Croydon Airport Tour and Mini Bash
Gnome de PPRuNe
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That's fine ThreadBaron!
Sorry to hear about the cold Cricket, darn things!
PMs sent to all.
Treadders
Sorry to hear about the cold Cricket, darn things!
PMs sent to all.
Treadders
Join Date: Oct 2006
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'mornin you lot
Hey Treadders, excellent job old chap. Very enjoyable afternoon, and the few 'Nigerians' (needed the iron & vits). Good and informative talk, I even liked the 'syrup' (sorry couldn't resist that one). I was great to meet the folks.
A request, can you all PM with yr E-mail addss's SVP.
Cheers Merlin
A request, can you all PM with yr E-mail addss's SVP.
Cheers Merlin
Gnome de PPRuNe
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For the benefit of all of us who couldn't go, Treadders, I hope you will be posting a full and comprehensive report !!!!!
A very pleasant afternoon which began in the Aerodrome Hotel with MerlinXX playing the preliminary round of "hunt the barman", an activity which was repeated several times.
At the appointed hour we met up with our host for the afternoon who gave us a very informative tour of the old terminal building, covering the history, the architecture and, of course, the flying. There are a lot of artefacts and models on display including a real Tiger Moth which appears to be sagging slightly - well the left lower wing's trailing edge looked a bit odd, though it may have been the angle! There is also a magnificent 1/200 model of the terminal and hangar area.
We then had a look out the back; the original vista of apron, a huge greensward and distant trees is sadly replaced by walls and factory units, while any ghostly nostalgic impressions of burbling Gipsy Queens and Bristol Jupiters are drowned out by local yobs drag racing their kiddy-moto-cycles up and down Imperial Way.
Then it was the Tower fer us – up several flights of stairs and the danger of nose bleeds. More artefacts and memorabilia, and the piece-de-résistance, the control room itself, complete with original kit or replicas thereof, and explanations of how it all worked.
A fascinating tour, and much thanks to The Croydon Airport Society!
They open the building on the first Sunday of each month, and you can book special tours by appointment. I think you can also look around the booking hall at other times if you are sampling the delights of the Rayon D'Or bar.
Then it was back to the bar I’m afraid to take up where we left off in the search for the barperson. I wandered back up the A23 several hours later in something of sun and alcohol-induced state of befuddlement…
Great to meet a few more PPRuNers; it was good fun!
(Oh, and by the way, Merlin ain’t referring to my challenged foliage!
)Treadders
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It certainly was a lovely sight to behold when in the 'terminal' building. The mind was full of what the atmosphere was like in those days. Radio nav was pretty basic but entirely adequate it seems. The tower and radio room were as left, with a few added artefacts to tickle the taste buds.
Plenty of models, and if you let your imagination run free it was a flight of fantasy.
My grandson enjoyed it very much too.
Well done Jools.
PPP
Plenty of models, and if you let your imagination run free it was a flight of fantasy.
My grandson enjoyed it very much too.
Well done Jools.
PPP
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Thanks for that report guys !
All this talk about artefacts, ghostly nostalgic impressions, memorabilia,
basic radio nav equipment and original kit in the control room itself reminds me of the Ops room at West Drayton until we moved down to Swanwick last year!!
Sounds like a good day out.
Clint.
All this talk about artefacts, ghostly nostalgic impressions, memorabilia,
basic radio nav equipment and original kit in the control room itself reminds me of the Ops room at West Drayton until we moved down to Swanwick last year!!
Sounds like a good day out.
Clint.
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Thanks again Treadders, was a very interesting afternoon out and was great to meet you and the other Ppruners in attendance!
Lot of history there, what a strange moment walking out onto the former apron...
Looking forward to my next overseas jaunt, its such a shame that I'll be trying to get to Heathrow in the rush hour rather than a half-hour walk to Croydon through the cornfields!
Lot of history there, what a strange moment walking out onto the former apron...
Looking forward to my next overseas jaunt, its such a shame that I'll be trying to get to Heathrow in the rush hour rather than a half-hour walk to Croydon through the cornfields!
Just some ancillary comments to add on a most pleasant afternoon.
Treadders did some good organising of us all, an activity inevitably akin to herding cats, but which had a good outcome in that we all got there on time and enjoyed the whole experience. Many thanks for pulling it all together.
Both the Aerodrome Hotel (which seemed distinctly empty, aiding initial recognition – not too difficult when there is only one group in the bar) and the Old Terminal next door are interesting for their old photos, wall posters, punctured but genuine 1930s main wheels (!), and some typical thirties caricatures of personalities round the airfield were on the wall as well, making us glad we live in times where we can escape such parody.
Frank Gardner, our Historical Society host and guide, told of a difficulty he once had in doing little presentations to the local primary school, but that can really have been nothing compared to us lot. “Bet no one can identify that aviation flag”, he opened. Flag is instantly identified along with all the occasions it had seemingly ever been flown in the past 50 years. “There was a small airshow here in 1978”. Frank finds he is addressing the first display pilot to have landed at it. And on it went. Poor Frank. And, of course, many thanks to him for his fascinating and well-informed commentary, and handling all those questions and comments.
As we had been on our best behaviour up to this point we were allowed into the radio room, normally kept behind the glass, where we made appropriately pithy comments about much of the equipment. The radio set, with valves the size of milk bottles sticking out from it, is apparently still somewhat serviceable (possibly after about 3 hours warming up), so maybe we should call them up one Sunday afternoon and ask for a QNH.
An example page on display from a movement log in the 1930s, a whole day’s movements on one page, showed that life for the FISO in those days was a simpler task.
Various references to “radio” along the way but I suspect that much of it would actually be “wireless”, ie Morse Code. Which of course is a word that has now come back into technology. What goes around comes around.
There were kids beyond the fence on mini-bikes racing down pretty much what was the old 04/22 runway alignment, now an industrial estate. Some of them probably got up in a couple of seconds to more than an HP.42 take-off speed.
I wonder how many PPRuNe bashes have had a mid-session interval for a fancy dress parade ? I think we may have achieved a first here, especially the guest appearance by Ali G.
Among the various commercial uses for the buildings nowadays is the Rayon D’Or restaurant. Now the Rayon D’Or was the name of the Air Union (Air France predecessor) deluxe in-flight dining service from Croydon to Paris in the 1920s (Farman Goliaths for the technically minded), so one entered full of expectation. Alas, this was to be short-lived. A misunderstanding somewhere round the back led to us being served a child meal by mistake. Now we may give BA some stick for T5, or scrapping Concorde, or whatever. But in many a flight I don’t think they have even come close to serving me the UM’s meal.
Treadders did some good organising of us all, an activity inevitably akin to herding cats, but which had a good outcome in that we all got there on time and enjoyed the whole experience. Many thanks for pulling it all together.
Both the Aerodrome Hotel (which seemed distinctly empty, aiding initial recognition – not too difficult when there is only one group in the bar) and the Old Terminal next door are interesting for their old photos, wall posters, punctured but genuine 1930s main wheels (!), and some typical thirties caricatures of personalities round the airfield were on the wall as well, making us glad we live in times where we can escape such parody.
Frank Gardner, our Historical Society host and guide, told of a difficulty he once had in doing little presentations to the local primary school, but that can really have been nothing compared to us lot. “Bet no one can identify that aviation flag”, he opened. Flag is instantly identified along with all the occasions it had seemingly ever been flown in the past 50 years. “There was a small airshow here in 1978”. Frank finds he is addressing the first display pilot to have landed at it. And on it went. Poor Frank. And, of course, many thanks to him for his fascinating and well-informed commentary, and handling all those questions and comments.
As we had been on our best behaviour up to this point we were allowed into the radio room, normally kept behind the glass, where we made appropriately pithy comments about much of the equipment. The radio set, with valves the size of milk bottles sticking out from it, is apparently still somewhat serviceable (possibly after about 3 hours warming up), so maybe we should call them up one Sunday afternoon and ask for a QNH.
An example page on display from a movement log in the 1930s, a whole day’s movements on one page, showed that life for the FISO in those days was a simpler task.
Various references to “radio” along the way but I suspect that much of it would actually be “wireless”, ie Morse Code. Which of course is a word that has now come back into technology. What goes around comes around.
There were kids beyond the fence on mini-bikes racing down pretty much what was the old 04/22 runway alignment, now an industrial estate. Some of them probably got up in a couple of seconds to more than an HP.42 take-off speed.
I wonder how many PPRuNe bashes have had a mid-session interval for a fancy dress parade ? I think we may have achieved a first here, especially the guest appearance by Ali G.
Among the various commercial uses for the buildings nowadays is the Rayon D’Or restaurant. Now the Rayon D’Or was the name of the Air Union (Air France predecessor) deluxe in-flight dining service from Croydon to Paris in the 1920s (Farman Goliaths for the technically minded), so one entered full of expectation. Alas, this was to be short-lived. A misunderstanding somewhere round the back led to us being served a child meal by mistake. Now we may give BA some stick for T5, or scrapping Concorde, or whatever. But in many a flight I don’t think they have even come close to serving me the UM’s meal.
I'm going to stick some photos on Flickr and will PM when done, but please give me a day or two to get round to it as I've somehow ended up in Fort William in Scotland at the moment 
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Thanks guys; WHBM clearly either has a far more retentive memory than I, or perhaps his abstinence later in the afternoon paid dividends! 
Looking forward to the pics.
Looking forward to the pics.
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I don't remember him talking pics either, 'twas the sun & Nigerians, a bit tropo perhaps. Thks WHBM for the pics anyway, look forward to seeing them.
