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Post by rocky14 on Jul 23, 2024 18:57:00 GMT
Thanks for the response chevvron. Not heard from Mac lately?!
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Post by rocky14 on Jul 25, 2024 19:08:28 GMT
Excellent shot of the PC12 and 24 today. The trio of PCs the other day with the 24 between the 12s was, as said good. Personally I'd go for the 12!
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Post by rocky14 on Jul 30, 2024 10:06:04 GMT
After the closure of Blackbushe AAC Beevers' were regular visitors to Gatwick in the '60s. Of course, at the time they were just part of the aviation scene; now never forgotten!
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Post by b170 on Aug 7, 2024 18:13:29 GMT
B170
````Peter, When I was at Silver City a Miss Goddard worked in the accounts, it could be the same women. Though you would like to know.
Are you enjoying the Olympics? Regards Bob
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Post by chevvron on Aug 16, 2024 8:02:44 GMT
Considering the Britannia flew just 3 years after the Brabazon and the Brabazon was cancelled shortly afterwards, it's amazing the gulf between the two types.
I suppose one factor was the Brit was designed from the outset with turboprops while the Brabazon flew with piston engines. I never saw the Brabazon but I had one flight in a Brit, 4.5 hours round Britain in XM491; on 22 Jul 1970 I simply loaded 4 of my cadets in my car and drove to Brize Norton from our home in Chesham, (nearby Bovingdon having just closed so I reckoned, ignoring Northolt, that Brize would be a good bet for scrounging) and asked for a flight and we were loaded up along with a group of Halton Brats to fly to Prestwick, Manchester and Gatwick being served hot meals en-route. It was obviously a training flight so the whole crew including cabin crew participated and it was so smooth and quiet.
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Post by rocky14 on Aug 17, 2024 8:46:58 GMT
Considering the Britannia flew just 3 years after the Brabazon and the Brabazon was cancelled shortly afterwards, it's amazing the gulf between the two types. I suppose one factor was the Brit was designed from the outset with turboprops while the Brabazon flew with piston engines. I never saw the Brabazon but I had one flight in a Brit, 4.5 hours round Britain in XM491; on 22 Jul 1970 I simply loaded 4 of my cadets in my car and drove to Brize Norton from our home in Chesham, (nearby Bovingdon having just closed so I reckoned, ignoring Northolt, that Brize would be a good bet for scrounging) and asked for a flight and we were loaded up along with a group of Halton Brats to fly to Prestwick, Manchester and Gatwick being served hot meals en-route. It was obviously a training flight so the whole crew including cabin crew participated and it was so smooth and quiet. There was a turboprop version of the Brabazon, but it was scrapped at the same time as the piston prototype. If the Brit had got into production sooner - it had problems initially -sales would not have been thwarted by the introduction of the 707. Being sarf of the Thames opportunities for 'scrounging' were not so available. What was on the menu?🫣 |
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Post by chevvron on Aug 17, 2024 10:24:17 GMT
Being sarf of the Thames opportunities for 'scrounging' were not so available. What was on the menu?🫣 From what I've read, the Britannia was originally planned to be called the 'Brabazon III', the 'II' having been the turboprop which was scrapped before it was finished. As we were only a short distance from Bovingdon, that was the prime target and I got 2 Anson flights and one Devon flight however if Bovingdon said there was nothing planned, we would often hitch hike to other airfields before I got a car and my first ever flight was from Benson in an Argosy, then myself and one other decided to try Kidlington and we were rewarded with a 5 minute 'quickie' in a Brantly B2A. On another occasion we went to Bovingdon in our uniforms and spent the whole day wandering round watching some scenes from '633 Squadron' being filmed. At one point no less than 5 Mossies = 10 Merlins took to the air briefly and then we stood directly behind the camera while a scene involving Cliff Robertson and Donald Houston was shot from 2 different directions involving a change of camera and lighting positions. Later when I started gliding from Halton, we did some detachments to Bovingdon to carry out gliding and I flew the first ever glider launch from there and 3 months later I gained the first ever 'C' Certificate there. One of my mates actually did stray south of the Thames and he and one other got as far as Odiham in 1961 where they were rewarded with a trip in a Whirlwind. |
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Post by rocky14 on Aug 17, 2024 16:47:49 GMT
One of my mates actually did stray south of the Thames and he and one other got as far as Odiham in 1961 where they were rewarded with a trip in a Whirlwind.[/quote]
They did well to get that deep into the southlands, but the reward of a spin in a Whirlwind - no mean achievement - would, it appears, fall into insignificance compared to the wealth of opportunities afforded north of the Thames.
We were lucky to have been one of the baby boomers' generation. Security, freedom to roam, friendly reception etc featured highly back then. Today, is a different game of skittles!
Blackbushe is very friendly, but security rates far higher now than it did in the 'good old days'.
Anyhow,it is important that anecdotes of the time are recorded. We will never see the likes of those days again, alas.
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Post by chevvron on Aug 18, 2024 10:20:43 GMT
Correction. The first batch of 26 Jetstream T1s for the RAF were powered by the Astazous not Garrets. They were first introduced on the civil market in 1969 then in the RAF at Oakington in 1973 replacing Varsities and I flew in one at Leeming in 1977; one of our lectures (I was doing a course aimed at training ATC Cadets) was a discussion about the Astazou. Apparently Turbomeca had just ordered the RAF to replace the oil with a different grade and they had started having in-flight shutdowns.
Astazou powered Jetstreams weren't retired until the Navy stopped using the T2 in 2012 for observer training. I was operating as a radio operater at Dunsfold as well as doing FISO at Fairoaks when 3 were flown in from Yeovilton. 2 were quickly 'dismantled' and the third is still there although I think they've taken the wings off.
Did you know Astazous had only 2 rpm settings; 30% for start and taxy and 100% for flight.
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Post by chevvron on Aug 20, 2024 9:46:40 GMT
One unusual trip I did in a BAC 1-11 was in Farnborough's XX919 when we flew to Benbecula, (an airfield in the Hebrides not habitually visited by the type) and back.
On another occasion we delivered an Andover to Cranfield and were picked up by '919 from there to return to Farnborough, both of these being rather unique airfields to be visited by the type.
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