The Britannia
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Buccaneer
With regard to the comments about the TV programme featuring a Bristol Britannia..........
The blurb from the book of the series............. BUCCANEER by Eric Paice. Published by Arrow Books 1980.
"Tony Blair is a gambler - and this time he is gambling on making enough money to buy a new aircraft before the old one falls apart.
He has started his new airfreight business almost literally on a wing and a prayer, with an aircraft that has seen better days, a few old friends to help him fly and a mountain of debts. Even to Tony Blair the odds must seem against him. Surrounded by people who would betray him as soon as look at him, Blair is a man alone. A man with a dark and dangerous continent to beat; a man with his back against the wall.
But only a man like Blair could take the knocks and dangers of the skyfreighting business. Only a gambler like Blair could stand a chance of winning."
The book quotes the TV series being written by NJ Crisp and Eric Paice.
The series starred.... Bryan Marshall, Clifford Rose, Pamela Salem, Shirley Anne Field, Caroline Courage and Mark Jones.
Produced by Gerald Glaister; Story Editor John Brason; Technical Advisor Mike Langley
The blurb from the book of the series............. BUCCANEER by Eric Paice. Published by Arrow Books 1980.
"Tony Blair is a gambler - and this time he is gambling on making enough money to buy a new aircraft before the old one falls apart.
He has started his new airfreight business almost literally on a wing and a prayer, with an aircraft that has seen better days, a few old friends to help him fly and a mountain of debts. Even to Tony Blair the odds must seem against him. Surrounded by people who would betray him as soon as look at him, Blair is a man alone. A man with a dark and dangerous continent to beat; a man with his back against the wall.
But only a man like Blair could take the knocks and dangers of the skyfreighting business. Only a gambler like Blair could stand a chance of winning."
The book quotes the TV series being written by NJ Crisp and Eric Paice.
The series starred.... Bryan Marshall, Clifford Rose, Pamela Salem, Shirley Anne Field, Caroline Courage and Mark Jones.
Produced by Gerald Glaister; Story Editor John Brason; Technical Advisor Mike Langley
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Manchester, UK
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Buccaneer
"BUCCANEER by Eric Paice. Published by Arrow Books 1980.
"Tony Blair is a gambler - and this time he is gambling on making enough money to buy a new aircraft before the old one falls apart."
Interesting choice of name for the main character, in light of subsequent events. Also, oddly, Eric Paice (and that exact spelling of Paice) is the name of the main villain in one of my favourite films of all time, "Get Carter."
"Tony Blair is a gambler - and this time he is gambling on making enough money to buy a new aircraft before the old one falls apart."
Interesting choice of name for the main character, in light of subsequent events. Also, oddly, Eric Paice (and that exact spelling of Paice) is the name of the main villain in one of my favourite films of all time, "Get Carter."
Join Date: May 2007
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When I joined Caledonian Airways in April 1966 the fleet consisted of six Brits and a DC7C. Wonderful aircraft, the Brits. My first flight was on one ... LGW/CIA/LGW ... and made many transatlantic flights on them. Much much more comfortable and pleasant than flying economy today.
As for movies ... part of A Dandy in Aspic starring Laurence Harvey (1968) was filmed aboard a Caledonian Brit at LGW.
As for movies ... part of A Dandy in Aspic starring Laurence Harvey (1968) was filmed aboard a Caledonian Brit at LGW.
The Whispering Giant
My fondest recollections of Brits are from the early days (BOAC and Hunting Clan), as a spotter (and twice SLF) at/from SAY. In later years, in the UK, I usually had my head down in some other cockpit.
The sound of 4 Protei (?) taxiing towards you must be unique. Nothing like a Dart or, for that matter, a Tyne. When throttled back, the props made a strange whooshing sound, reminiscent of a waterfall. This seemed quickly to subside, perhaps as the throttles (sorry, power levers?) were edged forward a bit. Swinging past, then turning on to the runway, the pitch of the noise barely changed as take-off power was applied, although the volume became more urgent. The Britannia must have had one of the smallest noise footprints of any large aeroplane.
The Aero Mexico soundtrack being such a travesty, does anyone know of a decent sound recording?
The sound of 4 Protei (?) taxiing towards you must be unique. Nothing like a Dart or, for that matter, a Tyne. When throttled back, the props made a strange whooshing sound, reminiscent of a waterfall. This seemed quickly to subside, perhaps as the throttles (sorry, power levers?) were edged forward a bit. Swinging past, then turning on to the runway, the pitch of the noise barely changed as take-off power was applied, although the volume became more urgent. The Britannia must have had one of the smallest noise footprints of any large aeroplane.
The Aero Mexico soundtrack being such a travesty, does anyone know of a decent sound recording?
There is a DVD called 'The RAF The unseen years 1960-61' which has some good footage of Transport Command and the Britannia amongst other stuff. Seems fairly readily available via mail order. Some of the older ex truckies may even recognise the odd face here and there!!
Pilots' Pal
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Just search You Tube and you'll find loads, including this one about a Mexican carrier (film-makers think all aircraft with props must be pistons)
Some of the older ex truckies may even recognise the odd face here and there!!
Truckies appeared with the Fat Alberts in 1966/7. Sadly, most of the characters who appeared in that film are no longer with us. One of them was the captain of the Redcoat Brit that crashed near Boston MA as a result of severe icing.
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The Britannia
And here is a photo of XM496, the sole surviving RAF Britannia, taken at its final resting place, Kemble, on 30-8-09.
DSC0025 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
DSC0025 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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I have a Corgi limited edition model of XM496, took over a year on and off to locate it, quite rare. A nice reminder of when i was on the "real thing", and the other 21
A nice reminder of when i was on the "real thing", and the other 21.
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XL638 was written off on 12 October 1967 after a runway over run landing at Khormaksar
We then spent the next 10 days holed up in the hell hole of transit accommodation (3 inches between beds) waiting for the unlikely event of spare seats on any other aircraft before we eventually gave up and headed back to Sharjah.
Nothing to do except sun bathe, sightsee and get pissed (which is why Harry W ended up pissing on the end of my bed after a session !)
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Lloyds Brits
Yea...Happy days. I was a Loadmaster with Lloyds until they went bust leaving me in Hong Kong with no money and no means of getting home. Benline (Our partners in HK refused to advance me anything) I eventually went to a bar frequented by the crews and met a Trans Meridian crew who allowed me to work my passage home.
Loadmaster307 - i found myself in a very tricky situation in April 1975 when my (IAS) Britannia G-AOVS was impounded in Damascus because of outstanding overflight fees owed by Lloyd International from when they operated the aircraft. We were carrying a Boeing repair team and all the gear to repair an Egyptair B707 which had aquaplaned off the side of the runway and shed two engines. Pressure from Boeing saved the day.