Which Aerodrome?
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Zealand
Age: 76
Posts: 516
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Good morning all! Re ZK-ADI, just in case any Kiwis come on and start getting picky I must say that the painting by Ron Fulstow is from a photograph by Leo White taken at Bruce Bay which is quite a distance north of Okuru. Okuru is at the north end of Jacksons Bay.
Tiger Mate has it. RAF Benson it is. Photo was taken on 29th August 1959.
This particular flight has some history to it as it was the occasion when President Eisenhower was on a visit to the UK for talks with prime minister Harold Macmillian. During his visit Ike flew up to Scotland to see the Queen and rather than flying in Air Force One (or whatever it was called in those days), he was flown to Aberdeen and back by an RAF Comet of 216 Sqn.
At the time I was at RAF Abingdon awaiting my posting to 99 Sqn at RAF Lyneham and was in touch with one of my drinking friends who worked in ATC at Benson who told me that President Eisenhower was due to land at Benson to have talks with prime minister Macmillan at Chequers on his return from a visit to the queen at Balmoral and would I like to see a real live US president?
Nothing ventured nothing gained I grabbed my Rolleiflex camera, hopped on my motorcycle and drove over to Benson. Wearing uniform and with a rather large "professional" camera around my neck it was assumed I was an "official photographer" and I was ushered to the scaffolding erected for photographers and duly took my photographs.
Here's the itinerary:
The Comet pulls up in front of the dais - and look at that bulled-up shiny finish!:
...and Ike disembarks, doffing his hat as he does so:
Over to you Tiger Mate
This particular flight has some history to it as it was the occasion when President Eisenhower was on a visit to the UK for talks with prime minister Harold Macmillian. During his visit Ike flew up to Scotland to see the Queen and rather than flying in Air Force One (or whatever it was called in those days), he was flown to Aberdeen and back by an RAF Comet of 216 Sqn.
At the time I was at RAF Abingdon awaiting my posting to 99 Sqn at RAF Lyneham and was in touch with one of my drinking friends who worked in ATC at Benson who told me that President Eisenhower was due to land at Benson to have talks with prime minister Macmillan at Chequers on his return from a visit to the queen at Balmoral and would I like to see a real live US president?
Nothing ventured nothing gained I grabbed my Rolleiflex camera, hopped on my motorcycle and drove over to Benson. Wearing uniform and with a rather large "professional" camera around my neck it was assumed I was an "official photographer" and I was ushered to the scaffolding erected for photographers and duly took my photographs.
Here's the itinerary:
The Comet pulls up in front of the dais - and look at that bulled-up shiny finish!:
...and Ike disembarks, doffing his hat as he does so:
Over to you Tiger Mate
