Corporate flight departments, UK

[ZeBedie]

Has anyone compiled a list of all the company mini airlines which used to exist? I can only go back to the 70's but remember Ford (1-11, G1) BAe (1-11,125, Jestream), Rolls-Royce (Dove, Herron, PA31, Argosy, 1-11), GKN (125, King Air, Islander). Back in the 50's and 60's, it seemed like every company in the aerospace industry had a fleet and most large companies in wider industry had one or more aircraft. It seems odd that one minute, a company needs to spends millions on maintaining a fleet, then, next thing, they don't need it anymore!

[SWBKCB]

BAe (737, EMB-145, King Air) still do, and JCB are still going for it!

[Jhieminga]

It seems odd that one minute, a company needs to spends millions on maintaining a fleet, then, next thing, they don't need it anymore!
Public image is one major change. They can't be seen to spend a lot on transporting their corporate personnel while paying peanuts to the lower echelon staff and squeezing the last dime out of any contract with a customer... and then there's the climate of course.

The one I can think of is Shell, they still run a couple of Falcons (8Xs I think).

[The Flying Stool]

BAE currently have two flight ops departments, BAE (Air) based at Warton with 2x E145s and 1x B738 and then BAE (Marine) at Barrow which has x4 B200s.

Other flight ops departments in the UK are:

-Rolls Royce with a Gulfstream at East Midlands,
-JCB with 1x G650 and 2x S-76s at East Midlands
-Specsavers with 2x B350s at Guernsey

Any more?

[chevvron]

BP, Readymix Concrete, Robert Maxwell all used to have their own operations on AOCs.

[Mooncrest]

Volkswagen have a few Falcons (900s, I think). Vernon's Pools used a Beech King Air, G-VRES, as Vernair in the 70s and 80s.
Beecham used to fly their own HS125, on their own AOC.

Granada Television also flew their own HS125 for some years - G-WBPR.

[Glevum]

BICC and Volkswagen (GB) Ltd both had the same Dove G-ARYM. BICC first, then VW

[WB627]

Shell Aviation - Following his accident and leaving the RAF Douglas Bader joined the aviation department of the Asiatic Petroleum Company, soon to become part of Shell. He rejoined after the war eventually becoming Managing Director.

Bovis Construction owned a corporate aircraft

[Mr Mac]

In Yorkshire David Brown Engineering (Tractors and Gearbox and at one time Aston Martin) had a a Heron or Dove and his own airfield at a place called Crossland Moor a few miles from both factories.

Cheers
Mr Mac

[ATNotts]

Tube Investments operated Heron G-ANPV, then King Air G-BKTI both BHX based.

Also at BHX BSR operated an HS125, the registration of which escapes me at the moment.

[chevvron]

In Yorkshire David Brown Engineering (Tractors and Gearbox and at one time Aston Martin) had a a Heron or Dove and his own airfield at a place called Crossland Moor a few miles from both factories.

Cheers
Mr Mac
Late '60s driving to Santa Pod (Podington airfield) and just north of Newport Pagnell where the Aston Martin factory was, I often saw a Dove parked in a field just north of Newport Pagnell with a windsock nearby.

[Hew Jampton]

Laura Ashley: Navajo
J. Lyons: ?
United Biscuits: Kingair at Denham
AA: Dragon Rapide G-APAA, Auster, Aztec, Cessnas?
De Beers: HS 125s at LHR
Shell: ? (plus Douglas Bader's Beechcraft G-APUB at White Waltham)
National Coal Board: Dove at Stansted
BA: Kingair at Booker G-LKOW (Lord King Old W***er)

[Mooncrest]

At Leeds Bradford, we had Ogden B200 G-OGDN, B400 N1565B and Falcon 900 G-SIRO. Bass Brewery owned B90 G-BAVG, B200 G-BPLC and B400 G-BRBZ. Much earlier, Charrington (as it was then) had a Piaggio - a P160, I think.

[spekesoftly]

Rio Tinto Zinc - HS125 G-AWMS

[longer ron]

Hawker Squiddeley/BAe - I personally flew quite a few times in our Jetstream 31 + 41 plus ATP and 146 if we were lucky :).Early in my time with the company they also still had a Dove or 2 .
One of our J31's (G- BWWW) of course also known as 'Whisky Three' had previously been operated by the Distillers Company - hence the Whisky Three Reg :).Their company nameplate was still in the fuselage/cabin.
Our J31 with the reg ending in 'KP' was of course referred to as 'Peanuts'.
We also had a PA44 puddle jumper :)

[dixi188]

Used to look after lots of company aircraft at Glos Air in the 1970s and 80s.
United Biscuits - King Air 200
Ranco Europe - Commander 690C
Distillers Co. - King Air 100 then Jetstream 200 then Jetstream 31
Guiness - Jetstream 200
Laura Ashley - King Air C90, B200, Citation I and Falcon 100
BA for Lord King - King Air 200 then 300
Westland Helicopters - HS125
JSAX corp. - HS125
TVS television co. - BN2T Islander, Commander 690B
AAH - Commander 690B and 695
That's a few that come to mind, there were lots more.

British Aircraft Corp. had a Heron and HS125 in the early 1970s.

[ETOPS]

Couple of gap fillers...

Systime at Leeds Bradford C421 G-EAGL and Kenton Utilities at Newcastle Beech Kingair G-BHYU
The Vernair fleet in the late 70s was..
G-VRES Kingair 200
G-BAVE Kingair A100
G-BFVX Kingair C90
G-BFVY Kingair C90
G-AVNG Queenair A80
G-AYPC Queenair 70 (my daily driver)
G-WWS Skyvan
G-AWPK PA-23 Aztec

[horatio_b]

In these times, when climate change is dominating the headlines, it is not good PR to be seen to be using company aircraft. Hence Tesco's decision to divest itself of it's fleet back in 2015

Tesco prepares to get rid of last corporate jet (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/15/tesco-selling-last-corporate-private-jet)

[Groundloop]

Also at BHX BSR operated an HS125, the registration of which escapes me at the moment.

G-ASSM.

Standard Telephones and Cables - DC-3 G-AJRY
Ferranti - Heron G-ASCX,G-APMV
Dowty - Dove G-AVHV
British Steel - Dove G-AOFI
Rolls Electromatic - Dove G-AMXW
Leyland Motor Corporation - Dove G-APVX
BICC - Dove G-ARYM
Scottish Aviation - Dove G-AMFU
Hawker Siddeley - HS125 G-ASEC
David Brown - Dove G-ARDH
Standard Telephones and Cables - DC-3 G-AJRY


Plus most avionics companies - Marconi, Ecko Electronics, Decca, etc operated there own aircraft.

[Tryingharder]

TJ Morris (Home Bargains) have at least one helicopter, Bell 429, AS50 ?

[treadigraph]

Decca had a Jetstream, Bell 47 and a Prince at Biggin - probably part exec transport and part systems development?
Taylor Woodrow had a Twin Otter for some reason.
Tarmac had a Agusta 109
One of the brewers used to keep a PA-31 at Biggin - might have been Bass as mentioned above.

[chevvron]

Then there was the 'Robertsons Jam' owned Navajo registered G-OLLY.

[Del Prado]

Scottish &Newcastle Brewery had a citation at EDI G-OSNB and kwik-fit had a king air I think, EDI based too.

[GrahamO]

Marconi had two jets at its peak - one which flew every day to its Italian base in Genoa as the commercial routes took a day to get there given the schedules. No idea what type it was, but it seated about 12 and it flew from Coventry airport.

The second one did the Pittsburgh run, and was bought when BA stopped flying to Pittsburgh direct, and the change was a bit of a pain. In good old 'lack of planning' organisation, it turned out that international private jets werent allowed direct into Pittsburgh, so the private jet had to stop at Newark for immigration. I am not 100% sure but the jet was fitted out with large business class style seats only and the story was that they got a good deal on the aircraft as it was destined for Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he cancelled at short notice and Marconi snapped it up cheap. Marconi went bust about a year or so later.

[SWBKCB]

Couple of gap fillers...

Systime at Leeds Bradford C421 G-EAGL and Kenton Utilities at Newcastle Beech Kingair G-BHYU
The Vernair fleet in the late 70s was..
G-VRES Kingair 200
G-BAVE Kingair A100
G-BFVX Kingair C90
G-BFVY Kingair C90
G-AVNG Queenair A80
G-AYPC Queenair 70 (my daily driver)
G-AWWS Skyvan
G-AWPK PA-23 Aztec

Weren't Vernair also a charter company rather than just being private ops?

Also Hawker Siddeley had a fleet of Dove's

[Sleeve Wing]

Fox's Glacier Mints ran a Rapide (G-AIDL) out of Leicester for many years in the 50s/60s, alongside the English Electric Heron flown by Alan Firmin. Alan had his own Decca approach to cope with the inadequacies of Leicester East ! The Heron had a regular schedule to Valley to cover the construction of an early nuclear power station on Anglesey. (Wyddfa ?)
I also remember first a Beagle 206 then an Aztec, owned by Associated Tobaccos which operated for a few years until it was, I think, written off during an asymmetric refresher.
A long time ago so could be slightly wrong on a couple of aspects.

[Asturias56]

Fairey's used a Bristol Frightener to move stuff to and from Brussels

[G-MILF]

British Car Auctions
Iceland Frozen Foods

[chevvron]

Iceland Frozen Foods
Operates an A109 from Fairoaks.(G-FRZN)

[treadigraph]

Wasn't there a Heron operated by British Nuclear Fuels or some such organisation?

Marconi had a Piaggio P.166 for quite a while, remember seeing it over South Croydon one day many years ago - now in the Science Museum collection at Wroughton.

Another corporate twin once seen beating up Purley's "Volkswagen Building" just a stone's throw from where I type this was VW's Islander - used for parts distribution I think!

[VictorGolf]

Just as a sideline, you can still fly in the Dragon Rapide G-AIDL, mentioned in post*26 by Sleeve Wing. It is operated by Classic Wings at Duxford..

[SimonPaddo]

Lego Citation at Fairoaks in the 80's as in Lego had a Citation, not an actual Lego Citation :)

[Level bust]

Whitbread had a Navajo G-BREW

[treadigraph]

Whitbread had a Navajo G-BREW

Ah yes, that was the one that lived at Biggin...

Just as a sideline, you can still fly in the Dragon Rapide G-AIDL, mentioned in post*26 by Sleeve Wing. It is operated by Classic Wings at Duxford..

'IDL operated joyrides from Biggin in the 1970s and '80s as Southern Joyrides, owned by the late Mike Hood. Nice guy, had a lovely flight over London in the old bird.

[meleagertoo]

I believe Birds Eye Foods had a Queen Air (based Fairoaks?) in the '70s.

[chevvron]

De Beers used a Do 228 for transporting diamonds at Fairoaks in the '90s but don't tell anyone.

[chevvron]

Lego Citation at Fairoaks in the 80's as in Lego had a Citation, not an actual Lego Citation :)
Operated out of Farnborough later; larger Citation (650 I think) whilst they were building Legoland at Winsdsor.
IBM used 3 different Falcons at Farnborough in the '90s too.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

I operated G-BREW out of Biggin for many years. Great bunch of guys to work with and the aircraft flew its socks off just as a good corporate should. Real shame what eventually happened to the flight department but thats what comes of listening to "experts".

[Mr Mac]

Out of Leeds / Bradford Asda used to have a corporate jet when they were owned by Walmart as a friends wife was their marketing director but not sure of type.

I worked for Saint Gobain and back in the 90,s for a while, and there seemed to be an airforce available to our French opposite numbers, sadly not allowed on them if UK based it seemed.

Cheers
Mr Mac

[Dave Gittins]

A construction earthworks company called Cinnamond kept a jet ranger at Luton. It was G-DOFY (Duchess of York) and was the one Fergie bought to learn to fly in.

It was rumoured to be mostly used for the owner to go to French vineyards to buy his wine at source.

[Mooncrest]

Asda bought C421 G-EAGL from Systime and operated it for a wee while. Then along came B200 G-BOMM, which was eventually sold.

[Old and Horrified]

I'm not sure about Westland Helicopters having a HS125 (earlier post), particularly as they only have a grass runway at Yeovil, but they certainly had an Agusta 109, G-WEST, while I was there which I was lucky enough to get a ride in on a couple of occasions. I think it has now been disposed of.

[G-MILF]

Motorola used to have something, can't remember what, based at Farnborough/Blackbushe and of course there was Air Hanson itself at Blackbushe which was Hanson Concrete.

[SpringHeeledJack]

Who owned/operated the Gulfstream I and then G2/3 based at LHR in the 70's/80's ? Often parked up near Hunting's hangar or thereabouts ?

[G-MILF]

Who owned/operated the Gulfstream I and then G2/3 based at LHR in the 70's/80's ? Often parked up near Hunting's hangar or thereabouts ?

You don't mean Robert Maxwell's do you?

[treadigraph]

I headd that United Biscuits were supposed to be upgrading their King Air 200 to a Starship - assume that never happened?

[chevvron]

You don't mean Robert Maxwell's do you?
Maxwell's aircraft were VRBOB (G3) and VRBRM (G4) based at Farnborough and GRMGN (Squirrel) based on top of the MGN office block (I think).

[chevvron]

Motorola used to have something, can't remember what, based at Farnborough/Blackbushe.
Motorola had a Citation 750 at Farnborough.

[chevvron]

I headd that United Biscuits were supposed to be upgrading their King Air 200 to a Starship - assume that never happened?
I think it did happen; there was certainly one based at Blackbushe for a while but it didn't last long.(Too noisy) Strangely Piaggio Avantis are just as noisy but there are still a few about.

[TCU]

My dad used to be a Rank Xerox marketing manager (based at HQ in Euston Rd)

As he went up the pecking order, he eventually got the right to use their rather smartly painted Luton based HS125-700B G-BGTD for trips to Europe...a pleasant upgrade for him from the regular Air UK Sheds and F27's he used to ride out of our local airport Stansted

[ex82watcher]

LEC refrigeration had a small fleet at their own airfield next to their factory in Bognor Regis,and which I think was comprised of a C172,an Islander and an Aztec,I think David Purley,son of the founder,kept his Pitts there too,before he was killed in it.

[Mooncrest]

Dennis Vanguard at Coventry. I can't clearly remember what they owned over the years. HS125, various Gulfstreams, a 737 or BBJ ? Might have been a Lockheed Jetstar at one time. I think they were all registered in Bermuda.

[dixi188]

I'm not sure about Westland Helicopters having a HS125 (earlier post), particularly as they only have a grass runway at Yeovil, but they certainly had an Agusta 109, G-WEST, while I was there which I was lucky enough to get a ride in on a couple of occasions. I think it has now been disposed of.
Around 1983 Westlands bought G-AVRF and it was operated by Glos Air out of BOH. Our boss used to use it as his personal runabout sometimes. I had a flight in it to Ostend when a Jetstream had an event over Belgium.

[dixi188]

An old friend of mine flew a Citation II and then HS125-800 for Humber Kitchens (part of MFI). They were looking to go trans Atlantic with a Gulfstream IV or Falcon 50 and Martin was getting quite excited, then a new bean counter arrived and they decided to charted an aircraft when needed and Martin lost his job.

[SpringHeeledJack]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack View Post (https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/652170-corporate-flight-departments-uk.html#post11415145)
Who owned/operated the Gulfstream I and then G2/3 based at LHR in the 70's/80's ? Often parked up near Hunting's hangar or thereabouts ?
You don't mean Robert Maxwell's do you?

No, but it/they 'might' have had N-regs, possibly attatched to a US corporation.and used for flying around Europe and further afield.

[kenparry]

In the late 70s/early 80s, GKN ran an HS125 based at LHR - a friend of mine flew for them

[ETOPS]

when a Jetstream had an event over Belgium.

Had a firsthand account from the pilot after that - Jetstreams were certainly built strong :eek:

[ShyTorque]

Dyson still run their own helicopters.

[Liffy 1M]

Maxwell's aircraft were VRBOB (G3) and VRBRM (G4) based at Farnborough and GRMGN (Squirrel) based on top of the MGN office block (I think).
I read a biography of Maxwell recently in which it was stated that he was wont, before boarding his helo at the top of the company office block, to urinate from the roof onto any unfortunates on the street below. Charming.

[t211]

I used to fly with a Guy Called Barry Thomson who owned Rig Design Services Over the years had several company Aircraft.
V Tail Bonanza G- ATII
Beechcraft Baron B55 G - BAXR
Beechcraft Duke G-DUKE
Ted Smith Aerostar G-RIGS.
I have a lot to thank him for Thank You Barry

[chevvron]

I read a biography of Maxwell recently in which it was stated that he was wont, before boarding his helo at the top of the company office block, to urinate from the roof onto any unfortunates on the street below. Charming.
I can well believe that. Apparently he would grab his briefcase and head towards the landing pad without 'paying a visit' and would also return to the office several times before he actually got in the helicopter; his secretary would phone the FBO at Farnborough as he went out of the office and keep a running commentary going on how many times he returned before finally getting airborne.
On one occasion at least, he would be inbound to Heathrow in one of the Gulfstreams and if there was any delay in the stack, he would instruct the pilot to divert to Farnborough, the problem being the helicopter would already be at Heathrow and woe betide the pilot if it wasn't back at Farnborough waiting for him when he landed.

[VM325]

Halfpenny Green in the 70s..
McAlpine Construction ran a King Air
Marsh & Baxter butchers ran an Aztec...

[wub]

Ferranti in Edinburgh operated a Rockwell Commander, a couple of DH Herons, a DH Dove and latterly HS125s.

[Planemike]

PA-23 Aztec G-APYX. owned by Pressed Steel Co of Cowley, who, as the name suggests made car body panels.
It should be remembered that The Pressed Steel Company were one of the driving forces behind the creation of BEAGLE Aircraft. Read the story in "" FALSE DAWN "", an excellent comprehensive read.... BEAGLE operated G-ACIT de Haviland 84 Dragon for while in the 60s.

[twinjetter]

Ind Coope/Allied Breweries had their own fleet and their own airfield too - Tatenhill near Burton On Trent (unsurprisingly). Not sure if they owned Tatenhill outright, but at the time they were pretty much the only activity there - around late 70's possibly early 80's.

My Dad Worked for Ind Coope and I remember as a young boy us regularly dropping him off at the airfield to head off (as a pax, not pilot) to tropical paradises such as Southend and Lossiemouth!

[Krystal n chips]

Ferranti in Edinburgh operated a Rockwell Commander, a couple of DH Herons, a DH Dove and latterly HS125s.

Along with a few helicopters...both the helicopters and Herons' were frequently seen at MAN.

[happybiker]

Green Shield Stamps; who remembers them? I think some of their soup bowls are buried in our loft!!
IIRC they operated a HS125-600 in the 1970s.

[chevvron]

Green Shield Stamps; who remembers them? I think some of their soup bowls are buried in our loft!!
IIRC they operated a HS125-600 in the 1970s.
Became 'Argos'.

[treadigraph]

I remember the Aerostar G-RIGS - not sure if it lived at Fairoaks, or I'm just recalling the Alan Mann dealership connection. Always wondered what Rig Design Services did. So obvious... :}

[t211]

Treadigraph, I did not fly the aerostar as by then I had Joined an Airline by . We used to fly out of Denham With the Bonanza & the Baron, But Aerostar would need a hard runway so Fairoaks sounds Plausible Great Guy. He gave me great experience at the time. He used to Design Oil & Gas Rigs IIRC.

[Planemike]

Williamson's Diamond Mine TANGANYIKA

This one is not is based in United Kingdom. The mine was situated at Shinyanga in Tanganyika. It was "out in the wilds", well away from the nearest airport with a commercial air service. The mine was a large operation that commenced operations just after the Second World War, although Williamson had found the source of the diamonds before the war. The mine was operated by ex-pat personnel as well as a local labour force. The company operated aircraft to bring in personnel and smaller equipment: the product was also carried. The main route was from the mine to Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.
Their first aircraft were an Avro Anson VR-TAP and two de Havilland 104 Doves VR-TAN & VR-TBB. Later they operated a pair of Douglas C-47 Dakotas VR-TBJ & VR-TBT. Their final transport aircraft was Douglas DC-4 5H-AAH which operated in the 1960s.
The company operated a flying club for their employees at their own airfield Shinyanga. Over time they had three DHC-! Chipmunks VR-TBE, VR-TBK & VR-TBO. Sadly VR- TBE. was lost in an accident. The company also acquired Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk3 VR-TBS. The intention was to use it for survey work but it was not much used. It was flown out and back to Weston super Mare in a Bristol freighter. The aircraft still exists back in Britain. It was the only helicopter to appear on any of the East African Colonial aircraft registers. Williamsons also operated Cessna 180 VR-TBL & de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver VR-TCB as company hacks....

[VictorGolf]

I was lucky enough to fly on Williamson's DC-4 when I was working in Kenya. Somehow the folk group I was singing with at the time was invited down to Shinyanga for a weekend "entertaining the troops". Previously I had thought diamond mining was an old boy in a bush hat and a sieve. The Williamsons operation involved a fleet of draglines and JCBs. Very impressive. As aviation had cropped up in the course of the weekend and I'd met the DC-4 pilots, I got 30 minutes in the right hand seat on the return to Nairobi. Great times.

[Flap40]

There was a Quantel Islander that used to operate out of Southhampton quite often in the early 1990's.

[eckhard]

Bejam frozen foods had a Chieftain (G-BEPR) at Leavesden which I flew a few times in 78/79. It was replaced by a Rockwell 690B (G-IANS) in 1980.
I did all the ARB exams and flight training on it, only for it to be sold before I could complete the 1179! :{

[A Pandy]

The first corporate aircraft operated by Asda after the Walmart takeover was a Rockwell Turbo Commander 690B. It was one of the US based aircraft that was moved to Leeds and flown by US based crew on a 6 month rotational basis. Eventually this was replaced by a King Air B200 flown by a locally based crew. The Turbo Commander was returned to the US and at that time the Asda flight department became fully self sufficient.
However within a couple of years Walmart sold off their Germany stores and the need for inter European travel diminished somewhat.The end came however with the appointment of a new Asda CEO. His first operational decision with regards to the flight department was to shut it down and sell the King Air.

[WHBM]

Loganair came out of the corporate flight department of Logan Construction, started by father Duncan Logan pre-WW2, and really built up by son Willie Logan. They did construction projects all over Scotland from an Inverness base, including both the motorway through Glasgow and the Tay Road Bridge, and found an aircraft valuable for visiting the widely dispersed locations. Willie bought a Piper Aztec for this. Not required all the time, it started being hired out, and this was the beginning of Loganair.

In 1966 Willie requested a flight from Glasgow to Inverness, but the Aztec had already been chartered out, so they hired one in for him from Strathallan Air Services, an air taxi operator. This crashed on approach to Inverness, killing Willie but the pilot walked away. Loganair carried on and ended up, with different owners, with the current operation, and still the same name, universally recognised in Scotland.

[Badger3434]

Memory is shallow - but many years ago I was a shareholder in Lonhro and one of their annual reports had the wonderful statement that their '60 hard-working corporate aircraft' were a proud part of their asset value. I assume it was not only Tiny Rowland's G2 HB-ITR but a lot of African bushplanes as well.

[treadigraph]

Didn't Tiny invest in Laker at some point? Maybe he included Freddie's fleet in his tally :p

[Captain Capstan]

In my baby pilot days at Peters Aviation we had the National Coal Board DH Dove, a Cessna 421 which I think belonged to Brown and Root, the Nuclear Power Group Heron G-ANUO and the aircraft belonging to the Nolty J Theriot tugboat company initially a Hansa Jet and then a pressurised Navajo which I seem to recall operated as Flying Titanic Airlines. Air Anglia Executive looked after Reckitt and Colman’s Navajo and the famous PA31 G-OLLY belonging to Robertson’s Jam

[treadigraph]

Another less well known company with, I think, a Cessna 421 for exec transport was Ruston Bucyrus who built dragline excavators.

[FLEXJET]

Martin Baker still operates, via Zephyr Aviation, King Air 200 G-BGRE from Chalgrove airfield with callsign MBE1,2 or 3
Looks like a very nice outfit.

Xstrata, via Noclaf Ltd, used to own Falcon 900EX M-FALC, (I heard a rumor that it was later leased to Prestbury (Nick Leslau) after the 900EX's replacement Global XRS M-GBAL arrived).

[SWBKCB]

Williamson's Diamond Mine TANGANYIKA

This one is not is based in United Kingdom. The mine was situated at Shinyanga in Tanganyika. It was "out in the wilds", well away from the nearest airport with a commercial air service. The mine was a large operation that commenced operations just after the Second World War, although Williamson had found the source of the diamonds before the war. The mine was operated by ex-pat personnel as well as a local labour force. The company operated aircraft to bring in personnel and smaller equipment: the product was also carried. The main route was from the mine to Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.
Their first aircraft were an Avro Anson VR-TAP and two de Havilland 104 Doves VR-TAN & VR-TBB. Later they operated a pair of Douglas C-47 Dakotas VR-TBJ & VR-TBT. Their final transport aircraft was Douglas DC-4 5H-AAH which operated in the 1960s.
The company operated a flying club for their employees at their own airfield Shinyanga. Over time they had three DHC-! Chipmunks VR-TBE, VR-TBK & VR-TBO. Sadly VR- TBE. was lost in an accident. The company also acquired Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk3 VR-TBS. The intention was to use it for survey work but it was not much used. It was flown out and back to Weston super Mare in a Bristol freighter. The aircraft still exists back in Britain. It was the only helicopter to appear on any of the East African Colonial aircraft registers. Williamsons also operated Cessna 180 VR-TBL & de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver VR-TCB as company hacks....

I saw the DC-4 being overhauled by Fields at Castle Donnington (EMA!) in 1974, so it soldiered on for a bit longer. And did they not buy a brand new HS.748 after the DC-4 - 5H-WDL?

​​​​​​​

[SWBKCB]

Who owned/operated the Gulfstream I and then G2/3 based at LHR in the 70's/80's ? Often parked up near Hunting's hangar or thereabouts ?

Was it the Xerox Corp?

[longer ron]

Christian Salvesen must have had quite a fleet over the years - they definitely operated colourful S55's (?) on the old whaling fleet,but later after reinventing themselves as a coldstore/frozen food company they had at least 1 twin ?
Not sure if they ever operated from North Witham in the early days of their large Coldstore near Easton ???.
I used to often drive past the wonderfully named 'Honey Pot Lane' on the A1 at N Witham :)

[SpringHeeledJack]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack images/buttons/viewpost.gif (aviation-history-nostalgia/652170-corporate-flight-departments-uk.html#post11415145)
Who owned/operated the Gulfstream I and then G2/3 based at LHR in the 70's/80's ? Often parked up near Hunting's hangar or thereabouts ?

Was it the Xerox Corp?

It might well have been, I can only remember that it had an 'N-reg' rather than a 'G-' or other and that it was seemingly based at LHR for some years.

[treadigraph]

N30RP, GII then a GIII, was regularly at Heathrow owned by RCA.

Might have been one of the aircraft that was sometimes parked up in the BA maintenance area close to Hatton Cross. The all-red Panther Navajo G-AXXB/N7XB/N77XB was occasionally parked there when I visited.

[pax britanica]

I thought i had already posted this but cannot find it on the last couple of pages.

Most regularo f all LHR business aircraft in the 60s was surely Granada TVs G-ARFZ a blue and white Dove,

[chevvron]

There was a G4 belonging to Procter & Gamble based at Heathrow; their 'plant' was at Egham so not too far away although it did div to Farnborough once or twice.

[Planemike]

I saw the DC-4 being overhauled by Fields at Castle Donnington (EMA!) in 1974, so it soldiered on for a bit longer. And did they not buy a brand new HS.748 after the DC-4 - 5H-WDL?

Thank you SWBKCB for the additional information......

[dixi188]

Who was Raffles One? Beech Baron I think.

[Hew Jampton]

Twin Comanche. Mr Raffles, an almost daily commuter; no idea how he got away with it, money presumably.

[treadigraph]

What was the Raffles story Hew?

(Anyone recall the story of Maurice Kirk announcing himself to Hurn as "Captain Kirk of the Starship Cessna"?)

[MAC 40612]

Dyson still run their own helicopters.

Do they use 'airblades' :)....I'll get my coat....

[MAC 40612]

The AA had a Cessna 441 in the late 1970s that they managed to to get registered G-AUTO. Not sure how they managed that as the G-AUxx batch had previously only been available to pre-WWII Australian aircraft and had been a 'dead' unused batch since.

[Hew Jampton]

I can't remember much, except that he was a businessman who commuted in and out of Heathrow almost daily in his Twin Com, c/s 'Raffles One'. I don't know what the other end of his route was. At the time LHR had a GA apron and small terminal on the South side, between where T4 is now and 28L (as was) threshold.

[Cheadleboy]

I can't remember much, except that he was a businessman who commuted in and out of Heathrow almost daily in his Twin Com, c/s 'Raffles One'. I don't know what the other end of his route was. At the time LHR had a GA apron and small terminal on the South side, between where T4 is now and 28L (as was) threshold.
I can clearly recall Raffles 1 calling up Manchester Approach early in the morning, well before I left for school anyway. This would be around the early 1970’s. It was a light twin but I never got the reg and always wondered what/who it was.

[treadigraph]

I do recall several light twins at Heathrow on my first view visits circa '75-'77, but not specifically a Twin Com! Wonder who he was...

[chevvron]

I can clearly recall Raffles 1 calling up Manchester Approach early in the morning, well before I left for school anyway. This would be around the early 1970’s. It was a light twin but I never got the reg and always wondered what/who it was.
I recall it from my days as an ATC assistant and radar monitor Heathrow which was part of London ATCC at West Drayton; regular as clockwork just after 8 am; 'Raffles One climbing as cleared'.
That was in 1970; the following year we changed to a different ATC system and the radar moved to West Drayton so I never heard him after that.
I always assumed he was in a Dove but we didn't record aircraft types.

[G-ARZG]

Raffles 1 was Baron G-AYID when I started at LHR in 1970

[Hew Jampton]

Eric Raffles lived in Ham, Richmond, Surrey and commuted to his father's textile and clothing works in Manchester. Wiki says he commuted in the 1960s and early 70s; G-INFO says he owned Baron G-AYID (would that registration be allowed today - albeit that the Raffles family were Jewish?) 1970-1972, so perhaps he had the Twin Com that I thought I recalled before the Baron. On the other hand, perhaps my memory is wrong.

[asw28-866]

Flap40, no BN2 at Quantel perhaps you are thinking of the Rockwell 500s Shrike Commander (G-BDAL) that Micro Consultants/Quantel operated mostly from Biggin Hill for several decades?

[dixi188]

Flap40, no BN2 at Quantel perhaps you are thinking of the Rockwell 500s Shrike Commander (G-BDAL) that Micro Consultants/Quantel operated mostly from Biggin Hill for several decades?
MC also had an SF260.

[treadigraph]

MC also had an SF260.
Yes, G-BDEN and also a Citation replaced the Shrike later on, G-BMCL? The Shrike and the SF260 lived in the Sportair blister hangar, don't recall if they squeezed the Citation in there too. There was a Learjet in one of the other blisters for a while.

[Planemike]

LEC refrigeration had a small fleet at their own airfield next to their factory in Bognor Regis,and which I think was comprised of a C172,an Islander and an Aztec,I think David Purley, son of the founder,kept his Pitts there too,before he was killed in it.
Full information/history of LECs aircraft here:- https://www.brgc.co.uk/lec-airfield/

[CAEBr]

Almost too long ago to remember the details, but there were several corporate aircraft based and operated out of the HSA/BAe airfield at Brough.
Armstrongs had a Cessna Citation and Boston Deep Sea Fisheries had a Piper Aztec - G-BOST - which crashed, with the loss of the solo pilot, on a positioning flight from Brough to Carnaby in Jan 1981

[dixi188]

The Humber Kitchens (AKA MFI) Citation and HS125 I mentioned in post 54 operated out of Brough after Holm on Spalding Moor closed.

[WHBM]

Corporate Flight departments tend to be run in different ways in the UK and in the USA. In Britain, they are often under the control of the Chief Pilot, in conjunction with the Chairman's office, and just used by the directors, sometimes commonly just one of them, so they are typically small. In the US they are integrated with the company travel organiser for everyone, as business trips by air are much more common, and you maybe don't know at travel request time whether you will suddenly be put onto the company aircraft with various others who happen to be going the same way. One I talked with said it was no great shakes, you could be sent out by exec jet but back by airline to a different terminal or even airport, which was a nuisance for parking your car, while the flight catering was minimal or even nothing at all.

I believe the longstanding Ford operation out of Stansted was very much on the US pattern, seating pitch like an airliner in economy, and often taking urgent production line parts in the hold. Those with reservations could be suddenly bumped by someone more senior in the company. I'm sure we will have some on here who used to fly for them.

Not a tale from a flight department, but the major company I was with long ago had the branch manager in Newcastle who was ex-RAF aircrew, and to help keep his hours current when there was a mainstream meeting in London he would pool the train fare expenses of all the salesmen going, and hire a light twin for them all from Newcastle down to Leavesden or somewhere. His immediate boss the sales director did not like flying, but went along with it to keep face. Manager, of course, used to put him in the co-pilots seat at the front, and make various asides as they were going along, on the lines of not being quite certain where they were, or the fuel gauge lower than expected ... :)

[Helen49]

I don't think anyone has mentioned GBBTV, Jet Ranger operated by YTV; GASRV, Beech Baron operated by British Ropes, GATZN HS125,operated by the Rank Organisation, a couple of C337s operated by Cowick Hall Aviation, , a Heron GAOTI [?] operated by Robinson Holdings, a C401 GAZFR oerated by Smith Johnson & Nephews and apache GAPZE operated by the AA. There must be many more!!

[Planemike]

This one takes us back nearly ninety years..... G-ACMA was sold the National Benzole Company in1934. The aircraft still exists and has been restored to its National Benzole colour scheme.....:- https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/search?registration=G-ACMA&date_taken=&information=&tag_fields=%5B%5D

[Mooncrest]

Boston Deep Sea Fisheries, later Bostonair, operated a C310 from Humberside, G-TKPZ, for a few years in the 80s and 90s. It spent a lot of time at Leeds Bradford on instrument training jollies. At roughly the same time, Howarth Timber kept a C303, G-INDC, at LBA and there was also the Ravenheat Citation, G-RVHT and Elliott Bricks Citation, G-ELOT.

Nearly forgot the JTC600 C421, G-JACK.

[WHBM]

apache GAPZE operated by the AA.
The AA previously had more than one DH-89 Dragon Rapide, painted in their yellow livery with black AA decals like their road vehicles. They used to turn up at airshows etc, and appear in many photographs. It's not apparent why the AA had such an aviation presence or need.

Until the 1970s it seems that "personalised" UK registrations were not possible, everyone just got the next one alphabetically from the list, regardless. This changed, and thereafter most corporate aircraft chose some sort of meaningful registration combination. I recall being in a hotel next to Southend airport in 1980, and stood outside were security company Group 4's two HS.125's, G-FOUR and G-FIVE.

[spekesoftly]

In the 1970s Rowntree Mackintosh owned a PA-23 (G-AYBO, operated by Air Anglia) which regularly flew between Norwich and RAF Elvington, transporting Rowntree Mac staff between its chocolate factories in Norwich and York.

[treadigraph]

WHBM, one or two exceptions to the rule, Concorde G-BSST, Accountant G-ATEL... Moth G-EDCA.

[Planemike]

WHBM, one or two exceptions to the rule, Concorde G-BSST, Accountant G-ATEL... Moth G-EDCA.
treadi..... Those were among the first "out of sequence" registrations.. There were of course instances where suitable registration just happened to come along at the right time...... G-ALEC, G-ARJB & G-APAA spring to mind, there are I am sure many others.....

[thegypsy]

Mcalpine looked after two HS125s in early 70s
G-AXPU. ICI G-AWUF Vesty

​​​​​ Blue Star Shipping Line
Also Piaggio for Marconi
Both 125s were also let to outsiders.

[Direct BAMES]

I can well believe that. Apparently he would grab his briefcase and head towards the landing pad without 'paying a visit' and would also return to the office several times before he actually got in the helicopter; his secretary would phone the FBO at Farnborough as he went out of the office and keep a running commentary going on how many times he returned before finally getting airborne.
Also, on a Friday night his crew would await his arrival at the BA Exec Handling office not knowing whether he’d want to go to Tenerife or New York until he boarded the aircraft. There’d be a flight plan in for either alternative.

[one11]

A few posts have mentioned United Biscuits (UB) Beech King Air and the planned purchase of a Starship. I worked for them from the late 60s to the late 80s and had some occasions to use "UB Airways". IN 1984 the then chief pilot Dave Ward recorded the history of the fleet in a privately published book. UB was largely the creation of Hector Laing ( later Sir Hector & Lord Laing) from the McVities family, who had learnt to fly with ex Miles Aircraft test pilot Hugh Kennedy in 1957. From then on, McVities and later UB operated aircraft with Kennedy as Pilot and later Chief Pilot through to 1977. Types operated were as follows Miles Messenger G-AKVZ, Miles Gemini G-AKDJ, Apache G-APVK, Aztec G-ARHL ,later G-ASEV Aero Commander G-ASYA - (the 1st one I got to fly in - seriously noisy) C90 King Air(G-AWPM) E90 King Air(G-BABW) 200 Super King Air GBCUZ , later G-HLUB !, Baron G-BBJF added to the fleet, later G-UBKP, F90 King Air G-BIED added making a fleet of 3, 200 Super King G-UBHL.
A Starship to be G-UBSH was ordered but Lord Laing and many of the team of Scots who had built the company retired and UB entered a period of fast decline with most parts acquired during the expansion (turnover rose from £18.5 million to £1,700 million over 25 years) being sold off. The rump of the company is now Turkish owned. The aviation division was one of the first things to be closed
.
Operations were always centred on Denham near the Laing family home in Gerrards Cross. UB paid for the installation of a hard runway. A hangar was also maintained at the old RAF field Mundole on the family estate of Dunphail near Inverness.
The fleet was available to Directors and senior management above my pay grade but the company experimented with opening up empty seats on pre-booked flights to lesser mortals, subject to agreement of the principal passenger. This worked for a while, although subject to the whims and changed plans of said passenger. However it was killed off by some bean counter who ruled that the flight costs should be allocated between all passengers thus rendering the effect on departmental budgets uncompetitive with scheduled airlines but I managed a few flights in various King Airs and Barons while it lasted.
Incidentally Dave Wards book pointed out the similarities between the Starship and the Miles Libellula experimental canard aircraft that Hugh Kennedy had tested in the 1940s.

[chevvron]

I remember the Beech 200 at Denham (or one of them at least); I used to watch it going in and out of the blister hangar, nosing in and reversing out!!
I think they managed to acquire a UHF radio for operations in/out of military airfields and I sometimes spoke to them on it when they used Farnborough.
GALWC, the Hunting Surveys Dakota based at White Waltham, also had a UHF radio.

[Planemike]

One that ( I think !!) has so far escaped the net thus far is Smiths Instruments who were based at Staverton. I can't remember exactly what they operated but a de H Dove and a Varsity spring to mind....... I am sure there will be some one along to fill in the details...!!

[treadigraph]

Something I read last night reminded me that Barclays had at least 125 over the years looked after by McAlpines.

Oh, and was there a UK-registered 125 flown by Coca Cola?

[chevvron]

Something I read last night reminded me that Barclays had at least 125 over the years looked after by McAlpines.

Oh, and was there a UK-registered 125 flown by Coca Cola?
Don't know about a '125 but I remember N179AR parked at Heathrow complete with a cooler at the bottom of the steps so that people passing by could take a bottle.

[SWBKCB]

Something I read last night reminded me that Barclays had at least 125 over the years looked after by McAlpines.

Oh, and was there a UK-registered 125 flown by Coca Cola?
the Barclays 125 was G-CBBI, and McAlpine Aviation grew out of the McAlpines building empire

[treadigraph]

Coca Cola 125 was G-BFXT, sold on to Polygram before heading to the USA.

[ETOPS]

Thanks One11 for mentioning my old friend Dave Ward at UB. Many will remember his larger than life character and generous spirit. On more than occasion I was invited on board after his passengers had left to the sample The Macallan or similar !!

Always felt I had buy the biscuits as a small thank you..

[MAC 40612]

One that ( I think !!) has so far escaped the net thus far is Smiths Instruments who were based at Staverton. I can't remember exactly what they operated but a de H Dove and a Varsity spring to mind....... I am sure there will be some one along to fill in the details...!!

A good selection of the Smiths Instruments aircraft on the Air Britain Photo site here: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/operator/Smiths%20Aircraft%20Instruments%20Ltd
Including DH Dove G-AOSE, Varsity G-APAZ, Anson G-AHKX and Miles Gemini G-AKHY

[MAC 40612]

Don't know about a '125 but I remember N179AR parked at Heathrow complete with a cooler at the bottom of the steps so that people passing by could take a bottle.

N179AR was a Gulfstream II owned by the Atlantic Richfield [Oil] Company

[oldandbald]

SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
Smths Instruments operated G-AMZE Dakota in the 50s on loan from the Ministry of Supply and after the fatal loss of G-APAZ 27 March 1963 they operated G-ARFP Varsity until it returned to military marks. They used .HS 748 G-ASJT from 1963 until moved to RAE in 1970 as XW750 the aircraft were used in research of MLS and Doppler systems

[one11]

generous spirit. ..
ETOPS : As you mention, a cut glass decanter of Glenfiddich malt a was always available for in flight refreshment.

[dixi188]

I used to put the Distillers' Jetstream to bed some evenings around 1975. (Hurn)
One evening when the aircraft arrived, one of the directors was on board and asked me to come into the office after I had finished in the hangar.
He offered me a glass of Dimple Haig. As he was passing me the glass he asked if I would like anything with it, I said, "just a little water please". This he approved of but said if I had wanted anything else the glass would have been taken away. He disapproved of anything like ginger ale or lemonade polluting the finest whiskeys.

[Planemike]

SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
Smths Instruments operated G-AMZE Dakota in the 50s on loan from the Ministry of Supply and after the fatal loss of G-APAZ 27 March 1963 they operated G-ARFP Varsity until it returned to military marks. They used .HS 748 G-ASJT from 1963 until moved to RAE in 1970 as XW750 the aircraft were used in research of MLS and Doppler systems
Thank you for the update, also thanks to MAC 40612 (https://www.pprune.org/members/403266-mac-40612) as well.....

[longer ron]

I used to put the Distillers' Jetstream to bed some evenings around 1975. (Hurn)
One evening when the aircraft arrived, one of the directors was on board and asked me to come into the office after I had finished in the hangar.
.

Funny you should say that :)
If you mean G-BWWW I used to work on it some 12 years later 'somewhere in Surrey' and when on night shift I used to go inside when all work complete and help myself to a wee nightcap before bedding down for a few hours of well deserved sleep in one of the comfy seats :).
I wasn't greedy though - although in later years some others were and eventually the bar was locked (or removed ?) - all good things come to an end !

[dixi188]

Funny you should say that :)
If you mean G-BWWW I used to work on it some 12 years later 'somewhere in Surrey' and when on night shift I used to go inside when all work complete and help myself to a wee nightcap before bedding down for a few hours of well deserved sleep in one of the comfy seats :).
I wasn't greedy though - although in later years some others were and eventually the bar was locked (or removed ?) - all good things come to an end !
G-BCWW Jetstream 200 until 1984 and then G-BWWW Jetstream 31 until Distillers were taken over and the aircraft went to BAe.

[ZeBedie]

SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
Smths Instruments operated G-AMZE Dakota in the 50s on loan from the Ministry of Supply and after the fatal loss of G-APAZ 27 March 1963 they operated G-ARFP Varsity until it returned to military marks. They used .HS 748 G-ASJT from 1963 until moved to RAE in 1970 as XW750 the aircraft were used in research of MLS and Doppler systems

I bekieve Smiths operated a Viking in the 60's as well, from Staverton.

[ZeBedie]

Or maybe it was a Varsity?

[asw28-866]

Yes Treadi the Citation IIs (G-BMCL followed by G-OMCL) both lived in the Sportair hangar. To accommodate them a single sheet of corrugated iron was hinged at the centre above the doors which the fin had to pass through. Quite tricky and how I learnt to tow aircraft all those years ago. Hangar was not big enough to house the final Citation VI and was “sold” to Cambridge Gliding to support its move the Gransden Lodge club for one pound, where it remains.

[Mooncrest]

Did we mention Bernard Matthews ? His company had at least two aircraft, though not at the same time. There was B200 G-BMNF and then a Citation, whose registration I've forgotten. Based at Norwich with pilots Robin Palmer and Richard Joy. I think Geoffrey Burville too.

Siebe PLC used to drop into Leeds Bradford every now and then back in the nineties. Their aircraft was Citation N2000M with pilot David Fost. You would get a phone call from Eddie Horan to let you know when they
were coming to and then you'd hear nothing more until the aircraft arrived.

[G-ARZG]

Did we mention Bernard Matthews ? His company had at least two aircraft, though not at the same time. There was B200 G-BMNF and then a Citation, whose registration I've forgotten. Based at Norwich with pilots Robin Palmer and Richard Joy. I think Geoffrey Burville too.

Siebe PLC used to drop into Leeds Bradford every now and then back in the nineties. Their aircraft was Citation N2000M with pilot David Fost. You would get a phone call from Eddie Horan to let you know when they
were coming to and then you'd hear nothing more until the aircraft arrived.

VP-CBM was the Bernard Matthews Citation

[meleagertoo]

I doubt it was as pretentious as a "Corporate Flight Department" but Bird's Eye Foods had a company aircraft, a Queen Air based at Fairoaks in the '70s.
I cadged a lift in it to Humberside for an interveiw at Hull Unversity in I suppose 1977.

[barry lloyd]

Williamson's Diamond Mine TANGANYIKA

Planemike: You forgot the 748! 5H-WDL served with them for 20 years 1976-1996. To be fair, for obvious reasons, it was an unannounced sale.

[India Four Two]

Until the 1970s it seems that "personalised" UK registrations were not possible

In the 60s, I remember seeing lists of new registrations when the ARB was well into the second half of the G-Axxx series. Occasionally, a registration was listed as not to be issued. My favourite was G-ASEX! :)

[chevvron]

In the 60s, I remember seeing lists of new registrations when the ARB was well into the second half of the G-Axxx series. Occasionally, a registration was listed as not to be issued. My favourite was G-ASEX! :)
Likewise nothing ending in G-xxWC.
In the '70s there was a BAC 1-11 registered I-FUKC operating in/out of Gatwick.

[SWBKCB]

G-xxWC was used, e.g. G-APWC was a Herald.

[CAEBr]

In the '70s there was a BAC 1-11 registered I-FUKC operating in/out of Gatwick.

There is a PC 12 recently delivered to an operator in Finland registered as OH-FUK

[chevvron]

G-xxWC was used, e.g. G-APWC was a Herald.
Used to be used eg G-ALWC Dakota but when I looked at the the list of regs, my own initials ending 'TWC' was shown as 'Not to be issued'.

[wub]

G-xxWC was used, e.g. G-APWC was a Herald.

The first aircraft I ever flew in!

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

wub was that with BEA Highlands and Islands ?

[treadigraph]

Reminder this morning that VW also had a Titan G-VWGB from 1978. Registered keeper VW at their then UK HQ just a few yards from where I type this! (My employers looked at moving into the building 25 years ago, would have made for a very short cycle commute for me. Freddy Laker also had a company based there for a bit when he tried to get going again...) Their various HS-125s D-C*VW were regular visitors to UK shores I think.

[WHBM]

In the 60s, I remember seeing lists of new registrations when the ARB was well into the second half of the G-Axxx series. Occasionally, a registration was listed as not to be issued. My favourite was G-ASEX! :)
The one between G-ARSD and G-ARSF likewise. Probably around the same time.

[treadigraph]

Likewise nothing ending in G-xxWC.
In the '70s there was a BAC 1-11 registered I-FUKC operating in/out of Gatwick.

Never been an Italian 1-11 so far as I know. If I recall, I-F**K was a glider. Preferred I-BANG which was a Tiger Moth, delightfully it returned to Blighty for a Tiger Club show at Redhill in '87.

[wub]

wub was that with BEA Highlands and Islands ?

There used to be a daily run from Aberdeen, via Edinburgh to Glasgow Renfrew. We lived in Glasgow but my Dad took me through to Edinburgh and we flew back from there, just to give me the experience. Later BEA flew the same route with Viscounts and I did that too.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x847/img_2612_f03e3e691ff9f244907140dcecfa9c9b8ae7b0ca.jpeg

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Good Old Dads what would we have done without them.........?!

[chevvron]

Good Old Dads what would we have done without them.........?!
Gliding at Halton and my father arrived to take me home.
I said 'I flew the single seater today'.
'What, on your own?' he asked.

[wub]

Gliding at Halton and my father arrived to take me home.
I said 'I flew the single seater today'.
'What, on your own?' he asked.

My Dad drove the winch on my first solo.

[bentley01]

Interesting thread and one I have been involved in throughout my career. Started flying G-BWWW J31 also flew the Ford RJ until the demise of the service and the aircraft ended up parked for two years still being paid for. The HS125 is still one of my favourite aircraft and at one time British Aerospace had 4.

[chevvron]

Interesting one about GAWWW not GBWWW.
Several Farnborough inbounds from the north all requiring PARs (it was prior to 2001 and before the full ILS was installed; we only had a LLZ/DME) so vectored for the talkdown one at a time.
One of them was GAWWW and after landing, the pilot phoned us from ops saying that he'd actually been aiming to go to Dunsfold, about 10 miles south rather than landing at Farnborough but as the weather wasn't too good at Dunsfold and as he had come to Farnborough later anyway, it was no problem! His passengers accepted the onward car journey to Dunsfold without realising there had been a cock up!

[Skylark58]

When I learned to fly at BHX in 1974, my instructor, John Carter, flew for GKN, who at the time had an HS125, King Air, Islander and Bo105 helicopter based there.

[Private jet]

GKN, in the mid 80's, also operated an ex BA 707-336C. It was in cargo config though and used to support the mining activities in Africa I think, rather than chauffeur execs wherever..

[Mooncrest]

GKN, in the mid 80's, also operated an ex BA 707-336C. It was in cargo config though and used to support the mining activities in Africa I think, rather than chauffeur execs wherever..
Dana-Spicer was, I think, an American firm with a significant or maybe controlling interest in GKN. We used to see their N-registered GIV at Leeds Bradford in the mid-1990s. These visits might have had something to do with the one-time GKN facility at Kirkstall Forge, just a few miles away from LBA. I think it was an axle factory.

[SWBKCB]

GKN, in the mid 80's, also operated an ex BA 707-336C. It was in cargo config though and used to support the mining activities in Africa I think, rather than chauffeur execs wherever..
The 707 was 9Q-CLY - you can just see the GKN logo

https://flic.kr/p/6mBidy

[Private jet]

The 707 was 9Q-CLY - you can just see the GKN logo

https://flic.kr/p/6mBidy

It was G-AYLT when at BA/BOAC & i was told it was nicknamed "the gay lieutenant"