What did Gatwick used to look like

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Exnomad

There was a B24 Liberator on site, unservicable and some way from the runway. Us cadets climbed in, too many aft of the C of G and it tipped up..

I hope you had the presence of mind to all pile into the nose and right it ... ?

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by spekesoftly

Weather permitting, flights were normally VFR* at 2,400' QNH (just below the base of the London TMA), but the Link helicopter was also IFR capable when required, using both Decca moving map and ILS. Normal schedule was ten return flights daily.

(* - SVFR in the Heathrow Control Zone, which was Rule 21 Controlled Airspace, equivalent to Class A today)

Not long before it was terminatsd, the Link's route was changed so that instead of routing in/out of the Heathrow CTR via a point near Esher, it routed roughly via Woking. This brought it into direct conflict with traffic positioning for an iap to runway 25 at Farnborough.
When we pointed this out to the 'experts' who designed this new route, they replied that this was in 'open FIR' as it was then called (class G airspace nowadays) so didn't concern them; they were only responsible for designating a route inside the Heathrow CTR which was environmentally acceptable.
On at least one occasion, the Link actually called us up for traffic info and when we suggested it wouldn't be a good idea to descend for his Heathrow Zone entry and he got a bit 'shirty', we pointed out that to do so would take him extremely close to the BAC 111 below him positioning for a PAR.