from here in combat and in so doing making that ultimate sacrifice.

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
07/01/23

Yesterday "POTD" discussed how the beauty of Blackbushe is personfied in the Airport's extraordinary and varied history throughout its 80 years of serving aviation. So true, but the sum of the beauty of Blackbushe comes in precious packages that perhaps we'll look at over the next few days....

For example, however you view any organisation, institution, association, or business what you see is the sum total of its people, the human factor in its presentation, management, and that special element that makes somewhere have a feel good factor. During the 1950s, Blackbushe was referred to by many of her work force as the "Happy Airport", something that must have made the 1960 closure inflicted by the government the more painful.

Sadly, today many of the Blackbushe people I got to know in the early 1960s are no longer with us, but there is no doubt in my mind the lesson they taught me was that Blackbushe had been a marvellous place to work during those post war years as civil aviation gained momentum and the Airport handled increasing levels of passengers and air freight.

The photos that follow are dedicated to Blackbushe people, some I knew, some I did not, but they will always belong to that distinguished association of "Blackbushe people"...



Some of the crews who flew from RAF Hartford Bridge enjoying some time in "The Finger Inn", the air bases popular leisure time venue!




Just one of the many Boston crews based at Hartford Bridge. Sadly unnamed, you can feel the bond they would have shared repeatedly facing the odds over enemy territory.




Various nationalities came to fly from Hartford Bridge during WWII. Here the famous Lorraine Squadron prepare for action, ground crews playing the most demanding of roles keeping the aircraft ready time after time.

















How young they were....




16 Squadron. Their unarmed MkXI Spitfires flew long and high altitude PR sorties over enemy territory gathering essential logistics of troop movements etc prior to operations in Europe - including D-Day. Painted blue against the sky, they also had a pink Spitfire for sunrise/sunset operations...




The 1950s. Hangars that had seen war now housed the airlines of post war Britain. Eagle Airways hangar located on the extreme western end of Blackbushe's section south of the A30. Sadly, the engineers name is unknown, but the photo epitomises life in a post war airline hangar...One of Eagle's many Vikings undergoing the airline's famous care.




Firecrews, the most valuable of all when the going gets tough. Vikings could tip on their noses just as any tail dragger might..Blackbushe fire crews always key players in the airfield's long history.




Blackbushe Firecrews at work following a crew training event. No injuries.




Blackbushe once had hangars for her engineers to work in, hangars large enough for the largest aeroplanes of the time..




Airwork. Precious days when Blackbushe was a large and fully equipped commercial airport, home to many workers at the 'Happy Airport'..




Winning days!!



Eagle. A DC-6 enjoys some new pots being bedded in in the company of some of the devoted team who kept the Eagle flying.




The late Maurice Robinson (right). An engineer with the Blackbushe pre 1960 heavy metal, Maurice became a good friend in the sixties during the days when AVM Bennett owned Blackbushe. Maurice formed Robinson Aviation and established in the new lock-up hangars we built in 1963 he produced some incredible aircraft for the movies including an Avro 504, parts of the Vickers Vimy, and Stukas made from old Proctors..Tragically, we lost Maurice in a flying accident.




Unnamed Blackbushe people. I think the spirit of the time comes from their smiles..




All these photos of Blackbushe people are from the many photos left to me by the late Gordon Wilmer. Again I cannot name, but the Blackbushe feel comes through..




Happy days..




Sadly no names, just the spirit..












Blackbushe was far from an all male organsation. The photos I have been left tended to focus on the engineering side which at the time was seemingly the male domain.




Two dear friends from the post 1960 era, but caught here together when working for Eagle Airways at Blackbushe. To the left the late Gordon Wilmer who was responsible for many of the Forum's photos and to his right Bill "the spanner" Townshend. Gordon and Bill both became very dear friends of mine in the sixties/seventies. Gordon spent some time working for AVM Bennett after Bennett's purchase of the Blackbushe site, and Bill became Three Counties Aero Club's Chief Engineer. I spent school holidays in he sixties helping Gordon with work on the airfield, later I spent some school hols with Bill assisting with work on the Club Austers etc. Three Counties used Dan-Air facilities at Lasham and some days we'd fly an aircraft to Lasham in the morning, do the work, and fly back to Blackbushe at the end of the day. What better way to spend some of your school holidays?? The old spirit of Blackbushe could easily be detected spending time with these great guys.




Silver City technicians whose offices were located on Blackbushe's southern side's eastern end, now just an overgrown and deserted area. Photo from Bob Carter of Silver City.




There's Bob with the Evening Standard's express news/photo carrier..




Silver City Captain and his Bristol Freighter at Blackbushe. Regret his name not available.




A well known face based at Blackbushe. Douglas Bader who worked for Shell and regularly flew from the Airport.




The team of British Airlines Ltd and their Lockheed Lodestar plus a very large Blackbushe hangar!




Silver City staff at a Blackbushe open day in the very early fifties.




Silver City staff outing...




Eagle Airways staff outing. The late Gordon Wilmer stands fifth from the left - front row. Destination Jersey.




Harold Bamberg and some of his people! Along with G-APSA!




Now the late Harold Bamberg at Blackbushe's 2017 75th Anniversary show. Surrounded by Hungarians Harold's Eagle Airways rescued - at no charge - as they were flown from Europe to a new life in the UK due to the Hungarian Uprising in 1956 when the Russians invaded their land. Harold is also in the company of the late Stuart Marshall, third from left back row, and Cameron Ogden extreme right, your scribe stands next to Cameron..



And so it goes on. The spirit of Blackbushe from prime RAF tactical air base to London's second airport, to today's private General Aviation base, carries on in the airfield's eightieth year. Despite the delays imposed on the airfield's development over the past six decades, the airfield's indomitable spirit through war and peace thrives.

The beauty of Blackbushe is indeed through her history, but it is through her people and their determination in war, in peace when giving birth to post-war commercial flying, and in the last sixty years of not giving up the fight to create an airfield that will be the pride of British General Aviation where her spirit has lived and thrived.

Long may the spirit of Blackbushe and her people endure!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
08/01/23

As we move into the new year and look forward to the opportunities it will bring "POTD" has been taking a rather ethereal journey into the beauty of Blackbushe.... Yesterday we remembered the people from war and peace, the day before it was the unique history of the tract of land we know as Blackbushe Airport and the features that make it stand out from perhaps any other airfield in the United Kingdom.

However, the beauty of Blackbushe extols in virtues in other directions too.

On this still dark January morning "POTD" steers itself toward another outstanding virtue of the airfield, it's plain and simply a "natural" airfield.




It sits on a plateau, a perfect flat table top expanse known as the Hartford Bridge Flats!



Thanks to Mike Biddulph for the approach to Blackbushe's runway 25... Unless you're flying in downright fog or restricted visibility Blackbushe is easy to see from a distance throughout a 360 degree radius although it is not recommended that you try it from all directions. The benefits of being raised slightly above its surroundings. Indeed, the airfield has throughout war and peace enjoyed a reputation of being "fog free", a factor proven repeatedly in the 1950s when flights from London Airport were diverted to Blackbushe due to fog spread across the main London airport. Nowhere in the UK is ever 100% fog free, but Blackbushe is certainly an example of an aerodrome as free from the stuff as possible due to her plateau position and being that much higher than the surroundings where fog might be more readily formed.





This photo from the late Gordon Wilmer taken in November, 1959, is to me the classic recall of Blackbushe's fog free prowess.




A little weathered, this monochrome memory again in November '59, shows how the influx of heavies was spread around. BOAC were parked on the cross runway 14/32 which conveniently linked to the main apron. Sadly this section of runway and main apron were 'removed' in the early 1960s, but the spectacle of so many multi engined aircraft diverted to Blackbushe is one not easily forgotten..




This training flight demonstrates the gently rising land as you approach Blackbushe across the vast area of Yateley Common. The plateau effect is very noticeable should you be cycling to Blackbushe. Approach from the east along the A30, from the south from Fleet, from the west from Hartley Wintney and the A30, or the north through Yateley and you WILL find yourself fighting gravity as you climb toward the Airport.. Conversely, it was always easier going home!




1949, this KLM Convair 240 fog diversion in 1949 shows a misty Blackbushe and her wide open spaces that on a clear day would have given perfect views to the eastern skyline..




Base leg for 25, a more recent photo, Blackbushe's slight inclination above her surroundings is illustrated by how she stands out against her suroundings.




From the south, Blackbushe stands out, BCA's vast car park adding to the airfield's distant 'spotability'..




From the northwest - outstanding!




My very first air to ground of Blackbushe in 1962, a misty afternoon but it was very obvious how the Blackbushe plateau stood out against the surroundings....




Probably my favourite air to ground as the Sun picked out Blackbushe as if the Gods were looking down approvingly on nature's aerodrome! Taken from Messenger G-AKBO in the sixties, the full original shape and size of Blackbushe is still easily discernible..



Enjoy Sunday...

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
09/01/23



The past couple of days have seen "POTD" engage with the beauty of Blackbushe, namely her history, her people, and her qualities as a "natural aerodrome". But, the aspects of Blackbushe beauty are not finished yet...

Visually she's easy to see from a distance, but any aerodrome worth its salt will offer approaches to its runways that are long, and unobstructed. Welcome to Blackbushe! Whether you arrive from the east or the west her two runway headings bring you to the tarmac over acres of forestry land to the west, or from the east acres of open Common Land, nature has indeed provided well for an aeronautical operation on the great Hartford Bridge plateau.




An Eagle Viking returning home on a westerly approach over the expanse of Yateley Commom..




Another Eagle, a DC-6 on the last stages of her approach to runway 26 at Blackbushe.. It was 26 back then!





Probably used to approaches over Scaninavian pine forests, an SAS DC-4 completes her approach to runway 08 at Blackbushe in 1950. Fog diversion from London Airport as Heathrow was first known.




2008. Seemingly a ghost from another age? An Eagle DC-6 on approach to Blackbushe - the stuff of dreams... G-APSA making her last ever landing at Blackbushe 48 years after her last departure!! Blackbushe has lost her eastern end but the Airport still offers a long clear approach to what is now runway 25.




Approach from the east to 07, changes with local gravel extraction and forestry work, but the long clear approach is maintained. Another benefit of Blackbushe is her rock solid gravel base which apart from being tough and providing good drainage provided a naturally level plateau..




When they were operational, all six of Blackbushe's runway headings offered perfect unobstructed approaches! To the left the still very clear approach to runway 25 is evident as it crosses over the old eastern end of Blackbushe, now a part of the already vast acreage of Yateley Common.



Never has there been any doubt as to the suitability of the site known as Blackbushe for the pursuit of aviation..long may it continue!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
10/01/23

Called out at 03.15 this morning as Grandson number two threatened to make an entry into the world... false alarm, but won't be long! "POTD" might become a little less regular at any time as and when Grandparents have to make the dash to London to tend their first grandson while his Mum and Dad are otherwise engaged. Happy memories of a phone ringing in the middle of the night with my 'wake-up' call in an hotel in some distant land ready for another few hours on the wing.. Looking back on life it's been an amazing experience most of the time underlined by this Blackbushe thing where a lot of pleasure has been underlined by six decades of frustration! Hopes have been endlessly put on the back burner, but as with our pending family event it may not be too much longer before Blackbushe can deliver the package of developments hoped for for so long!!

Briefly this morning, "POTD" has looked at the various aspects of what might be called the beauty of Blackbushe. Natural airfield location, long clear approaches, it's on plateau and proudly fog free when others aren't so lucky.

What else?

Well, take the environment. In the super sensitive 21st Century environment, climate change, noise, personal space, human rights, objecting to most things, complaints, glueing yourself to roads or Motorway gantrys, protesting about anything and everything. There is some unrest out there! But, there's one airport that rises above all others in the environmental contest, and well, it has to be said Blackbudhe comes out on top again.

Those long approaches over open spaces or forests lead to an airport in the remotest of locations. In the beginning the new RAF base built on the Hartford Bridge plateau eighty years ago was very much in the middle of nowhere, very little development, the local population being in the hamlet of Yateley off to the north east of the air base. The airfield brought prosperity and employment, very much the hallmarks of what it has done for the locality for many years and will do into the future.

If you compare the geography of Blackbushe's air traffic patterns with any other airport with an equivalent runway in the south-east it will be hard to find one that is environmentally suitable as this one! Apart from the carefully monitored noise abatememt routes to keep air traffic away from the sensitive areas where housing has sprouted over the past years, Blackbushe is surrounded by the wonders of nature. Not long ago we had a friend come to stay for the weekend, a look at Blackbushe became a part of the 'programme'.. As we approached by car from the south-west the comment was made that, "this is a funny place for an airport"... We appeared to be driving through thickly wooded areas all of which were adjacent to roads going uphill. Proof of the environmental discussion was arrival on the Hartford Bridge plateau whereby the trees and uphill climb gave way to the wide open acres of the very natural airport we known and love as "Blackbushe"..




As it was in the beginning. 1942 Ministry photo of the very new RAF Hartford Bridge. Living in splendid isolation, the approach to every runway over open spaces.




..and there is she is today. Still remote, still the ideal place for this excellent General Aviation centre where she and the environment can live in perfect harmony.




Forests have given way to gravel extraction as can be seen here in another of Mike Biddulph's great photos. Much of the land where gravel has been taken is resown for further generations of forestry, the Airport will live on in her environmental supremacy!!



...and on that note the phone's just rung, the call has come to rush off to Wimbledon and await the moment when we become grandparents for the second time..

If "POTD" does not show tomorrow, you'll know why!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
12/01/23

Back again! Richer than I was when "POTD" signed off last time, a second grandson has safely joined my family, one's focus being clearly removed from anything but this amazing creation and the miracle of new life.. In this fast evolving world I wonder what it will offer to him and the so many others who are just starting on the journey through life?

Meanwhile, focus returns on the Blackbushe scenario. "POTD" has in the recent past addressed the beauty of Blackbushe be it in her history, her fog free virtues, long clear approaches, or environmental suitability. However, there's more to add the the airfield's chain of benefits...




This long straight road that journeys directly through the Blackbushe Airport site leads to London in one direction, Southampton in the other, a direct route to the nation's capital one way or a major sea port the other. Today, five minutes after departing Blackbushe by road you'll be on the M3 Motorway and in the heart of London less than an hour later. Its geographic location is just one more addition to the list of benefits that make Blackbushe Airport's "CV" one that totally matches the requirements of a General Aviation resource whose qualifications are hard to better!!



Focus on the location of Blackbushe and whatever direction you might choose to go you'll be within easy reach of prime business and industrial centres. The high population of said area is another key factor in the Blackbushe story. It was London's second airport until 1960 when questionable politics lead to her closure, but nontheless Blackbushe is still in a prime catchment area placed between Heathrow and Gatwick - and we all know the traffic volumes they enjoy! A ring of important cities and business centres surround Blackbushe, the new "Hollywood" to the motion picture business is but a short drive away near Reading. Increasingly, Blackbushe handles more business traffic with international departures and arrivals becoming daily events. Consider that this is happening while Blackbushe is still limited in her passenger handling facilities, imagine how the Airport's popularity will grow when a new passenger Terminal is ready, new lighting installed, new hangars are built, new restaurant facilities, and an altogether new image await.

The Blackbushe story is far from complete, but it's one that is based on very solid ground - literally and metaphorically - and if my beautiful new grandson who joined us just over 24 hours ago develops an interest in aviation that includes Blackbushe one can but wonder as to how the airport on Hartford Bridge plateau will grow with him??



OO-MAP & N53LG by wokinghampaul, on Flickr
Recent Blackbushe traffic thanks to Paul.


OO-MAP by wokinghampaul, on Flickr
International movements are increasing. The realisation spreads as to Blackbushe's affordable services, her geographic suitability, and her excellent environmental qualifications.


Getting the message?

PB