Jacko. This is what I have in my notes ref 29 Palms, also have some photos somewhere.On 24 June 1982 Nimrod XV227 departed Kinloss en route to the USMC Air Ground Combat Training Center at Twenty Nine Palms airstrip in California to carry out trial operations from an AM2 matting strip runway, in preparation for one to be laid at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. The aircraft called at Boscombe Down, where all of its mainwheels were replaced with wheels that had sensors implanted into the mainwheel covers. On the 25 June XV227 flew to Yuma, via Brunswick. On the 26 June a RAF Hercules C-130, which was also participating in the trial, was flown to Twenty Nine Palms in California with an advance party to survey the site and on the 28 June XV227 left Yuma to carry out trial landings on the airstrip which is constructed out of AM2 matting. The Detachment Commander was Wg Cdr B Essex and the trials were flown by Sqn Ldr Tony Banfield from Boscombe Down.