Tarman: Its been far too long since we saw you on Nostalgia! Many thanks for identifying NIAL's correct location (now amended accordingly).
PAN: Well done for your efforts. You could always call up the local scout master and find out whether the local pack would like to undertake a history project, come over and scan your archives! Perhaps the missus could bake some cakes and brew-up some tea for them while you regale the assemblage on the finer points of the UK's general aviation history!
Either way, many thanks for making the effort to clarify the dates. Bravo! As you've probably read, one of TRC's former colleagues is trying to find this very article but, I am wondering, is there a way you could scan it (or at least the photo .. which should, in theory, contain a mugshot of sorts of the venerable TRC!)?
Full Circle
On the previous page I tender an apology to PPRuNer
EGBJDH for ripping the photo of G-AXXD at Gloucester from his Flickr collection. The photographer's name is credited in my post but .. I do like to get the permission from the various album hosters as well if at all possible. Sometimes its not.
EGBJDH turns out to be a chap called David Haines who has a
website which hosts a number of archive images from Gloucester's Staverton Airport and which contains some interesting shots which, with David's approval, we shall be showcasing on the thread over the coming weeks.
David also has a collection of images (not published on his website) and which he is willing to share with us and so we shall look forward to these also.
In the first of these images from 'Dave's collection' we look at a sister-ship to
Planko's G-BBIP .. as this is probably the closest association we will achieve with this craft:
Hughes 300 (269C) G-BBIS as seen at Sywell Aerodrome on 30th June 1978 (Photo: Keith C. Wilson courtesy of David Haines)
BBIS was bought by a Mr William Peter Brierley-Jones of Nantwich, Cheshire in 1973, then in a coincidental joining-of-the-dots we see that BBIS is sold (as with AZEJ further up the page) to South Africa .. also in 1980.
I don't know to whom in South Africa AZEJ and BBIS were sold or even if they went to the same customber but .. I can tell you that in a place called Harrismith, in what was known as the Orange Free State in South Africa, was once an outfit called Kovisco (perhaps they are still around) who in the early 80's had a small fleet of Hughes 300's which were used for live deer (or Springbok) capture for use in creating their game flavoured 'biltong' products and, just maybe, these craft ended-up there!