British Air Ferries Viscounts Southend/Channel Islands

[Stampe]

A chance encounter at Southend yesterday paying a landing fee led me to meet some ex BAF cabin crew of the eighties who are still working at the airport (and these ladies are wearing considerably better than your correspondant).There were some eighteen Viscounts plying their trade then along with a few Heralds and sheds quite a busy company !!.Remembering with rose tinted spectacles, I,m sure a very happy time in my life.There were an awful lot of personnel involved in that period.Thought perhaps a reunion (held perhaps in the terminal building now sadly not quite so active ) might be quite a fun thing to do.To start the ball rolling I was Viscount fleet First officer 1986/87 and am still in touch with quite a few of our ex-colleagues any more of you out there???.What a great start to airline flying it was!!.Ring sight to pointer !!!!!Ah remember the Smiths Flight system!!.

[surely not]

Ah yes lovely girls they were. Used to handle them at LGW.........so to speak!

[HZ123]

BAF had an office at STN or where taken over by some outfit from there and the CC uniforms were as I recall purple . yellow and bluish tinge. The skirts finished at the cheek and these were complemented by boots. Can someone confirm this but as a policeman at STN I think the BAF offices were located beside the very first brick built terminal which when I was there was for GA.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

I remember flying from Manch to Jersey (should have been Guernsey, but that was socked in) in a BAF Viscount in the summer of '86. I asked the captain if, being a PPL, I could sit in the jump seat for the take off.

"There's no jump seat", he said. "You are welcome to stand behind the FO's seat, though. But if anything goes wrong, you weren't here, right?". So I did.

Great flight. Thanks chaps.

And in the 70s I used to stay in Southend on courses. I can still remeber the BAF Carvairs droning out over the town on their way south.

SSD