EGLL "West Coast" Departures - DC8/707
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<<Denis Cliffe perhaps?>>
Wow GALHI.. Shack and I know DC. Unfortunately I believe that he is no longer with us but I worked with him at Heathrow in the early 70s and Shack knew him well before me. I first met Denis when I worked at Blackbushe Tower in the mid-60s, again at the College at Bournemouth whilst on leave from Africa around 1969 and then when I went to Heathrow. He was the Deputy Unit Training Officer then..
Wow GALHI.. Shack and I know DC. Unfortunately I believe that he is no longer with us but I worked with him at Heathrow in the early 70s and Shack knew him well before me. I first met Denis when I worked at Blackbushe Tower in the mid-60s, again at the College at Bournemouth whilst on leave from Africa around 1969 and then when I went to Heathrow. He was the Deputy Unit Training Officer then..
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Denis Cliffe eh?
Knew him at EGLL when I was an ATCA.....then again briefly at EGPF when he was my trainee. But he departed suddenly, and I was never sure what happened to him.
Speaking of slow climbers, I distinctly remember seing a strip for a Pan Am 707 to San Francisco...I wrote the Sid on the strip and thinking it a bit of a stretch, pointed it out to GMP. When the a/c called for start, he queried the destination, and got the reply " We`re Pan Am, we can go anywhere".
Everyone in the tower stopped what they were doing to watch it depart, it took up a lot of runway.
Knew him at EGLL when I was an ATCA.....then again briefly at EGPF when he was my trainee. But he departed suddenly, and I was never sure what happened to him.
Speaking of slow climbers, I distinctly remember seing a strip for a Pan Am 707 to San Francisco...I wrote the Sid on the strip and thinking it a bit of a stretch, pointed it out to GMP. When the a/c called for start, he queried the destination, and got the reply " We`re Pan Am, we can go anywhere".
Everyone in the tower stopped what they were doing to watch it depart, it took up a lot of runway.
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"Wow GALHI.. Shack and I know DC. Unfortunately I believe that he is no longer with us but I worked with him at Heathrow in the early 70s and Shack knew him well before me. I first met Denis when I worked at Blackbushe Tower in the mid-60s, again at the College at Bournemouth whilst on leave from Africa around 1969 and then when I went to Heathrow. He was the Deputy Unit Training Officer then.."
I worked with DC somewhere but I am too old to remember. Gatwick?
er...Nurse......?
I worked with DC somewhere but I am too old to remember. Gatwick?
er...Nurse......?
A Runyonesque Character
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I recall being told that the BOAC 707-436s that did LHR-SFO nonstops would be refuelled immediately on arrival at SFO because the wings were still cold and you could get more fuel into the tanks.
Not sure I ever believed it.
Not sure I ever believed it.
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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They used to supply specially cold fuel to the Comet at Nairobi. The only problem being that in the event of a delay, the stuff then expanded in the hot East African sun and came out the vent pipes all over the ramp!
For one brief, glorious period, I was 'Speedbird Moscow.' My sole purpose was to do the Trans-Siberian flight planning for BA861, the Tokyo-bound and sole* 707 (G-AWHU) which plied the route. As the temperatures plummetted with the onset of winter, we found we could get an extra 1000kg in the 'full tanks' uplift which was invariably necessary.
*G-AWHU was ex Saturn Airways, and an oddball, in that it had a different flight system from the rest of the 707s and it had a different passenger cabin configuration.
For one brief, glorious period, I was 'Speedbird Moscow.' My sole purpose was to do the Trans-Siberian flight planning for BA861, the Tokyo-bound and sole* 707 (G-AWHU) which plied the route. As the temperatures plummetted with the onset of winter, we found we could get an extra 1000kg in the 'full tanks' uplift which was invariably necessary.
*G-AWHU was ex Saturn Airways, and an oddball, in that it had a different flight system from the rest of the 707s and it had a different passenger cabin configuration.
Last edited by Georgeablelovehowindia; 16th Feb 2007 at 23:35.
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Scratching the old brain box I seem to remember that either PA or TWA (or both) would flight plan to Bangor Maine sometimes and then depending on what the howgosit said either continue to the West Coast or go someplace else. There were queries like "why do you want a Polar Dep. when you have filled to an East Coast destination"---"err that's what the dispatched filed"
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<<For one brief, glorious period, I was 'Speedbird Moscow.' My sole purpose was to do the Trans-Siberian flight planning for BA861, the Tokyo-bound and sole* 707 (G-AWHU) which plied the route. As the temperatures plummetted with the onset of winter, we found we could get an extra 1000kg in the 'full tanks' uplift which was invariably necessary.
*G-AWHU was ex Saturn Airways, and an oddball, in that it had a different flight system from the rest of the 707s and it had a different passenger cabin configuration.>>
Yes it was - but only basically to fly JFK-NAS/KIN Shuttles and LHR-JFK's - by the time it was operating SVO-HND's it was back in the retro BOAC config.
I dont think it was ever the 'sole' 707 on the svo-nrt route - my logbooks show HU only once out of 8 trips on that route up the end of '71 - the last few trips of that year were flown on XXZ and XXY - the two 336B's we had which were bought for just that route - because they were not C's they didnt have the cargo extras , so had a lower zero fuel weight - hence we could get more fuel and payload on
cheers
BTW G-ALHI was the last aircraft I flew in with my father - doing circuits at LGW with a Captain Martin checking him out!!. This was just before my starting at Hamble in 1964
arem
*G-AWHU was ex Saturn Airways, and an oddball, in that it had a different flight system from the rest of the 707s and it had a different passenger cabin configuration.>>
Yes it was - but only basically to fly JFK-NAS/KIN Shuttles and LHR-JFK's - by the time it was operating SVO-HND's it was back in the retro BOAC config.
I dont think it was ever the 'sole' 707 on the svo-nrt route - my logbooks show HU only once out of 8 trips on that route up the end of '71 - the last few trips of that year were flown on XXZ and XXY - the two 336B's we had which were bought for just that route - because they were not C's they didnt have the cargo extras , so had a lower zero fuel weight - hence we could get more fuel and payload on
cheers
BTW G-ALHI was the last aircraft I flew in with my father - doing circuits at LGW with a Captain Martin checking him out!!. This was just before my starting at Hamble in 1964
arem
Last edited by arem; 17th Feb 2007 at 13:58.
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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arem: oh dear! I've gone and hijacked a thread which reads EGLL "west Coast" Departures ... meanwhile over the snowy Steppes, one hundred and eighty degrees in the opposite direction ...! 
OK, my 'brief and glorious period' at SVO was from 24th September 1970 to 23rd December 1970. During that time, the only 707 I dealt with was 'HU. The 'special config' I referred to was the rear several rows of economy class being occupied by panniers containing the meals for the Trans-Siberian leg. One look at the Aeroflot flight kitchens was enough to decide that!
The eastbound flight number in fact was BA860, the westbound one was BA861. In BOAC the rule was even numbers eastbound and northbound i.e. EvEN.
OK, my 'brief and glorious period' at SVO was from 24th September 1970 to 23rd December 1970. During that time, the only 707 I dealt with was 'HU. The 'special config' I referred to was the rear several rows of economy class being occupied by panniers containing the meals for the Trans-Siberian leg. One look at the Aeroflot flight kitchens was enough to decide that!
The eastbound flight number in fact was BA860, the westbound one was BA861. In BOAC the rule was even numbers eastbound and northbound i.e. EvEN.
Last edited by Georgeablelovehowindia; 17th Feb 2007 at 19:55.
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My post no.26 I was obviously having a "senior moment" and thinking about another happening, the West Coast trips were quite often flight planned to Great Falls Montana and then continued to KSFO if all was well. Sorry.
