Back to the future again
Well here we are again - back by popular demand (well one or two suggested it) but instead of boring the pants off you each week I'm reducing the input to once a month!
Starting with January 1971, here's a few extracts from my log:
4th January started off with Executive Boeing 737 N520L belonging to the LTV Corporation going OTT southbound heathrow.junkie caught her nicely at Luton: www.flickr.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/50609958223/in/photo...
but the star that day was a USAF ANG Boeing KC-97L Stratocruiser using call-sign 'Frane or Frame 35' which routed Ibsley-Dover, presumably one of those regular 'Creek Party' movements for tanking TDY in Germany.
I caught sister-ship 22630 at Greenham a couple of years later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/5316310271/in/photolis...
At the time I incorrectly assumed the call-sign was the last two of the serial but having realised my error I crossed out what I thought was the prefix. However, I never did find out which airframe she was!
Then to the 23rd!
An epic day and suffice to say being January, days were short on light but boy did we do a tour from our homes on the South Coast area. If I recall correctly, myself, fellow flickerite Keith Brooks and the late Richard Almond (ATCO at Shoreham) and probably one other, we set off calling at:
Fairoaks, then Blackbushe, RAF Bensen, Kidlington, Lower Heyford, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Bicester, Booker, RAF Northolt, Heston, Denham, Heathrow and finally Gatwick!
Of those I've listed Upper Heyford had a variety of visiting NATO fast jets including a pair of Luftwaffe Fiat G-91's - here's one at Mildenhall a year later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/8497902583/in/photolis...
several Starfighters including FX-21 now preserved at Koksijde - courtesy of Stu Carr:
www.flickr.com/photos/15110856@N02/5919326682/in/photolis...
and the star being French Air Force T-33 14835/12-XE.
Chris England saw her there in June of that year:
www.flickr.com/photos/chrisengland/34414395995/in/photoli...
Several based F-111's were noted along with the resident HH-43 Huskies (Here's one of Mildenhall's, 24536 - such strange birds:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/8512910026/in/photolis... )
Note that back then Upper Heyford used JR, JT and UR tail codes before standardising later on the more representative 'UH'.
In '76 68-0022/UH performed at Greenham:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/34689761000/in/photoli...
Along with the NATO visitors, a pair of Lakenheath based F-100 Super Sabres were present (including 55-3692 which Gordon Riley caught there the year before:
www.flickr.com/photos/23711545@N08/50620128658/in/photoli...
plus a whole host of mixed mark F-4 Phantoms from USAFE bases at Ramstein, Zweibrucken, Bitburg and Soesterburg (Here's one of Soesterberg's F-4E's 68-0452/CR at Mildenhall a year later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/16670010473/in/photoli...
Then on to nearby Bicester where one of the ailing RAF Beverley transports was noted on the dump there.
Chris England snapped her in August '71 before she finally expired:
www.flickr.com/photos/chrisengland/36018511124/in/photoli...
RAF Bensen had several Argosies that day and Spitfire TE311 was noted having been the former Gate Guard at RAF Tangmere. She's since been rebuilt and is currently one of the BBMF's fleet where I caught her performing at the 2014 Shoreham RAFA Airshow: www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/16467636559/in/photoli...
Down to RAF Northolt and a single USAF C-131 was noted and driving back via Hayes, the Saunders Roe P.531 G-APNV was seen at the Fairey Works there - later preserved at Yeovilton Store:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saro_P.531#/media/File:SaroP531-XN3...
A quick look at Heathrow where Alitalia's Boeing 747 I-DEME appeared (Bob Garrard saw her at JFK in '77:
www.flickr.com/photos/23032926@N05/5425300958/in/photolis...
and then home via Gatwick.
What a day!
Back to the future again
Well here we are again - back by popular demand (well one or two suggested it) but instead of boring the pants off you each week I'm reducing the input to once a month!
Starting with January 1971, here's a few extracts from my log:
4th January started off with Executive Boeing 737 N520L belonging to the LTV Corporation going OTT southbound heathrow.junkie caught her nicely at Luton: www.flickr.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/50609958223/in/photo...
but the star that day was a USAF ANG Boeing KC-97L Stratocruiser using call-sign 'Frane or Frame 35' which routed Ibsley-Dover, presumably one of those regular 'Creek Party' movements for tanking TDY in Germany.
I caught sister-ship 22630 at Greenham a couple of years later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/5316310271/in/photolis...
At the time I incorrectly assumed the call-sign was the last two of the serial but having realised my error I crossed out what I thought was the prefix. However, I never did find out which airframe she was!
Then to the 23rd!
An epic day and suffice to say being January, days were short on light but boy did we do a tour from our homes on the South Coast area. If I recall correctly, myself, fellow flickerite Keith Brooks and the late Richard Almond (ATCO at Shoreham) and probably one other, we set off calling at:
Fairoaks, then Blackbushe, RAF Bensen, Kidlington, Lower Heyford, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Bicester, Booker, RAF Northolt, Heston, Denham, Heathrow and finally Gatwick!
Of those I've listed Upper Heyford had a variety of visiting NATO fast jets including a pair of Luftwaffe Fiat G-91's - here's one at Mildenhall a year later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/8497902583/in/photolis...
several Starfighters including FX-21 now preserved at Koksijde - courtesy of Stu Carr:
www.flickr.com/photos/15110856@N02/5919326682/in/photolis...
and the star being French Air Force T-33 14835/12-XE.
Chris England saw her there in June of that year:
www.flickr.com/photos/chrisengland/34414395995/in/photoli...
Several based F-111's were noted along with the resident HH-43 Huskies (Here's one of Mildenhall's, 24536 - such strange birds:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/8512910026/in/photolis... )
Note that back then Upper Heyford used JR, JT and UR tail codes before standardising later on the more representative 'UH'.
In '76 68-0022/UH performed at Greenham:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/34689761000/in/photoli...
Along with the NATO visitors, a pair of Lakenheath based F-100 Super Sabres were present (including 55-3692 which Gordon Riley caught there the year before:
www.flickr.com/photos/23711545@N08/50620128658/in/photoli...
plus a whole host of mixed mark F-4 Phantoms from USAFE bases at Ramstein, Zweibrucken, Bitburg and Soesterburg (Here's one of Soesterberg's F-4E's 68-0452/CR at Mildenhall a year later:
www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/16670010473/in/photoli...
Then on to nearby Bicester where one of the ailing RAF Beverley transports was noted on the dump there.
Chris England snapped her in August '71 before she finally expired:
www.flickr.com/photos/chrisengland/36018511124/in/photoli...
RAF Bensen had several Argosies that day and Spitfire TE311 was noted having been the former Gate Guard at RAF Tangmere. She's since been rebuilt and is currently one of the BBMF's fleet where I caught her performing at the 2014 Shoreham RAFA Airshow: www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/16467636559/in/photoli...
Down to RAF Northolt and a single USAF C-131 was noted and driving back via Hayes, the Saunders Roe P.531 G-APNV was seen at the Fairey Works there - later preserved at Yeovilton Store:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saro_P.531#/media/File:SaroP531-XN3...
A quick look at Heathrow where Alitalia's Boeing 747 I-DEME appeared (Bob Garrard saw her at JFK in '77:
www.flickr.com/photos/23032926@N05/5425300958/in/photolis...
and then home via Gatwick.
What a day!