5Y-AYR African Safari Bristol 175 Britannia 307F parked at Luton airport
The view at Luton airport in the 1970s :)
This was the wonderful sight on what was probably my first venture up to Luton airport. Not one but FIVE Bristol Britannias visible in this shot, with vintage Ghana Airways DC-8 N8016 thrown in for good measure.
By the time I got into aviation, in the mid to late 1970s, all the remaining Bristol Britannias were freighters. Luton was the place to see them as they used the maintenance facility there. They were also occasional visitors to Gatwick, but never to Heathrow as far as I remember.
Luton Airport
Each of the London airports had a distictive character in the 1970s. Luton up on its hill felt quite remote from the hustle and bustle of my 'home' airport of Heathrow. More like a regional airport. The viewing area with its cafe was a popular haunt for aviation enthusiasts at the time, and of course you could wander around the perimeter at will. Amongst the jets of Britannia Airways and Monarch Airlines, Luton was the last London airport that had a regular supply of ageing propliners. Those were the days ;)
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium / long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the early 1950s to fly across the British Empire. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved susceptible to inlet icing, which delayed entry into service while solutions were sought.
By the time development was completed, "pure" jet airliners from France, United Kingdom, and the United States were about to enter service, and consequently, only 85 Britannias were built before production ended in 1960. Nevertheless, the Britannia is considered one of the landmarks in turboprop-powered airliner design and was popular with passengers. It became known as "The Whispering Giant" for its quiet exterior noise and smooth flying. More info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Britannia
My very last scanned Instamatic negative from the 1970s! Taken with my basic Kodak Instamatic using 126 cartridge film.
Photo uploaded after a visit to the restoration bureau
You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/
5Y-AYR African Safari Bristol 175 Britannia 307F parked at Luton airport
The view at Luton airport in the 1970s :)
This was the wonderful sight on what was probably my first venture up to Luton airport. Not one but FIVE Bristol Britannias visible in this shot, with vintage Ghana Airways DC-8 N8016 thrown in for good measure.
By the time I got into aviation, in the mid to late 1970s, all the remaining Bristol Britannias were freighters. Luton was the place to see them as they used the maintenance facility there. They were also occasional visitors to Gatwick, but never to Heathrow as far as I remember.
Luton Airport
Each of the London airports had a distictive character in the 1970s. Luton up on its hill felt quite remote from the hustle and bustle of my 'home' airport of Heathrow. More like a regional airport. The viewing area with its cafe was a popular haunt for aviation enthusiasts at the time, and of course you could wander around the perimeter at will. Amongst the jets of Britannia Airways and Monarch Airlines, Luton was the last London airport that had a regular supply of ageing propliners. Those were the days ;)
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium / long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the early 1950s to fly across the British Empire. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved susceptible to inlet icing, which delayed entry into service while solutions were sought.
By the time development was completed, "pure" jet airliners from France, United Kingdom, and the United States were about to enter service, and consequently, only 85 Britannias were built before production ended in 1960. Nevertheless, the Britannia is considered one of the landmarks in turboprop-powered airliner design and was popular with passengers. It became known as "The Whispering Giant" for its quiet exterior noise and smooth flying. More info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Britannia
My very last scanned Instamatic negative from the 1970s! Taken with my basic Kodak Instamatic using 126 cartridge film.
Photo uploaded after a visit to the restoration bureau
You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/