Trident at Booker.

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Anybody remember the splendid Air Displays at Booker in the late sixties early seventies? I recall at one show seeing a BEA Trident (was it inbound to Heathrow from Brussels?) doing a super fly-past. I understand some of the pax were NOT AMUSED! Gosh and then there were the Red Arrows going hell for leather in their Gnats - they blew all my Ian Allan stuff and binos off the top of my minivan pulling out from the bomb-burst. Ray Hanna in a Spitfire in the days when Spitfires were still a novelty and a Vulcan too if my memory serves me right.

[lebo35]

I remember the one that coincided with Booker's hosting of the Kings Cup Air Race in 1972. A Vulcan made a very noisy display which I enjoyed much more than my one year old daughter. Sadly, I don't remember anything else about the day.

[happybiker]

Ahhhh Booker! I also remember a BOAC VC 10 doing a low level high speed fly on the way to Heathrow which impressed me somewhat. I had never seen a commercial aircraft do anything like that before. Also recall Ray Hanna "cutting the grass" in a Spitfire PR9. I think it must have been 1971. Did the sun always shine in those days!

[JEM60]

OUAQUK. Yep, I remember it well!! I think it was inbound from Geneva, I thought it was a great display, although you are quite correct about less than amused passengers.!!!!. I had a pleasure flight in a Cherokee [!],that day and was allowed to handle it to give the guy a rest!!!. I subsequently did my PPL there. I also remember Don Bullock displaying B.17 'Sally B' as it now is. My wife and I were sitting by the tower [I was flying in those days] when, having finished his display and spotted a group of us on the grass by the tower. Buzzed us very, very low, and scared my wife badly.
Sadly it was no surprise to hear that he ended up in a smoking hole at Biggin.

[Airclues]

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc193/Airclues/DSC04480.jpg

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc193/Airclues/DSC04479.jpg

[treadigraph]

Ah, sad that none of the names in that programme are with us any more (save David Brown for the Jet Ranger of whom I know nothing). Presumably the Fourniers were Brian Stevens and David Perrin.

No Rothmans...

JEM60, Don Bullock in the B-17 would have been later, I think it didn't arrive in the UK until about 1975.

[India Four Two]

I was at a Booker air display in the late 60s when a BOAC VC-10 and a BEA Trident both made approaches and overshoots before continuing on to Heathrow.

The story I heard was that they were invited to do so, rather than bore holes in the sky in the Garston stack. I cannot imagine that happening today!

I also remember the immortal PA "Would Mr. ....... please return to his Spitfire?"

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

The 1968 display, I think, a 707-436 flown by Capt 'Dizzy' Neville, opened the show by an approach to 25, gear down, to a go-around from over the threshold. He then hauled it round and came blasting back at high speed, departing to the east. The Trident, inbound from Brussels, closed the show by cruising gently past, not coming below approx. 1,000 feet above aerodrome level! Fair enough, as it had pax on, unlike the BOAC 707.

Four Jet Provosts (The 'Pelicans'?) flew in and parked before their display. The Red Arrows in Gnats, Sallly 'B,' and Neil Williams, I think, displayed the Jetstream. Featuring also the British Airways Flying Club Cherokee 'Haggis' formation team, led by CFI Hamish Hamilton, for which part of the display I was press-ganged into doing the commentary! I have a Super 8 movie, since transcribed onto video, which will now have to be transcribed onto an even more modern media.

11th July 1971 ... ah yes, I was in Antigua!

:}

[DILLIGAFF]

Made my first ever flight at the 1972 Kings Cup Display at Booker. A circuit in G-AXRN a Humber Airways BN Islander, sat up front next to the pilot. Sure impressed a 13 year old.
D

[WHBM]

The Trident, inbound from Brussels, closed the show by cruising gently past, not coming below approx. 1,000 feet above aerodrome level! Fair enough, as it had pax on, !
I can recall (alas, dimly) that a pax on the Trident flight wrote a detailed criticism of this which was published in Flight magazine the following week or so. Someone might like to dig the relevant letters page up from their archive.

Garston/Bovingdon would seem to be an unusual stack for an inbound from Brussels in the first place.

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

The Trident made its sedate approach from the direction of Henley, so it must've been worked around the zone from Biggin, where it normally would route to on a BRU or GVA.

[22/04]

Agree about Biggin from GVA but it would have been Lambourne from BRU.

Before LAM and BNN I think Garston was the hold for everything form the North and Epsom from the South but could be wrong about that.

Can't remember when Garston ceased to be the holding point form the North; pretty sure it was in 1968.

[JEM60]

TREADI Yes, you are right, it was later. My punctuation skills failed me on that post, and made it seem as if it was the same display. It wasn't, of course. Cheers.

[David Rayment]

Hi OUAQUKGF - I think we may have been at this one - I brought the Standard 9 along - I have just dug out the negs from this and Leavesden, Teeside, Luton and others. I will now have to buy a film scanner but will post in due course.

Ray

[India Four Two]

G-ALHI

Are you sure about Sally B? I left the UK in 1970 and I don't remember seeing or even hearing about any B-17s in the UK.

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

Well of course, having searched high and low, I can't lay my hands on the video! However, having watched it - and the Super 8 movie - on numerous occasions, there is a B17 of some description duffing up the tower.

What has come to light is the whole week's recording of 'Airport 86' introduced by Mike Smith and Sarah Greene from LHR. This is from a time when 757s were the latest thing, BA had still not been privatised, Swanwick wasn't even a distant gleam, and Ms Greene had the mandatory big shoulder pads and 'explosion in a candyfloss factory' perm of that era!

:)

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Just sent you a pm. Rgds T.

[treadigraph]

G-ALHI, it's got to be 1976 plus. Saw an article in Flight by Daryl Stinton around then with a view of Sally B at Booker (I think) very close cropping the dasies.

[ABUKABOY]

I too was standing along the crowd line circa 1968, and could not believe my eyes as the 707 made its low approach over Booker, and neatly oiled my mother's washing-line along with everybody else's under the approach path. It was REALLY low and quite magnificent! Having been gliding there since 1959, to see this happening at MY little airfield left quite an impression I can tell you! My participation at this Show was flying a Thruxton Jackaroo, (my first and only flight on type), doing knife-edges along the crowd line. As a current Tiger Moth pilot, my only pre-flight briefing was that "it climbs, cruises and crashes at 86 knots, (or was that 68?)". Yes, quite!
The displays were always spectacular and well-supported by the participants, and certainly nothing like it could be contemplated today.
Rather like the tacit approval of John *********, a local CAA Flt Ops inspector present on the field, to thrash the living daylights out of the place one quiet Sunday morning, (23/9/79), as I departed in an Intra DC-3 that I'd parked-up for the weekend to see my parents, quite the highlight of my flying career, and professionally filmed by Charles Lagus. I never did see the film, but would dearly love to, if anyone knows of his whereabouts.
Booker seems to be facing a very uncertain future at the moment with the threat of a massive football stadium and business park, with aviation well and truly sidelined, (or read between the lines........curtailed..........stopped altogether?). Booker residents, be very very careful what you wish for, there will be no repenting at leisure!

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

treadigraph: Yes, clearly the 'Sally B' was at a much later display. I'm pretty sure that the 707-436s had gone from BOAC before 1976. Our mutual friend, the late Ken FitzRoy, was flying them for BEA Airtours in 1974.

ABUKAYBOY, I know exactly who you are, and I remember your weekend visit in the Dak.

" ... a local CAA Flt Ops inspector ..." otherwise known as 'The W. Wingco' I presume! The last time I saw him, many years ago, he'd joined the general exodus to White Waltham.

It's a pity about Booker, but it does seem that its great days are over.

[bigal1941]

I was his assistant around 1964/65 in Film Department at TFS Ealing.Was last in contact 10 years ago when was living in Mauritious in a house on the beach after his retirement. He did have family living locally to me. I would doubt that he would have kept any film from those years. Was it done for the the Beeb or privately ? I wil lmake some enquiries amongst my colleagues as to his whereabouts. Alan

[arem]

There were 436's still with us in late '76 - but maybe only 'PFJ - I did my command base training on it - in fact it was still pounding the circuits in Jan77 when I last flew it doing crosswind landings, after which it was all 336B/C's.

G-ALHI - love your user name - it was the aircraft in which I last flew with my father when he was checking out on the Argonaut for Air Links - circuits at LGW - great fun

[pax britanica]

A little addition on the 707-436 timeline ,I flew on one on my honeymoon (why I remember it so clearly) to Faro from LHR in late March 77. I think though it may have been borrowed from Airtours due to having HF radio and needing to avoid French ATC or something similar.
Also took an interest as had a friend who was 436 pilot though he may he been on temporary lay off at that time too.
For all thats been said about them at airshows I also remember it for being stunningly noisy inside with those 4 Conways crackling and roaring away . Came back on a Trident 3 which was much nicer to fly on
PB

[wigglyamp]

The 436's were definitely still around at BA in March '79 as they were the first aircraft I worked on in TBB when I moved from Cranebank as an apprentice.
Now I work and occasionally fly at Booker!

[T6NL]

Have just been trying to do some research on this issue as I was on board a Trident that did a flypast at Booker. Sadly I cannot remember much at all (not even the year) as I was only about 5 at the time! My dad was a manager at BEA then and the flypast flight I went on was specifically launched for the event. It was filled with only staff and their families/friends and everyone knew the purpose of the flight so there was little consternation about a low approach and flypast. The flight was LHR - LHR and that is about all I can remember about it, despite it being the very first time I ever flew. If anyone has any more details, or even a picture, then I would be most interested.

[LynxDriver]

Sally B, then painted silver and wearing French registration F-BGSR was shown purporting to be an RAF bomber in a 1971 episode of the A Family at War TV series. No idea where the scenes were filmed but given the budget the series had to work with, I feel sure it would have been in the UK somewhere.

[India Four Two]

Thread drift.

T6NL, let me guess - you used to be a Hawk driver?

[browndhc2]

I remember seeing a picture of a DC 3 captioned as being taken at Wycombe Air Park in the back of Flight International from the 8Th March 1980. Its an arty shot tail on taken into the setting sun. You can just make out the big I of Intra's final livery on the fin. Thanks to ABUKAYBOY I now know why the Dak was in Buckinghamshire, The remaining piece of the jigsaw is which Dak of the JY fleet was it?

[TheAirMission]

Anybody remember the splendid Air Displays at Booker in the late sixties early seventies? I recall at one show seeing a BEA Trident (was it inbound to Heathrow from Brussels?) doing a super fly-past. I understand some of the pax were NOT AMUSED! Gosh and then there were the Red Arrows going hell for leather in their Gnats - they blew all my Ian Allan stuff and binos off the top of my minivan pulling out from the bomb-burst. Ray Hanna in a Spitfire in the days when Spitfires were still a novelty and a Vulcan too if my memory serves me right.

Chaps I attach a photo of what you have may have been discussing, found in one of the 000s of my dad's aviation photos. Does anyone know an exact date?
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1200x675/bcn_29_11_2017_102_0fd478285d97cb5c0edec17c8de594750bf28254. jpg

[David Thompson]

Chaps I attach a photo of what you have may have been discussing, found in one of the 000s of my dad's aviation photos. Does anyone know an exact date?
I don't know the date but I do know that's a VC-10 and not a Trident but it is a superb photograph !

[Bergerie1]

Is that real or a fake?

[bean]

Is that real or a fake?
If you'd seen the VC10 at White Waltham you would't think it was a fake!!!

[DaveReidUK]

If you'd seen the VC10 at White Waltham you would't think it was a fake!!!

That doesn't follow.

[TheAirMission]

I don't know the date but I do know that's a VC-10 and not a Trident but it is a superb photograph !
Ah, spot on. I have been searching the internet to find a date of when this happened and somehow came across this forum post so quickly put two and two together. (I still don't know the date, mind.)

Is that real or a fake?
Why would I post a fake!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1242x1159/img_583846514b21_1_37a28e38369a8133ab4f530f594635380afd4fdb. jpeg

[Bergerie1]

Sorry!! Who was flying it? Does anyone know?

[treadigraph]

TheAirMission, super pic - at first glance I thought it was an RC model! - and I can only assume the ground drops away where the aircraft is flying. It must be nearly 40 years since I last visited Booker... As a witness to the White Waltham flypasts I am sad I didnt get to see this one too!

Any chance of posting a few of the other pics from the day?

[TheAirMission]

TheAirMission, super pic - at first glance I thought it was an RC model! - and I can only assume the ground drops away where the aircraft is flying. It must be nearly 40 years since I last visited Booker... As a witness to the White Waltham flypasts I am sad I didnt get to see this one too!

Any chance of posting a few of the other pics from the day?
Cheers, from my father's albums. I will get round to the other photos but the problem is that they are heavily scratched, and the photo above took almost 2 hours to get rid. Keep an eye on here and I'll upload them hopefully over the next week or so. I'll quote you so maybe you get notified.

[Self loading bear]

Ah, spot on. I have been searching the internet to find a date of when this happened and somehow came across this forum post so quickly put two and two together. (I still don't know the date, mind.)


Why would I post a fake!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1242x1159/img_583846514b21_1_37a28e38369a8133ab4f530f594635380afd4fdb. jpeg

If you post the other photos, I think we (Fellow Ppruners) can come up with the date.
G-AWPZ with a white red tail,
G-AVJO in camel.
a Jet Provost

[treadigraph]

Cheers TAM

I seem to recall the Andreasson BA-4 was owned and displayed by Peter Phillips for many years though I can't recall seeing him fly it - Islanders and the Firecracker yes.

[TheAirMission]

If you post the other photos, I think we (Fellow Ppruners) can come up with the date.
G-AWPZ with a white red tail,
G-AVJO in camel.
a Jet Provost
Using the Scramble Database of show reports I have deduced it was July 1969. Only way I know this is because the other aircraft come up on the show report. The VC-10 mysteriously doesn't!

[blind pew]

https://www.vc10.net/Memories/WhiteWaltham.html
Captain AJ Smith...Alan Harkness was the first officer...we instructed together at Booker...

[India Four Two]

Using the Scramble Database of show reports I have deduced it was July 1969.

I agree. I was at the show and I remember the following, all of which are on the list - the Trident, the "Linton Gin" JP4s, which took off and landed on the grass, the AAC "Blue Eagles" Sioux team and the most ridiculously slow flyby I've ever seen - the LF-1 Zaunkönig:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1024x683/g_alua_zaunk_nig_149c6b1abad2ac44e8f4f8353ea759d05d7cb02f.jp g
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunschweig_LF-1_Zaunkönig

The list doesn't mention the VC-10 but I definitely remember it. The earlier picture of a VC-10 is not White Waltham - there are too many trees in the background. However, I don't remember the VC-10 at Booker doing any aggressive maneuvers - just a spectacularly noisy go-around. :)

[DaveReidUK]

I agree. I was at the show and I remember the following, all of which are on the list - the Trident, the "Linton Gin" JP4s, which took off and landed on the grass

I don't wish to be a party pooper, but there seems to be some confusion about which display we're talking about.

If it's the VC-10 photo, then it's clearly(!) a Jet Provost T.5 in the first frame on the strip:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/219x134/jp_t5_c16c8c3de7f3533897499c563eb0b2064bffb381.jpg

The Scramble report makes no mention of a JP T.5 at the Booker display, nor of the Spitfire captured in a couple of frames (if indeed the photos were taken there at all - have we actually established that?).

[TheAirMission]

Morning Dave,

Hmm, you are on to something there, I think yesterday when I looked at the list on Scramble against the photos I forgo to split the album up into potentially two separate years. Unfortunately, my dad's index card in the Negative folder has three Booker events, with the first two listed as 1868. The final Booker list of negatives was left without a year. But this is where he has registered the VC-10. Because I scanned the negatives from the three separate "Booker" into one folder on my computer I was checking the aircraft digitally and used that to cross reference Booker 69. Hope this makes sense as to why I lead to 1969, but you are right, I need to reexamine what was taken when.

[Bergerie1]

Could it have been Bob Knights flying it?

[fauteuil volant]

Unfortunately, my dad's index card in the Negative folder has three Booker events, with the first two listed as 1868.

I presume that the participants were mainly balloons. :oh:

[TheAirMission]

I presume that the participants were mainly balloons. :oh:

Ah, very good, obviously 1968

[browndhc2]

I too was standing along the crowd line circa 1968, and could not believe my eyes as the 707 made its low approach over Booker, and neatly oiled my mother's washing-line along with everybody else's under the approach path. It was REALLY low and quite magnificent! Having been gliding there since 1959, to see this happening at MY little airfield left quite an impression I can tell you! My participation at this Show was flying a Thruxton Jackaroo, (my first and only flight on type), doing knife-edges along the crowd line. As a current Tiger Moth pilot, my only pre-flight briefing was that "it climbs, cruises and crashes at 86 knots, (or was that 68?)". Yes, quite!
The displays were always spectacular and well-supported by the participants, and certainly nothing like it could be contemplated today.
Rather like the tacit approval of John *********, a local CAA Flt Ops inspector present on the field, to thrash the living daylights out of the place one quiet Sunday morning, (23/9/79), as I departed in an Intra DC-3 that I'd parked-up for the weekend to see my parents, quite the highlight of my flying career, and professionally filmed by Charles Lagus. I never did see the film, but would dearly love to, if anyone knows of his whereabouts.
Booker seems to be facing a very uncertain future at the moment with the threat of a massive football stadium and business park, with aviation well and truly sidelined, (or read between the lines........curtailed..........stopped altogether?). Booker residents, be very very careful what you wish for, there will be no repenting at leisure!

I'd love to see that bit of film too. The Dak was G-AMHJ.

[happybiker]

See my post #3. The VC 10 at Booker was either 71 or 72 as this was the time I was working at LHR and the photo reflects my memory of the flypast.

[condor17]

Probably , the last Trident flyby at Booker ? .......Was Sun 4th Nov. '84 . G-AWZZ LHR 1518 - BHX 1610 .
Lovely day wx wise , had been on ZZ earlier , normal S/Shuttle EDI return . Next sortie was retirement to BHX fire service. I bid for the flt and got a shareoplane skipper mate to bid the Capts seat , and another mate off standby as second F/O.
Had gee'd it up with the LHR tower for a min noise route leave LHR zone north at 2400 ' and ok'd from mate in Booker tower for a left base to 25 , flyby , and G/A to north .
Skip rang up Trident fleet manager , and got the reply ...'' Not below 500' and don't do anything silly '' !
Skip ... '' You've sorted it , your t/o my ldg '' ..
V little fuel , light , thus good excuse to light the boost , max thrust t/o with a V2 clb . No sooner a/b than pushing forward and pulling power off to level at 2400' . North from Burnham 170 kts droop and some flap , when a PA 28 passed by above us , ..... you could see his scramble for the map and dive towards the ground thinking he was in LHR zone .Talking to Booker drifted down 25 at 500'R. , trickle of power , 11000 to gently G/A turning . Talking with Luton who were warning an Aztec about our turning and passing his left wing . Lesson learned ..radius of turn at 170 greater than a C150 at 80 ..
Swopped seats with F/O mate , run by his village in Bucks . Finished with run up 33 at BHX.. full power pull up , cct to land with full reverse in the flare.. From P3 seat I was looking up at fireman standing on Landrover roof taking shots .
Pax home in B.Mid Super Shed .. Liberated stop watch still works .

PS , some months later .. Stewardess friend at a party ..
'' Do Tridents fly out of Booker ? Was taking a post Sunday lunch walk with new boyfriend in woods to west of Booker , when peace and friendship was disturbed by almighty racket of 3 Speys low overhead '' .
Me ... '' So Sorry , we did not see you and only had 11000 rpm on '' !
She married her man , and we still see them regularly now , nearly 38 yrs later .

rgds condor .

[bad bear]

im pretty sure I have the video of one of the booker airshows with VC 10 etc....... must dig it out. such a fun era to have lived through !

[u118075]

I was the other co-pilot on that scrapping flight of ZZ to B'ham, as condor 7 will well remember. The circle around my house on the Chilterns escarpment after the low pass at Booker was met by my wife standing in the garden with her fingers in her ears! I remember we also passed over Silverstone on the way. There was some race meeting in progress so we gave them a blast as well.

The captain very (very) kindly let me do it's last landing on 33 after his very low 240kt (droop down I think) flypast down the runway. I was briefed to shout out if the rad alt went below 50 ft. The view out of the window towards the end of the runway was full of chimneys sticking up!! The captain flew the pull up and circuit and handed over to me on the final approach. Full reverse in the flare and we easily turned off down 24 with all tyres intact. A grand day out for sure.

Tried to post a photograph taken by said fireman of us on short finals but it seems I have to post 8 times before being allowed EH?

u118075 (better known as Jim)

[pax britanica]

Would a Trident ever to have done a low runway pass at North Weald. I remember going to an airshow there, we had an Uncle who lived not far away . I distinctly remmber the Trident , about 1965 doing this, but unsure where, I am sure it was not Booker as I never went there until much older. It was in Red Square livery and as you might expect looked pretty cool (much more so than a 320 or 73 would). Any confirmation or contrary suggestions? (seeing a Trident was hardlya big deal as I lived in Stanwell village virtually on LHR but of course it looked very different close to the ground, gear up and going pretty fast. I always thought the Trident the best looking of that era, the VC10 was majestic but the Trident looked like the hotrod it sort of was being fast and a bit sporty as per its reputation gleaned from here decades later

[chevvron]

Tridents were always faster than most other airliners; the only one which was close was the VC10.
When I was handling flight planning at London ATCC West Drayton, they often filed for a climb TAS of 400 kt and a cruise of 500 where all your Boeings etc would file for 460 cruise. I'm afraid I don't remember what mach number they filed but it was somewhere up around 0.9 with others filing about 0.86.

[DHfan]

It always puzzles me when I see the Trident referred to as the "ground gripper".
I only went spotting on the Queen's Building a few times when I could persuade my dad to take me - it was 50 miles away - but a Trident take-off was obvious and only needed a glance to identify the aircraft.
Compared to all other airliners, and admittedly at a distance of well over 50 years, a Trident always appeared to take-off at a 45° climb angle.
I'm sure those who actually know will rightly tell me it wasn't 45° but it certainly seemed twice as steep as any other aircraft.

[blind pew]

Trident higher MMO, VC10 higher VMO, both faster than DC 9 51 even with clacker CB pulled.
Trident highest ROD with 10,500 reverse, brakes and 365 knots but not as high as F100..chickened out with 16,700 fpm and still p!ssed off CC due deck angle…FO not that happy either.

[DaveReidUK]

I'm sure those who actually know will rightly tell me it wasn't 45° but it certainly seemed twice as steep as any other aircraft.

Probably related to the increased curvature of the Earth at Heathrow.

[chevvron]

It always puzzles me when I see the Trident referred to as the "ground gripper".
I only went spotting on the Queen's Building a few times when I could persuade my dad to take me - it was 50 miles away - but a Trident take-off was obvious and only needed a glance to identify the aircraft.
Compared to all other airliners, and admittedly at a distance of well over 50 years, a Trident always appeared to take-off at a 45° climb angle.
I'm sure those who actually know will rightly tell me it wasn't 45° but it certainly seemed twice as steep as any other aircraft.
Watching departures in the period 1970/71 from near where Compass Centre now stands (I was stationed at the old north side radar unit and the staff canteen was a good lookout point) Tridents, VC10s and 737s used to be airborne from 28R/27R just before they passed us whereas heavier types such as 707/DC8 and later '747 were the ground grippers often disappearing towards Colnbrook firmly glued to the ground.
On moving across to the ops centre at West Drayton a year later, you could see the Tridents and 737s climbing away steeply and if anything, the 737s had a better ROC.

[DHfan]

The occasions I'm talking about in the mid sixties, the 737 probably hadn't even flown and certainly wasn't in service.

[chevvron]

The occasions I'm talking about in the mid sixties, the 737 probably hadn't even flown and certainly wasn't in service.
I remember seeing 737s inbound to 08 at Luton in 1967; they used to turn in overhead Halton whilst we were gliding there. They were certainly in service with Britannia befoere 1968.

[blind pew]

Trident 1s were re-engined in the 60s iirc.
Hot summers day take off weight limited out of home base.
Infamous incident T3 out of Malaga lost a donk and diverted to Madrid as a larger station without anyone checking the missed approach climb/ WAT limits. As often happened incompetent controller lined up an Iberia which led to a missed approach going down hill; skipper then on the ball..pointed nose down towards lower terrain, accelerated, cleaned up and did a circuit: the Trident on approach was well on the back side of the drag curve.

[bean]

I remember seeing 737s inbound to 08 at Luton in 1967; they used to turn in overhead Halton whilst we were gliding there. They were certainly in service with Britannia befoere 1968.
Your recollections are very faulty.
Brittannia received their1st 737 in July 1968: late delivery necessitating lease og BKS and Laket Brits (one each)

[oldandbald]

Britannia 737s As far as I am aware first 737-200 for Britannia was G-AVRL delivered to Luton July 8th 1968. I am told G-AVRL Boeing 737-204 c/n 19709 line number 38 - Registered to Britannia Airways Ltd 14.07.1967 - First flown at at Seattle 28.06.1968 - Handed over to Britannia Airways at Seattle 07.07.1968 and delivered Seattle-Montreal-Goose Bay arriving at Luton 08.07.1968.

[DaveReidUK]

AFAIK, the only 737s to be seen in Europe before Britannia's deliveries were Lufthansa's 737-100s from December 1967 onwards.

[DHfan]

If Wiki is to be believed, Lufthansa as launch customer received their first 737 on 28/12/67 and it/they didn't enter service until February 1968.

I realised fairly early on that I had no interest in modern airliners and apart from the obvious like a 146 or a 747, I can't tell one from another unless it's written on the tail.

[chevvron]

Your recollections are very faulty.
Brittannia received their1st 737 in July 1968: late delivery necessitating lease og BKS and Laket Brits (one each)
Sorry I must be a year out then unless another carrier operated 737s in/out of Luton in '68; the date I have was May which looks too early for a BY flight.
Certainly when I joined NATCS as an assistant at West Drayton in Mar 69, 'RM and 'RN were regulars in/out of Luton although I don't recall 'RL being flight planned.
My first flight with BY in a 737 was in GAXNC in Mar '75 when I managed to break the aircraft! I was on an ATCO Familiarisation Flight Luton - Madrid and return and as I entered the flight deck and went to shut the door in order to unfold the jump seat, the emergency exit hatch set in the door fell out - just popped out in me 'and guv!!

[pax britanica]

Tridents and speed

I remember two occasions where the flight deck cheerfully pointed out how fast the trident could go . Once going to Stockholm we overtook a Scandi DC9 which the captain said had left LHR 15 mins in front of us and we caught up by the Danish coast, I guess he knew the call sign/flt number as about every other aircraft around there would have bena Scandi DC9 .

Othertime was Rome to LHR and we overtook a VC10 en route , this seemed to give the crew particular pleasure to be going faster than 'the other lot''

As to the Gripper nickname having seen innumerable take offs from what was 28L the Trident didnt look too bad. It couldnt match the DC9s , the Comet4Bs it was replacing, or the occasional 707s (only going as far as Brussels or Paris ) or even Caravelles. but of course, 2 engined airliners are all somewhat overpowered since they need to survive with one if there s a problem and back then i dont think there was much reduced thrust take off going on. I think the Trident was going pretty fast at unstick speed compared to some bigger-winged/more modern types so perhaps that made it look more scary.

As to the boost engine , that amde a distinctive noise and was clealry different from the 1s and 2s. I think it was more widely used than has been suggested I often saw/heard them use in departing 10R which even if they left from one of the intersections (block79) it was still a pretty long runway. Tridents used to emit wisps of white smoke/steam as they started rolling any ideas what that was about. of course it was nothign to the clouds of muck from CV990s, 727s and even Electras

[chevvron]

I was in the tower at Glasgow for about 6 months in 1972 and was able to observe the booster being lit many times; just as they were passing the control tower taxying out on 24 (now 23) , first there would be a plume of vapour then a gout of flame as the engine lit.

[WHBM]

In their last years of service I was in a T3 on a Manchester-Heathrow Shuttle, in the rearmost of those rear-facing seat rows in the forward cabin. Directly opposite, forward-facing, was my right grumpy old client. Short sector, light weight, as we lifted off and climbed out the angle was such that, had it not been for my seatbelt, I would have landed squarely in the growling old so-and-so's lap. And by his facial expression he suddenly thought so too !

Definitely NOT a Gripper !

[Discorde]

Infamous incident T3 out of Malaga lost a donk and diverted to Madrid as a larger station without anyone checking the missed approach climb/ WAT limits. As often happened incompetent controller lined up an Iberia which led to a missed approach going down hill; skipper then on the ball..pointed nose down towards lower terrain, accelerated, cleaned up and did a circuit: the Trident on approach was well on the back side of the drag curve.
The boost engine on the T3 had a couple of restrictions: if used for take off it had to be shut down before climbing above 6000 ft and once shut down it could not be relit in flight (although relight capability became available in later years). So the Madrid crew were operating with only two of their three-and-a-half engines available and might not have been aware that their approach to a high elevation airport exceeded the go-around WAT limit in the circumstances prevailing.

[blind pew]

Obviously discorde..not helped by our documentation, the way it was formulated and how the criteria was (or wasn’t) communicated.
I was always amazed at how good we were at saving fuel compared with the plog (later sword) until one of the opposition ex fuel saving committee explained that contingency fuel was included in the route fuel and all were calculated at max take off weight rather than a realistic weight based on forecast load.
At a guess Cyprus had a better understanding of the latter which was the reason they had a higher success rate at not tech stopping.
They peed pass one day and we laughed at the fools..they had gone home by the time we got into queen’s.