Originally Posted by
treadigraph
I have seen current Kenley residents (can't recall if they were Surrey Hills or 615) north of Croydon, possibly as far as Crystal Palace. Easier feat than in a Barge I should imagine!
The 21 was superb for going 'up' but had no penetration, and although you could fly VFR in the London TMA then, seeing 747's underneath did get one thinking about what rules applied.!!
Anyway the 21 would have been on AE trips so it was not encouraged to be up too long. Looking back on it it was quite a large machine for a P2 staff Cadet + px to get caught out in away from the circuit. I had been lucky to fly the T53 at Swanton and thought this would be great when we got them as it would have allowed more probing away and less problems with ground handling if a squall came through. It was not to be, and the organisation eventually had the Venture which was considered too underpowered to operate from Kenley.(what was needed were thinner Pilots) , and a licence built Blanik. that could take the 'all winch' operation. My other abiding memory of BV was the line of Ansons on the flight line which added a 1930's theme to the place, some had come from Kenley when they ceased ops there.