LHR nostalgia
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
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Sadly I'm beyond cycling from Purley to Heathrow. Not physically, well, a bit, it's just my enthusiasms are more "local" based!
I cycled through the northern pedestrian tunnels several times in the early '80s, can't recall being chased down by taxis,
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I seem to recall Dad parking outside the tunnel and walking though to the Queen's Building in the sixties. Were spectators not allowed to park in the central area then or was he just saving a bob or two.
Thread Starter
This Roy Cross piccie dates from 1957 and shows two open air car parks in the Central Area and what looks like a bus/ coach station between the tunnels and the QB. I have no recollection of this though.
Join Date: Nov 2003
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In 1973 I was able to park a Transit van in the “overheight vehicle” park in the central area. Just a bomb site: all sorts of coaches & trucks were in there. No idea exactly where it was, though.
Last edited by Trinity 09L; 2nd Nov 2017 at 20:49. Reason: missing word
Join Date: Aug 2002
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It does seems that way, despite or perhaps of reversers explanation, "they" do seem to have it in for pedestrians. I found out recently that if you read the signs carefully it would appear you are no longer "allowed" to walk from T5 to Longford via the western section of the perimeter road, and in fact one of the pedestrian crossings that used to facilitate the same has been blocked off to prevent pedestrian use....(yes, I know the first reply will start with "but why would you want to...."
It wasn't 'til we drove home that I remembered I had my air rifle in the boot so it's lucky they weren't doing 'stop and search'!
One thing that I’ve always been curious about.
In the early to mid 1970s on short final for 26R.
In the field just behind where a multi story car park is now located.
Abeam the BA B747 hangars, behind a berm.
Used to sit the derelict fuselage of a Royal Canadian Air Force Beech 18.
Does anybody know how and why it came to be there.
Where did it come from?
And where did it go.
Any ideas?
In the early to mid 1970s on short final for 26R.
In the field just behind where a multi story car park is now located.
Abeam the BA B747 hangars, behind a berm.
Used to sit the derelict fuselage of a Royal Canadian Air Force Beech 18.
Does anybody know how and why it came to be there.
Where did it come from?
And where did it go.
Any ideas?
Well remember the wreck. Think the reg was 418. Had postwar RCAF white paintwork with Red Lightning cheat line. This was in the grounds of the "Lapwing" Club which I believe was the Customs and Excise social club. Where the Multi storey now is was Magnatex Spark Plug factory . Sorry don`t know how it got there or where or when it went. Still there in c1979.
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Slight thread drift, but G-ARUI is still alive and kicking, currently hangared at Stow Maries (well it was in July when I was there). Not sure how often it flies due to the very severe restriction on movements at Stow Maries and the owners love of his Tiger Moth.
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A day in the life of a plane spotter
The following took place no end of times in the late 1950's.
Myself, brother and friends would set out from home in Ilford about 7.30 a.m. usually at weekends but also during the week in school holidays, armed with thermos flask, sandwiches, notebook, pens/pencils, Ian Allen ABC Aircraft Registration books, 20x Liebermann and Gorst binoculars (purchased for £10 at Simple Simons secondhand shop in Manor Park) and Mum's old box Brownie camera, later up-graded to something a little more modern.
Walked to Ilford station, caught the train to Stratford, changed to the Central line to Holburn and then the Piccadilly line to Hounslow West where we caught the 81b bus (upstairs of course) to London Airport as it was called then, arriving in time for the opening of the rooftop spectators terrace on the Queens Building at 10 a.m. After a days spotting we retraced our steps, arriving home sometime after 8 p.m.
During the day anything was likely to be spotted from Dakotas to Stratocruisers and, of course, towards the end of the 50's early jets such as BOAC's Comet 4s, Pan Am's 707s and Aeroflot's TU104s were beginning to become commonplace. Exotic arrivals, such as Air India Super Connies or Aerolineas Argentinas always caused excitement although my favourites were always the Air France Constellations or Super Constellations pulling on to the central stands in front of the Queens Building.
I seem to recall that it was very quiet during the early afternoons, with sometimes 15 or 20 minutes between arrivals before the afternoon rush started at about 4 p.m. from when there was always something to view through binoculars on approach. Funnily, landings were almost invariably from the East above the BEA maintenance hangar, which made for good binocular viewing.
On one occasion we did cycle to London Airport, through the City and West End, out along the Bath Road, detouring along the south side of the airport to the Hunting Clan hangar, where amongst other aircraft I was able to photograph the TWA Fairchild C82 Packet 'Ontos'. We then cycled back through the tunnel to another viewing area which was to the left of the tunnel, at the northern end of the central area apron, which was a perfect spot for photography.
The advent of work and girls meant that it was not cool to be an aircraft spotter any longer and that period of my life came to an end, although I still have the Ian Allen books, binoculars and many photographs I took in my collections, although sadly the thermos flask met a shattering end when dropped on a station platform. My love of Propliners is still with me though and I still try to photograph any that I come across in my travels.
Those were the days.
Myself, brother and friends would set out from home in Ilford about 7.30 a.m. usually at weekends but also during the week in school holidays, armed with thermos flask, sandwiches, notebook, pens/pencils, Ian Allen ABC Aircraft Registration books, 20x Liebermann and Gorst binoculars (purchased for £10 at Simple Simons secondhand shop in Manor Park) and Mum's old box Brownie camera, later up-graded to something a little more modern.
Walked to Ilford station, caught the train to Stratford, changed to the Central line to Holburn and then the Piccadilly line to Hounslow West where we caught the 81b bus (upstairs of course) to London Airport as it was called then, arriving in time for the opening of the rooftop spectators terrace on the Queens Building at 10 a.m. After a days spotting we retraced our steps, arriving home sometime after 8 p.m.
During the day anything was likely to be spotted from Dakotas to Stratocruisers and, of course, towards the end of the 50's early jets such as BOAC's Comet 4s, Pan Am's 707s and Aeroflot's TU104s were beginning to become commonplace. Exotic arrivals, such as Air India Super Connies or Aerolineas Argentinas always caused excitement although my favourites were always the Air France Constellations or Super Constellations pulling on to the central stands in front of the Queens Building.
I seem to recall that it was very quiet during the early afternoons, with sometimes 15 or 20 minutes between arrivals before the afternoon rush started at about 4 p.m. from when there was always something to view through binoculars on approach. Funnily, landings were almost invariably from the East above the BEA maintenance hangar, which made for good binocular viewing.
On one occasion we did cycle to London Airport, through the City and West End, out along the Bath Road, detouring along the south side of the airport to the Hunting Clan hangar, where amongst other aircraft I was able to photograph the TWA Fairchild C82 Packet 'Ontos'. We then cycled back through the tunnel to another viewing area which was to the left of the tunnel, at the northern end of the central area apron, which was a perfect spot for photography.
The advent of work and girls meant that it was not cool to be an aircraft spotter any longer and that period of my life came to an end, although I still have the Ian Allen books, binoculars and many photographs I took in my collections, although sadly the thermos flask met a shattering end when dropped on a station platform. My love of Propliners is still with me though and I still try to photograph any that I come across in my travels.
Those were the days.
Now you mention it, I saw one depart from 23L at about 2am one night on my one and only visit to Heathrow VCR in 1971. (Four of us were on a night duty at LATCC West Drayton and instead of getting our heads down to return to duty at 3am, we decided to go to Heathrow!)
Does anyone remember the PanAm Mx hangar next to the Hunting hangar on the south side of LHR ? There was a cafe (Kaff) also painted blue for the workers amongst others and you could just wander in there and partake of the offerings as a paying customer. I can remember going up to a B707 sticking out of the hangar in Biman colours, no reg and kicked the tyres (as you do). It didn't end well for my toes only protected by a thin layer of plastic leather trainers. When you consider the security nowadays, it was nearly nonexistent back then!
southender, what a great post! How lucky youngsters were back then to have been able to have such exciting days out at LAP!