Originally Posted by
LTNman
Ha ha, if you think you had it tough then think about the poor firemen who were sent to the raised huts to constantly count runway lights when Luton was in fog.
Not a job for wimps I would have thought. Did they have heaters and windows in those sheds on stilts?
The photo owner has been given a link to this thread so should read your comment. If he knows he can message me via facebook and I will report back.
LTNman.
Pretty sure they had windows but no heat or electrical power. I certainly do sympathise and often did when I was sitting in the warm taking those readings on the RVR notepad. The nights when Luton was in fog in those days seemed very fequent, but perhaps that’s a standard trick of memory like glorious summers when you’re a kid.
Just popping back to the Monarch 1-11 photo above. It seemed a fairly regular occurance for the 1-11 to suffer a minor starting issue. The subject turbine would be wound up with an increasing whine which would suddenly become a rising and falling note sometimes requiring a re-start. Occasionally this would require an engineer from Airline Engineering to attend with a tall step ladder. He would then open a portion of engine cowling and appeared to hit an accessory on the engine which would cause the warbling sound to stop. Cowl shut, Engineer departs, aircraft calls for taxy. I never heard an explanation of what exactly was going on. Perhaps someone here may know?