PHOTO of the DAY...

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
02/02/23

Aviation history gives every day a cause to look back. Take today, 2nd February, go back to 1953 and the unsolved disappearance of Skyways York G-AHFA. The aircraft vanished on a North Atlantic flight to Jamaica with 39 souls on board including 13 children. The subsequent Inquiry totally absolved the crew and ruled out sabotage or fuel contamination. An SOS was received by Gander briefly before it was suddenly terminated.

On this day in 1951 the mighty DC-6B first flew..this was the extended all passenger version of the 6A with no cargo door. G-APSA, Eagles's best known Blackbushe based DC-6 was a 6A who by the end of 2007 had logged in excess of 35,000 flying hours, she first flew in 1958. Anybody who remembers the wonderful sound of the DC-6 in flight will be thinking back, it was quite unique, a very refined radial sound but raw power.




A rather weather beaten photo of an Eagle DC-6, no cargo door, but obviously being used for cargo purposes..The image stirs memories of Blackbushe's apron when once it was the domain of the nation's growing air transport industry.




..and a big grown up Douglas transport. G-AOIG, a DC-7C of BOAC on a weather diversion from Heathrow November, 1959. Taxiing onto the main apron a goose neck flare can be seen abeam the main starboard undercarriage. Either that or its a tortoise making a run for it?




Airline activity on the apron 1960s style. The Airlines Flying Group's Auster G-APCY was resident for some years and very much part of those days when life was 'rugged' at Blackbushe and most of the resident aeroplanes were canvas covered.




The 1960s period brought some quite unique characters into the Blackbushe fold. None more unique than "Big Maurice" who spent untold weekend hours at the Airport doing anything to be involved and help out. Bless him, someone or something upset him, but he departed never to return. I bumped into him in Slough in the late 1970s, we had a conversation but no reason for his missing from the Blackbushe scene was given.. As the photo shows, he became expert at prop swinging - a necessary art in those days when electric starters were not necessarily part of a light aircraft's nature!




..and an apron scene typical of the early to mid 1960s. I was around 17 and it was just so amazing to be part of the new Blackbushe brotherhood - I suppose you cannot say that in 2023, not inclusive... the Blackbushe people then. Such great days, I well recall flying in EI-AMM with David Rimmer from Blackbushe to Birmingham as soon as the Blackbushe runways had thawed out enough to allow a departure. The cruel winter of 62/63 relented by March, flying across England was like crossing the Arctic. Blackbushe was snow blocked from around 27 December, 1962 until the following March. It was really tough. David Rimmer and Rimmer Aviation were very much a part of those Blackbushe days.



That's another few minutes of cascading memories. Those days are held together by such precious memories, it's so sad that most of the characters who were players on that Blackbushe sixties stage are no longer in the cast. Time will have its way....

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
03/02/23

The occasion slipped by me without so much as a blink. But, one of POTD's finest, firmest and most devoted supporters has drawn my attention to the significance of January 31st just gone.

The date marked the passage of no less than eight years of "Photo of the Day" production! "Rocky14" has been one of our most regular commentators regarding the content of "Photo of the Day" and it's daily words and images. Thanks to him this morning's "POTD" is focused on our journey since the end of January back in 2015.. My heartfelt gratitude goes to "Rocky14" for his extremely kind words regarding our "POTD" partnership, a time during which the Blackbushe journey has covered much ground. Since that January morning eight years ago "POTD" has enjoyed almost 609,000 views, the Forum has accrued over 700 members while many more visitors join us from around the world. The concept of the Forum was to create a medium wherein the spirit of Blackbushe could find sanctuary, a medium where all who have the slightest interest in this unique airfield could have somewhere to give their thoughts or simply stay tuned to the Airport's progress through the maze of obstacles she has had to navigate during the past six decades.

Below are the words expressed by "Rocky14", sentiments for which I am truly grateful! THANK YOU SIR!!!

"Does 31 January 2015 ring a bell?

It was day of the first posting by PB on the 'new' POTD Forum. Since then, with very few exceptions, he has provided breakfast reading matter for our enjoyment every day, a remarkable achievement showing single minded dedication and mental gymnastics way beyond the wordsmith capabilities of the most dedicated and able Blackbushe supporter.

Congratulations PB, keep them coming...and thank you".


Wow, those are very moving words, I guess if you're driven by a vision strongly enough you can do anything, but I've certainly enjoyed the process of creating our daily thoughts to chew over with the Corn Flakes..



Here's the very first photo from that January morning back in 2015...



All those Vikings for whom Blackbushe was home!! Have to say it did not occur to me back in 2015 that by 2023 I would still be nailing photos and words together for "POTD" each morning, or that we would be preparing to witness the return of a Vickers Viking back to Blackbushe!

Those eight years during which "POTD" has endeavoured to reach its followers most mornings have witnessed Blackbushe celebrate her 75th and 80th birthdays, go through the rigours of a Public Inquiry, a High Court hearing followed by the Court of Appeal, and a Pandemic - and survive! We've witnessed steadily growing numbers of business aircraft benefit from Blackbushe's services, seen ever growing numbers of resident aircraft making Blackbushe their home while her highly professional resident flying schools continue to produce the aviators of tomorrow. To satisfy the hungry aviator we've welcomed a new and excellent Airport facility - the Pathfinder Cafe, its success proof, if it were needed, of the potential and popularity of Blackbushe - the old aerodrome on the plateau....

The coming few years will see long awaited changes in the Airport's infrastructure take place, the birth of a new Blackbushe where General Aviation will find the fully equipped home first envisaged by AVM "Pathfinder" Bennett when he purchased 365 acres of the old Airport over six decades ago..

It'll be worth the sixty plus years wait....

Thanks again to Rocky14 for his words and appreciation - here's to the long dreamed of future at Blackbushe Airport, and hopefully perhaps a little longer spending early mornings in the "POTD print works!!

Your comments and input always welcome too....

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
04/02/23

While our television newsreels yesterday provided grainy film of a Chinese balloon drifting through American airspace it was on this day in 1902 that another balloon was flying in rather cold conditions.. Way down south in Antarctica Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton ascended to 244m in a tethered hydrogen balloon thus claiming the first Antarctic aerial photographs. Today a second Chinese balloon is reportedly drifting over Latin America. The Chinese vessel drifting over mainland USA has apparently overflown Montana and a nuclear facility leading to speculation over Chinese intent.... Looking at the route a free drifting balloon would take to reach this position from China dependent on the vagaries of the upper air flows it's hard to see how such precise navigation could be achieved or expected? Makes great headlines though..



We've had our ballooning moments at Blackbushe over the years. Here's the BCA balloon ready for lift-off back in the 80s I should think.



It was some time back in the sixties when ballooning came to Blackbushe. I recall getting involved with I think it was Cameron Balloons who brought an early hot air balloon here for trial inflations. It all seemed pretty hairy as a device with a propeller was used to blow air into the balloon before the burners could provide the necessary hot air that would eventually lead to flight. Early days, as it happens Blackbushe did not become a focal point for future balloonanauts although the occasional tethered lifts have been made at events. My personal ballooning flight log is limited to Egypt and inspecting the Valley of the Kings from the silent (apart from the burners now and again) passage aboard a device in which the eventual landing was a combination of luck and judgement, I'm not quiet sure which the greater influence..




Peering into the future, we can look forward to another Blackbushe Air Day on 3rd June this year. If you have any suggestions as to unusual aeroplanes that you think would be perfect for the day and that have not been seen here before please do send me a message via the Forum's "Messages" and let's see what we can do!!



Here's the Airport's link to this year's day of fun and aeroplanes! www.blackbusheairport.co.uk/airday


PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
05/02/23

Sunday, another week launched.. "POTD" entertained 500 views yesterday, quite a bit above the daily norm, it's great to see interest in our old aerodrome is not waning!

So, we start with the news that the Chinese balloon casually making its way across the USA has finally been shot down. Balloons, of course, were the very first forms of flying observation platforms, no doubt today's are a little more sophisticated in materials and capability.. World War One saw balloons employed for observation purposes, in 2023 could balloons be making a come back? Unbelievably less than a couple of hours flying time from the UK World War One battlefield horrors are also being recreated as young men are slaughtered en masse where Ukraine and Putin's conscripts meet in a scenario beyond belief in our so called 'civilised' world..



N474CG by wokinghampaul
This photo from Paul confirms that yesterday peaceful Blackbushe continued to enjoy jet visitors, in this case one of interesting tail geometry, a Cirrus Vision SF50.



Looking back in time for a moment, in our post war world long haul flying for civilians was taking strides forward. On this day in 1946 TWA began transatlantic service with the Lockheed Constellation flying the New York-Gander-Shannon-Paris route. A few more breaks enroute than today perhaps, but it was the start..who would have dreamed of UK-Australia non-stop??

Three years later, in 1949, on this day an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Constellation landed at La Guardia, New York, at the end of a flight of 6 hours 18 min from Los Angeles.A new record for coast-to-coast commercial air travel..




This photo provided by one of our loyal supporters indicates some of Blackbushe's contribution to long haul air travel that reached to the Far East and Australia. This really is the 'lost world' of Blackbushe. The photo was taken on the B3013 Minley Road where the road skirted around Blackbushe 'south' and where it takes a sharp left hand bend towards Fleet. In those days rows of tails of DC-4 and Hermes would look impressive as you motored past, the then seemingly vast area of Blackbushe Airport stretching far into the distance... On the occasions that I was a passenger when my Dad and I were on out in the car and our journeys included the B3013 those huge white tails looked so impressive as did the airfield that supported them.



That's today's contribution, hopefully more tomorrow?

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
06/02/23

We live in an age of extraordinary technical achievements, but it's an age when individual achievements perhaps no longer gain the headlines? In aviation the days of individual pioneering achievements were at their peak as aeroplanes became more capable and those with the necessary wherewithal - financial, technical, and pure guts and imagination - were able to expand the envelope of what the aeroplane and human ability could achieve together.

Take today's date, for example, 6th February, 1933, started a flight that concluded on the 9th... Jim Mollison flew a de Havilland Puss Moth from the United Kingdom to Brazil, via Senegal, across South Atlantic. Mollison became the first person to fly solo across the North and South Atlantics. Crossing the English Channel on one engine stirs the imagination, but.....!!



A Blackbushe Puss Moth moment. Belonging to Autoworks (Winchester) Ltd., photo was taken in 1950 by Gordon "Benjy" Wilmer..



On this day in 1956 TWA Captain William Judd flew his Cessna 180 “Star of the Red Sea” non-stop from New York to Paris – A distance of more than 3600 miles across the North Atlantic. A mere 25 hours and 15 minutes... Interestingly, I note that exactly ten years earlier, 6th February, 1946... A TWA Lockheed Constellation landed at Orly airport, Paris, from LaGuardia, New York, thus completing the airline’s first scheduled international flight.




..on the subject of achievement. This Telegram received by the Resident Engineer at Royal Air Force Hartford Bridge on 13 July, 1942. The Air Ministry's recognition of the achievements established by the teams who were creating the new air base on Hartford Bridge Flats, the airfield that changed its name to Blackbushe a few years later..



PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
07/02/23

Yesterday, such a perfect day. Fresh, not too cold, not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day to commune with your thoughts while giving the aged body two or three miles of exercise on an aerodrome with aged runways languishing silently, no doubt in recall of their bygone days too?

Finding myself alone I fired up the old V6 and found myself in the car park at you know where, the old place with a strange magnetic draw that no matter how hard you try it'll pull you in. Yesterday was one of those days. A quite perfect day it was too..




Whilst the airfield was busy, the car park produced an interesting visitor, the crew of which were refuelling in Blackbushe's excellent Pathfinder Cafe.. Heathrow diversion?




Having negotiated the muddy twists and turns through the woody paths that today lead to the old cross runways, for the first time in many months I was back on dear old 14/32. Lump in the throat time as many memories of activity here flood to mind...Such a vast expanse doing nothing but welcoming the click clack of dogs paws going walkies, humans going walkies or cyclists going nowhere in particular. One question.. WHY do dog owners use poop bags for their four legged friends deposits and then leave them lying around??? Yesterday they were abundant in a choice of white, green, and black plastic bags...some neatly swinging on convenient branches...




Here's a memory! Farnborough Weeks in the 70s and 80s when taking a week off work a couple of us would give the time to take care of parking Farnborough visitors on dear old 14/32. Sometimes they spilled into 01/19, plus the grass parking area while the heavier visitors remained on the apron. Ghostly quiet yesterday apart from the reassuring sounds of aeroplanes on the circuit..




They were amazing days, seeing Blackbushe swell with visitors each morning was a joy to behold. The late and much missed Roger Russell is seen keeping an eye on one of the Rothman's Pitts..




Same runway, July 1977. More memories, having put together the Air Festival the old runway was abundant with life!




A Farnborough visitor in 1988, parked on the intersection of 14/32 and 01/19.. The Aeritalia G.222 brought back something of Farnborough Weeks in the fifties when Blackbushe was swamped in large and small military visitors from far and wide..





Same spot yesterday. Still full of memories...




Going back in time, final approach to 14 in one of the Three Counties Aero Club Colts. The days when we had use of all six runway headings and more 'into wind' arrivals were possible..




Graphic recall of our shrinking airport. Clearly visible in gravelly yellow the eastern runways and the most of the main apron following the local council's destruction of this priceless asset's eastern end.




The old runways hold memories sadly lost to so many who were here in the beginning. From war when Bostons rose from RAF Hartford Bridge in numbers, to the commercial days and the United States Navy's tenancy to the AVM Bennett era when life was breathed back into them volumes of memories lie in wait.



Yesterday was such a perfect day to wander alone, remembering the many friends no longer here with whom the runways and the airfield were shared, past events, the first time I landed an aeroplane - on 32 - while imagining the scene in war and recalling those golden days when I was just a young thing and Blackbushe was a strong arm in the nation's civil aviation structure while providing this wonderful place to while away days during the school hols.

I may have been alone, but it did not feel like it.......

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
08/02/23

Kinda cool this morning with -5C lurking beyond the front door..

A great day yesterday marking the passage of time and sincere thanks to all whose messages were received and enjoyed! Noted that Oleg Antonov and I share the same birthday, he was just 40 years ahead of me..




Time's a bit pressing this morning, so here's an image with a variety of aviation from the 'warbird' days. Be hard to beat such a selection again?




..and an image from the movie days when for a moment Blackbushe must wondered how the clocks had been turned back??




Another taste of Blackbushe variety, and the Terminal with all that historic office space languishing before the county council chose to eliminate it.



Back tomorrow, have a great day!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
09/02/23

06.00 and three degrees have made it onto the outside temperature. Thinking back to 1963 and the big freeze, this time in February Blackbushe and the south of England had been under snow since the previous Boxing Day and the thaw was still well over a week away..

A few years later on this day in 1969 the Boeing 747 first took to the skies, six years earlier the 727 had also made its first flight on this day..the same time that we were freezing our assets at Blackbushe..




A 1950s moment as an Airwork Hermes transits the Blackbushe apron. I wonder what the driver was thinking, probably nothing to do with the historic value that would be attached to those moments in years to come..



Forward to the sixties, Blackbushe rescued from oblivion and the Daily Telegraph St John Ambulance Brigade Air Show. The Argosy moves out for its display..




Rolling..




Airborne, loads of runway left..



The Argosy, or "Whistling Wheelbarrow" was a great sight and sound at Blackbushe, the airport that never thought it would host anything that big and multi-engined again..

You never know!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
10/02/23


The story of Blackbushe Airport and hangars is something of a now you see 'em - now you don't - situation...

From the outset the airfield was equipped with magnificent hangars for her military operations and later in the fifties they were joined by the Airport's largest hangar, that of the United States Navy.



Wartime. Blackbushe's vast and superb hangars witnessed a great deal of military action before their post-war civvy life..



Regular Apache visitor in the fifties, G-APCL, abeam the Silver City hangar on Blackbushe's southern flank.




The joy of hangars! Busy life within the Britavia/Silver City hangar once located on Blackbushe 'south'...




Also on Blackbushe 'south', Eagle's hangar played host to many aircraft flown in for maintenance work as well as their own fleet..



The Airport was closed, all the hangars bar the US Navy's goliath example were destroyed. In 1962 AVM Bennett's Blackbushe grew a block of twelve 'lock-up' hangars built according to the 'temporary' planning permission granted by the authorities. Some years later when under the ownership of Doug Arnold permission was gained for high quality permanent hangars on the piece of land to the northwest of the airfield where 'common land' restrictions did not prevent construction.




Superb hangars at Blackbushe Airport feel the force of a government who decided to build another airport in West Sussex.. this was the Airwork complex.




A site and a sight for sore eyes! New hangars being built at Blackbushe Airport.



Arnold sold the Airport to British Car Auctions and for some while the hangars were home to enterprises such as Air Hanson and Premiair plus Warbirds of Great Britain and the restoration of numerous priceless warbirds. BCA sold the airfield as their interest in aviation waned but kept the precious hangars thus once again depriving Blackbushe of any aircraft cover.




Interim period. Super hangars for aviation at Blackbushe! No longer, today they are purely used in connections with BCA's used car business.




Warbird era. Many treasures lurked within Doug Arnold's sanctum..



The US Navy hangar found itself on common land and detached from operational Blackbushe, it became a works premises for heavy plant assembly. In due course even the mighty US Navy hangar was broken up and replaced by today's Blackbushe Business Park. A land exchange permitted the Business Park's development on what had been common land.




The mighty United States Navy hangar. It could hold two of these with room to spare!




Meanwhile, Blackbushe Airport provides continued 'temporary' hangarage for a limited number of aeroplanes. It's taken sixty years, but I for one hope that it will not be too much longer until Blackbushe again can offer the benefit of permanent hangarage so as precious aircraft are no longer obliged to sit out the worst of the weather, wind, rain, ice, snow, hail and, of course, our feathered friends who I recall only too well had an affinity with a certain Dakota and her dark military colours!




Much loved G-BVOL. 1995. The Army's Dakota, mine for a season to get around the air shows and make some cash. A hangar to keep birds from pooing on the hardest to reach bits would have been nice between our away weekends. The top of the fin was the birds' favourite...


Dear old Blackbushe, with and without hangars she's weathered the decades, but sixty years has been a long time awaiting the arrival of a truly permanent answer to the need to keep aeroplanes snug..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
11/02/23

Balloons and 'things' floating about in the upper reaches of our climate are becoming popular with the press as of recent. Back in 1959, on this February day, a US met balloon reached an altitude of 146,000ft carrying detectors that transmitted information back to terra firma. Last night the USAF downed something "as big as a car " over Alaska. President Joe grabs his gun again - keep yer heads down..

Talking of things floating around, it was on this day in 2006 Steve Fossett set the absolute world record for “distance without landing” by flying his GlobalFlyer from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, around the world eastbound. If that was not enough having reached Florida he wanted more! The flight crossed the Atlantic for the second time before finally landing at Bournemouth. The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and the duration was 76 hours 45 min.




It's the weekend! Here's a memory of Blackbushe magic back in the early sixties. The Tiger Club would brighten our weekends with a flying visit, on this occasion no less than three aircraft on the apron at the same time! Believe me that looked impressive for the airport that had been largely demolished. To this then sixteen year old schoolboy whose proximity to aeroplanes had been mostly limited to Airfix kits and diesel powered models the feel of a full size aeroplane, the smell of these delights, and to mingle with the heroes who flew them was a total joy.



Fast forward to Blackbushe Airport yesterday. A bright February day and the Blackbushe apron literally buzzing with aviation business! Sharing the apron were an RAF EC135 from the Defence Helicopter Flying School, a PC-24 from Jetfly Aviation, a PC-12 from Get1Jet, the space age looking Piaggio P180, a Cessna 525 Citation-Jet, and an Augusta A109! I wish I'd been at the airfield to capture the moments, but video placed on social media conveyed the scene perfectly. Jet engines and turbo props created an orchestral background as these 21st Century transports mingled and moved creating the scene of a truly popular and busy business airport. If ever moments framed the essence of modern day affordable Blackbushe it was the video placed on social media yesterday where the Airport showed exactly what it can do, a preview of the future Blackbushe when one day new hangars, new aprons, a new Terminal and offices provide the vibrant new Airport longed for for so many years.

The positive scenes at Blackbushe yesterday were scenes of hope - a welcome contrast to a land where strikes seek to bring our nation to its knees, and the reality of life on Earth continues to show its potential harshness via harrowing scenes from Turkey. The immediate response from around the world in aid, money, and rescue teams clearly shows that the human race retains a very strong sense of humanity...

PB