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Post by PB on Sept 6, 2016 6:52:57 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
06/09/16G-AFBS. Dear old girl, a Miles Hawk Trainer with quite a history. She lived at Blackbushe for a year, or two, the details are lost in the haze of time, as one of two aircraft operated by the Blackbushe Aero Club. The first Blackbushe Aero Club formed shortly after AVM Bennett acquired Blackbushe was wound up and "relaunched" when "Wilbur" Wright arrived from White Waltham to operate a 'new' Blackbushe Aero Club. Sadly the details are all very grainy now, but following the fatal accidents that robbed the original Blackbushe Aero Club of two key officers the Club must have been closed down. I should remember having been a founder member of the Club, but t'was a while ago now.. "Wilbur" arrived with his Auster J1/N and Hawk Trainer G-AFBS. My mug shot while sitting in FBS appears every time I make an entry on the forum..plus hair!  Blackbushe Aero Club's Hawk Trainer G-AFBS."Wilbur" was accompanied by his secretary, can't even recall her name, but I was just too young to find the bottle to ask her out.. hadn't any money so maybe just a well? First half of the sixties, they were bleak but very happy times amid the small team that made what was Blackbushe life way back then.. We had Blackbushe Aero Club, Charles Watson's Jackaroo G-APAL, Airlines Flying Group's noisiest Auster ever heard G-APCY, and one or two others. The only building left standing was the Terminal by a piece of absolute luck. Had this been demolished as was the plan I wonder if Blackbushe would have survived in the way it has? Luck played its hand when the Airport buildings were sold off by auction in the main Terminal. The Terminal was purchased by Staravia boss Goldstein who applied for planning permission for the building to be retained in its role as a 'terminal'....Planning permission was naturally turned down by the local council, they could not abide aeroplanes on the 'common' or the thought of the Terminal ever being used for its designed purpose. The majority of the building was on common land and the County Council destroyed their section in 1996, happily the AVM's part of the building remains to this day - and very smart if looks having been totally refurbished a few years ago..  Another Blackbushe resident from the early 60's. The Sutherland brothers Emeraude. They went on to found IDS Air Taxis. The Terminal was still full size and in the early 60's continued showing its signage from pre 1960. It was a very tidy building throughout when been closed by the government. The County Council put an end to their common land end of the building through neglect, and its eventual demolition served up with a portion of bloody mindedness. They used the main passenger lounge as a dump for bits of heavy equipment, while they allowed trees to grow around the building's base, allowed smashed windows, as we watched the Terminal's east end slowly await her inevitable death........not a pretty sight!! PB
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Post by PB on Sept 7, 2016 5:34:48 GMT
07/09/16 POTD "closed" today...
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Post by PB on Sept 8, 2016 7:33:27 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
08/09/16Looking back as we progress through life the past can be placed into various stages, our situation, family, locations etc etc.. The same can be applied to Blackbushe in retrospect. Obviously she has her war days, her commercial days, and latterly her 'private ownership' days. It's in the those 'private' days that numerous sub-ages have taken their place in the airport's life, having been amid them first-hand it becomes easier to identify them. For example, the very "rugged" days when AVM Bennett acquired 365 acres that would retain the name Blackbushe. Those early years from 1960 were ones of great uncertainty as to whether the airfield would in fact survive, while vast amounts of rubble, distorted metal work, and flattened buildings left London's second airport looking as if the nuclear holocaust that threatened us all in those days had come to be... Blackbushe's very own 'stone-age'.... The photo below captures some memories from far off days...  An early Blackbushe fly-in.. slightly smaller than the air traffic parked on 'the loop' by the A30 around three years years earlier!Comper Swifts appeared at a number of our early fly-ins.. The photo also shows the fence that the AVM's team erected along the length of the A30. An interesting exercise from logistical and legal points of view. The fence was acquired from a famous race course not too far from Blackbushe, dug up and removed by the AVM's staff before relocation along the A30. Not the easiest of jobs.  Blackbushe at a guess 1962/3The above shot seen from the best vantage point. Three Counties club premises were in situ,(The Bushe Cafe today), the AVM's Proctor was on show by the A30, the local 'friends' of Blackbushe continued to consume every bit of tarmac they could as the disappearing apron can be seen continuing to disappear...the AVM's home built signals square is doing its job, the old Blackbushe car park east of the Terminal still displays its white lines, the Airport Manager's caravan home is easily seen to the front of the Terminal as is the two thirds of the building that 'they' would not sell to the new owner of Blackbushe. The malevolent destruction of Blackbushe's eastern end must surely have been the Airport's "dark age"? PB
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Post by PB on Sept 9, 2016 7:17:04 GMT
09/09/16
POTD currently in the hold while Photobucket is closed for maintenance. Possibly have to cancel today's service due crew duty hours...
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Post by PB on Sept 10, 2016 6:36:38 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
10/09/16Long long ago, in a time unseen and unknown to those of a younger generation there was an air show at Farnborough's aerodrome, the SBAC Show, it was held every year and for as long as it was able it featured British built aircraft and British built instrumentation and equipment only. We have moved on from those heady days, it seems a long while since 100% British built aircraft circumnavigated the globe. We're still up there with components but the world has moved on... Farnborough's SBAC Show was always held in September, it gave something big to savour before the onset of autumn and being condemned to dark nights. This week would have been that one and only "Farnborough Week", and what a week it was. Big formations, invariably a new type making its debut, sonic bangs, test pilots whose names became house hold legends, and the names, Avro, De Havilland, Bristol, Blackburn, Vickers, Handley Page, Hawkers, Westland, Saunders Roe. All were burned onto the minds of anyone slightly 'air minded'... Darker evenings, and sometimes dubious weather, but this weekend would mark the final days of another annual Farnborough Week. A couple of days ago "POTD" mentioned the various "ages" of Blackbushe, and nothing does better than "Farnborough Week" to distinguish the ages of Blackbushe!! Today's 'header photo' indicates something of Blackbushe during Farnborough in the fifties with assorted military hardware making its way to the 08 hold...   September could give Indian summers, it could also give English monsoon equivalents..but that was Farnborough Week Blackbushe would be covered in SBAC visitors giving a show on a par with Farnborough itself... ..all shapes and size would appear at Blackbushe during Farnborough Week Monsoon conditions? Who cares? Farnborough Week at Blackbushe afforded some extraordinarily 'close-up' views of visiting aircraft!! Nuclear capability comes to the A30.. Events in 1960 precluded much Farnborough Week activity at Blackbushe that year.. Despite the odds and opposition, Blackbushe lived to breath another day, and play a small role with "Farnborough " traffic again. 1963. cc Farnborough Week mid sixties By 1968 even had our own air show!! Daily Telegraph Air Display 1968.. Farnborough visitors arrive at Blackbushe....A scene undreamed of after May 31st, 1960 and the ensuing Blackbushe blitzkrieg.  The dark clouds of uncertainty still hung over Blackbushe, but for quite some years we filled up runway 14/32 with Farnborough visitors. Blackbushe lived again! Today the Farnborough visitor is pretty much a thing of the past at Blackbushe, they've disappeared or go direct to TAG, and the runway awaits her fate, sad and forlorn..The ongoing "ages" of Blackbushe.As the traditional date of the first week in September comes to a close, it's hard not to let the memory slip back to those amazing days in the late fifties as Farnborough visitors were stacked overhead Blackbushe in the hold. I shall never forget one morning in particular. My new school was a week late in opening (hurrah..). I had Farnbrough Week free!! I lived some eight miles away in Berkshire. The morning was traditional September. Early morning misty cloud cover, with all the signs that it would burn off before too long. The sky, however, offered a strange and ongoing rumble. I'd never heard such a sound before. The planned bike ride to Blackbushe took me through Yateley village and as I started the climb up Cricket Hill the clouds began to thin. The clouds thinned to behold the most amazing site anybody who held a modicum of aviation interest could not but be amazed by...Above was a sky full of silver shapes, all in the 'pattern' as they took their turns to land at Blackbushe. A sky full of piston engined aircraft, civil, military, you name it, stacked up to what appeared a considerable altitude...That scene - and the sound - are frozen in my memory and will be until my dying day. PB
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Post by PB on Sept 11, 2016 5:54:02 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
11/09/16Yesterday made a significant contribution toward rectifying the recent lack of rainfall in the south-east.. it precipitated down all day! Such a day would be made the worse by a lack of shelter, for example an airfield unable to offer a dry hangar. Sadly, Blackbushe comes under that description at the moment due to no fault of her own - hangars have come, hangars have gone, come back and then gone again... As the forum is dedicated to Blackbushe, warts and all, perhaps we'll recap on hangars that have come and gone and caused many aeroplanes to be left out in the rain.. In the beginning, that is 1942, the government constructed three large T2 hangars and half a dozen smaller blister hangars. The blister hangars tended to be on the now long abandoned north-eastern side of the airfield, two T2's being located south of the A30 and one on the common half a mile, or so, east of today's Terminal. All demolished in the process of driving Blackbushe operators elsewhere and creating the south-east's largest rubble heap.  Latterly Eagle's hangar, one of the two south of the A30, this one being tucked away in the far south-west corner.  Pretty certain this was Airwork's hangar post war, the one hangar built north of the A30. At war here with Bostons outside and a reasonable supply of aviation fuel! Farnborough Grammar School shot of the Orion/Silver City/Britavia hangar long ago located south of the A30 to the south-eastern corner of what was once part of a very large Blackbushe Airport. In the fifties the US Navy moved in! They built their own hangar, a massive structure of the time. That too has been demolished. Bye bye Blackbushe.. Bye bye US Navy. 1961. The big freeze. Luckily one building remained, after improvements, and G-AMZO was safely tucked up. Now wiped out by the BCA complex. AVM Bennett built this block of lock-up "tee" hangars with temporary planning permission..1962. They fell apart in the fullness of time but provided a valuable service for quite a few years. This area also now part of the BCA used motors empire.. Further hangar construction during AVVM Bennett's ownership of Blackbushe.. Yes, also wiped out by BCA. Doug Arnold's arrival saw the first real hangars being built on Blackbushe!! Blackbushe started to look like an airfield again, the air traffic was variable in nature..But, Arnold sold out to BCA. BCA wanted the land and the hangars. Sadly, when they sold the airfield to the current owners they kept the magnificent hangars that Doug Arnold had built. So there we have it, hangars come, hangars go, and right now they've pretty much gone... For now.  One new hangar was officially opened last year, that of Aerobility, so we do have a hangar on the airfield, a splendid structure that serves Aerobility's needs perfectly. The temporary green plastic jobs provided a backdrop for this year's Air Day...at least they serve the need to protect aeroplanes and also offer much needed aircraft engineering. Blackbushe Airport 2016, land of hope and a long story!PB
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Post by PB on Sept 12, 2016 5:48:33 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
12/09/16Just one photo of the day today, a name more associated with the Olympics than aviation, but this morning the Javelin goes into the POTD records... The late fifties, 1957-59, witnessed quite a number of RAF Javelin movements at Blackbushe adding to the wide variety of aircraft types that once graced the old airfield. Airwork conducted Javelin flight trials with the RAF and carried out modifications on the type at Blackbushe, the POTD vaults having just one photo bearing witness to such activity...  One of numerous RAF Javelin's to operate from Blackbushe in connection with Airwork's flight trials.A long while ago, the Javelin holds a special place in my memory not for its association with Blackbushe but with RAF Odiham. One sunny Sunday morning I went along to Odiham with my Dad. An Odiham based Javelin squadron was co-operating with some flight trials for him in association with the RAE and yours truly was invited to sit in the cockpit of one of these unusual - but exciting - looking aeroplanes. For a young lad the ascent up and over the gaping port intake was exciting enough before dropping into the front seat. It's a moment you never forget - your very first moments in an aeroplane, and a front line RAF jet too! Be great to see a Javelin back in the sky again with its combination of unusual looks and unique engine sounds..but like many things from the past can be but a memory. PB
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Post by PB on Sept 13, 2016 6:16:49 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
13/09/16We've all seen the line-ups at airports such as Gatwick where today's independent operators operate in apparently ever greater numbers across the skies of Europe. A stark contrast to the fifties when government protectionism of their state carriers, BEA and BOAC, combined with those carriers heavy handed union membership to squash efforts by the private sector to establish a fairer freedom of the UK's skies. As post war commercial air travel took off the need to give travellers a choice and provide competition to the state run monopolies was seen as an imperative by the likes of Harold Bamberg, Freddie Laker, and Don Bennett. Offering long runways, being close to London and situate on a major trunk road to London, Blackbushe proved the perfect location from where to wave the birth flag of British post war independent commercial aviation. Harold Bamberg's Eagle Airways became Blackbushe's largest resident carrier. Slowly, but surely, the new British independent's broke the state owned monopoly of our post war skies although strangely over the years British Airways, not state funded today perhaps, has been seen to scoop up our independent operators one by one. Dan-Air, BCAL, and BMA come to mind.  Blackbushe Airport in the nineteen fifties. This country's foothold into post-war independent air transport...The spirit of those days returned a couple of years back on a wet and windy October day when Harold Bamberg, Eagle Airway's Founder and Chairman, joined us at Blackbushe to officially unveil our "Airlines of Blackbushe Airport" sign. Once again those famous tails were here for all to see.... Back tomorrow with an air show report.. PB
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Post by PB on Sept 14, 2016 6:03:21 GMT
"Photo of the Day
14/09/16
Yesterday's POTD concluded with the promise of an 'air show report' today... the difference is that "POTD" today is minus any photographs, your imagination will have to take over as you "see" events as your mind interprets them....
Over the years Blackbushe has played host to a number of air shows, mainly during the long drawn out years during which the airfield has been under private ownership. Today's 'air show report' precedes all such adventures, and goes back to today's date 14th September, 1946. The weather wasn't too good and I was unable to attend. Being six months old had its restrictions...
In 1946, today, 14th September the country witnessed "Battle of Britain Day" celebrations. The nation was feeling "austerity" in its true colours having been virtually bankrupted fighting a world war, you can but guess the relief that must have swept the land as peace returned, but 'victory' celebrations and the chance to say "Thank you" must have been truly emotional occasions?
As with all good public air events, the 1946 show provided many ground based exhibits to keep visitors amused, and way back then all the aircraft were currently serving with the Air Force, not one replica or restoration, the real thing! The airfield opened its gates to the public from 1400 to 1800 hours providing some twenty aircraft to participate in the flying programme. As with this year's July Air Day, the 1946 show's ambition was to support a suitable charity. In 1946 the RAF Benevolent Fund received £150 from the Blackbushe 'Battle of Britain Day' event, plus a further £25 from the event organisers, Air Contractors. Pleasure flying in 1946 was conducted by a Miles Aerovan and an Airspeed Consul.
It's over to you now, to let your imagination unfurl and visualise events on 14th September, 1946...
The Air Display Programme
1430 Oxford W6626 takes off for R/T transmission broadcast which can be heard in the black and white caravan positioned next to air traffic control.
1500 Halifax, 297 Squadron, drops thirteen panniers by parachute on the dropping zone in centre of airfield.
1510 Halifax lands and is positioned for public viewing.
1545 Vampire and Meteor land are parked or public viewing.
1620 Proctor 2568 takes of to rendezvous with Oxford W6626 over the airfield - fighter affiliation tactics.
1625 Oxford and proctor dog fight.
1635 The Proctor lands.
1640 Halifax tows off Horsa glider.
1645 Halifax flypast towing glider.
1655 Lincoln demonstration flypast.
1700 Lancastrian flypast.
1705 Lancaster flypast.
1710 Dakota flypast.
1715 Tempest II demonstration flypast.
1720 Hudson demonstration flypast.
1725 Firefly demonstration flypast.
1730 Sea Fury, Seafire and Spitfire aerobatics.
1735 Mosquito and Hornet.
1740 Meteor demonstration and high speed aerobatics.
1745 Vampire demonstration and high speed aerobatics.
1750 Anson XIX demonstration flypast.
1755 Messenger demonstrates slow flying.
Schedule services will continue and the programme is subject to alteration to fit in with this. Pleasure flights available in Miles Aerovan and Airspeed Consul.
We hope you will enjoy the flying but if you are browned off there are plenty of other things to see and do! The following will be on view:
Control Tower, Link Trainer, Radar, Signals, MT Section, Briefing Room, Photography (Don't worry, the cameras are insured!)
And that's how it was done in 1946 on 14th September, the big difference being that Blackbushe was at its full size then, no bits chopped off - that is worth imagining! My sincere thanks to Stuart for today's information as laid out in his book on Blackbushe, "The Wartime Years".
Regards to all, hopefully more news about our next air event in the near future!
PB
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Post by PB on Sept 15, 2016 6:05:06 GMT
"Photo of the Day"
15/09/16 15th September, 2016, "Battle of Britain Day", 76 years have flown, lest we forget....
The "Battle" was over by the time RAF Hartford Bridge was commissioned and thus she played no part in 1940's endeavours, but the debt we owe those who gave all for the freedom of our skies remains priceless. PB
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