GAZIN, those old country lanes around Burton End, Takeley, the Bury Lodge, Tye Green, Coopers End were rich with the sights and sounds of the old STN, where pistons, jets and turbofans could be heard in the same day.
Up until the late 70's "the dump" where many an aircraft ended its days was just the other side of a wire mesh fence in the Coopers End area. Many of those lanes were disrupted by the subsequent airport development
One could happily sit near the threshold of what was RW23 and watch the arrivals, near where the old African Safari "zebra" DC8 ended its days
A few ATEL 707/720 regulars that have flashed into my mind were AeroAmerica and Montana
Anyone remember the Young Air Cargo Britannia that sat next to Hangar 4 for years before meeting its end in "the dump"?
One other splendid memory was the rotating airport locator beacon that would flash across the adjacent Essex countryside deep in the night. It was located just behind the tree line shown in the pictures of the Emery DC8 and N2CC. I don't think at the time I quite realised what a transitional period this was for air transport and that before we knew it the fences were high, policeman would move you on and there was no where to park for free!