LHR nostalgia
Anyone seen that 1955 movie "Out of the Clouds' with a brilliant cast including the late great James Robinson Justice playing the part of a BOAC Captain?
Out of the Clouds (1955) - IMDb
Out of the Clouds (1955) - IMDb
Thread Starter
Severe traffic congestion, Central Area, 1950s:
Note: this image is taken from the booklet 'London Airport: The official story of the new world air centre', published by the General Office of Information in 1956. I have been unable to find the copyright holder.
Note: this image is taken from the booklet 'London Airport: The official story of the new world air centre', published by the General Office of Information in 1956. I have been unable to find the copyright holder.
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wheres 3 years gone?
I thought I would start at the beginning of this thread, and Im glad I did.
There are names of members who dont seem to post any more?
Up to Page 2 all posts are 2011, then suddenly page 3 its 2014. I cant believe no posts for 3 years?
There are names of members who dont seem to post any more?
Up to Page 2 all posts are 2011, then suddenly page 3 its 2014. I cant believe no posts for 3 years?
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"Out of the clouds"
"Anyone seen that 1955 movie "Out of the Clouds' with a brilliant cast including the late great James Robinson Justice playing the part of a BOAC Captain?"
Yes, recorded it off TV some years ago onto a vid, then I think I bought a DVD of it on Amazon? But having just looked through my DVDs and vid's, I can't put my hands on it.
An absolute clunker of a film so far as the plot goes, with love scenes so bad I had to fast-forward through them, but fantastic propliner action at LHR. Well worth getting and sitting through all the nonsense, just for that.
Yes, recorded it off TV some years ago onto a vid, then I think I bought a DVD of it on Amazon? But having just looked through my DVDs and vid's, I can't put my hands on it.
An absolute clunker of a film so far as the plot goes, with love scenes so bad I had to fast-forward through them, but fantastic propliner action at LHR. Well worth getting and sitting through all the nonsense, just for that.
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Re Bedfont Pub
Mr Oleo, could the pub in Bedfont possibly be the "Duke of Wellington" in Hatton Road or "The Green Man" near Hatton Cross ? both were a mere stones throw from BEA and BOACs maintenance area. I grew up in a house behind the Green man in the 60's, Mum and Dad moved from London and bought a new house in the country with a big garden that was formerly an orchard with apple and pear trees still planted in lines, the field at the back was a Bluebell field. Every now and and again a Plane would sail over the house and Mum and Dad wondered where they went ! of course they had never heard of the New London Airport 
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Oleo Strut and Dockwell, the Stanwell pub is the Rising Sun. Loving this thread - I started straight from school (Windsor Grammar) in '68 in BEA cargo at Hangar 8, soon moved across to the then-brand-new Cargocentre and well remember legging it across to a small gate in the peri fence on many occasions to get to the pub. When I went back eleven years ago to witness the last Concorde departure I was pleased to note said gate is still there!
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One of my best memories of over 45 years at LAP /Heathrow / LHR ,were the day an announcement was made that the "B ofB Memorial Flight"were giving a FLY By down 28 right so the off duty erks went to witness this event outside their crew room door ,Aviation's finest were using said runway for take off not a flicker of interest was shown of DC8s ,747s 757s and sundry other types even Concorde hurtling the runway ,plenty of aircraft in a long line on the holding point, in a short lull a Hurricane, Lancaster ,and a Spitfire flying in formation trundled along the runway not a dry eye to be seen . I don't suppose it will ever happen again it must have been the 40th anniversary of BofB MF or something.
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A few more memories...
Just a few more ramblings to add to my posts 49 and 50 about my time at LHR in Customs from 1962 to 1968, before memory fades and the new runway obliterates familiar places:-
Transport. Without your own wheels it was not that easy to get to the the central area for work. I travelled from Reading which, depending on shift patterns, required a trolley bus to Reading station, train to Slough, 81b bus to the north side, walk through the tunnel, or thumb a lift. Sometimes colleagues with cars would do a rota. Other times I used the Thames Valley 'B' bus from London to Reading. All very complicated which soon provoked me to get an old Lambretta scooter with dodgy electrics, until the Queen arranged for me to get a driving license and I acquired a bright new Morris Minor - luxury indeed, particularly because we were allowed to park in the central area. Before the M4/M25 the A4/Great West Road was always busy and the phased traffic lights through Slough were a real lottery.
I remember how quiet the then new Terminal 3 Oceanic was before and after the 'wagon trains' morning and evening. It was quite creepy, a huge building and nobody much about. Very handy for a quiet drink and a kip! Noise restrictions limited night flying but there was a regular arrival of a Seaboard and Western CL44 freighter (based on the 'whispering giant' Britannia) at about 3am which I liked to volunteer to go and clear. There were only three crew to deal with, the whole front of the aircraft hinged open, and I could drive the official car all the way round to Hatton Cross at very high speed on the empty perimeter road. On one occasion I drove off the road at warp speed near Perry Oaks and almost turned the car over. That took some explaining away.
Her Majesty eventually kindly agreed to provide us Customs wallahs with VHF car radios. Huge, hot, unreliable but no doubt very cheap. I think they had been put together by Marconi himself. Trouble was they seriously interfered with local TV reception and the complaints poured in when East Enders was overlaid with hiss, squawk and 'Charlie Whisky 7 go to 75 and 80 (stands) etc'. The radios were quickly withdrawn and we were back to phoning in from the outer stands to get details of the next arrivals. I must add that in those far-off days Customs had to clear aircraft first and deal with bonded stores before the plane could be offloaded. And, of course, there were no airstairs or travellators, it was coaches and your plates of meat! From landing to passports to Customs could be a couple of hours or so before you got out of the Terminal if you were lucky. So what's new, you might say!
Airport security was somewhat low-key - old chaps fast asleep in glass boxes with the barriers up and the airside/landslide boundary about as logical as the Northern Irish border. Fleet Street reporters would slip in and out and leave sarcastic notes in cockpits. I remember the cross-runways being used occasionally and, sadly, several fatal crashes, which naturally shocked us all. There is a photo on this thread of the Canadian DC8 crashed in the cabbage patch. I was sent out to make sure that the bonded stores were not nicked. That used to go on as soon as the rubber-neckers turned up, which they always did.. I remember a BOAC VC10 landing with nose wheel up, on a foam carpet on 28L. The flash was brilliant. Luckily nobody was hurt. And the BEA Vanguard, the BOAC 707, and the Ambassador with those poor horses. There was always a buzz about the old place, though, despite all the moans and groans. Far off days now, starting to fade away...
Transport. Without your own wheels it was not that easy to get to the the central area for work. I travelled from Reading which, depending on shift patterns, required a trolley bus to Reading station, train to Slough, 81b bus to the north side, walk through the tunnel, or thumb a lift. Sometimes colleagues with cars would do a rota. Other times I used the Thames Valley 'B' bus from London to Reading. All very complicated which soon provoked me to get an old Lambretta scooter with dodgy electrics, until the Queen arranged for me to get a driving license and I acquired a bright new Morris Minor - luxury indeed, particularly because we were allowed to park in the central area. Before the M4/M25 the A4/Great West Road was always busy and the phased traffic lights through Slough were a real lottery.
I remember how quiet the then new Terminal 3 Oceanic was before and after the 'wagon trains' morning and evening. It was quite creepy, a huge building and nobody much about. Very handy for a quiet drink and a kip! Noise restrictions limited night flying but there was a regular arrival of a Seaboard and Western CL44 freighter (based on the 'whispering giant' Britannia) at about 3am which I liked to volunteer to go and clear. There were only three crew to deal with, the whole front of the aircraft hinged open, and I could drive the official car all the way round to Hatton Cross at very high speed on the empty perimeter road. On one occasion I drove off the road at warp speed near Perry Oaks and almost turned the car over. That took some explaining away.
Her Majesty eventually kindly agreed to provide us Customs wallahs with VHF car radios. Huge, hot, unreliable but no doubt very cheap. I think they had been put together by Marconi himself. Trouble was they seriously interfered with local TV reception and the complaints poured in when East Enders was overlaid with hiss, squawk and 'Charlie Whisky 7 go to 75 and 80 (stands) etc'. The radios were quickly withdrawn and we were back to phoning in from the outer stands to get details of the next arrivals. I must add that in those far-off days Customs had to clear aircraft first and deal with bonded stores before the plane could be offloaded. And, of course, there were no airstairs or travellators, it was coaches and your plates of meat! From landing to passports to Customs could be a couple of hours or so before you got out of the Terminal if you were lucky. So what's new, you might say!
Airport security was somewhat low-key - old chaps fast asleep in glass boxes with the barriers up and the airside/landslide boundary about as logical as the Northern Irish border. Fleet Street reporters would slip in and out and leave sarcastic notes in cockpits. I remember the cross-runways being used occasionally and, sadly, several fatal crashes, which naturally shocked us all. There is a photo on this thread of the Canadian DC8 crashed in the cabbage patch. I was sent out to make sure that the bonded stores were not nicked. That used to go on as soon as the rubber-neckers turned up, which they always did.. I remember a BOAC VC10 landing with nose wheel up, on a foam carpet on 28L. The flash was brilliant. Luckily nobody was hurt. And the BEA Vanguard, the BOAC 707, and the Ambassador with those poor horses. There was always a buzz about the old place, though, despite all the moans and groans. Far off days now, starting to fade away...
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Also remember when a light aircraft possibly a Cessna 150 was allegedly stolen from White Waltham flown in in the early hours of the morning and parked under the wing of our beloved ELAL 747. Pilot never identified and disappeared into the night.
Also on the South side via the Air India / Panam maintenance areas you could drive uninterrupted from the peri road onto the main runway. On the 1st Concorde take off a hundred or so private vehicles were parked on the grass areas adjoining the runway with picnics.
Also on the South side via the Air India / Panam maintenance areas you could drive uninterrupted from the peri road onto the main runway. On the 1st Concorde take off a hundred or so private vehicles were parked on the grass areas adjoining the runway with picnics.
Also remember when a light aircraft possibly a Cessna 150 was allegedly stolen from White Waltham flown in in the early hours of the morning and parked under the wing of our beloved ELAL 747. Pilot never identified and disappeared into the night.
It had been stolen in the early hours and had been flown low over buildings and traffic on the M4 before being landed on the grass at the airport next to RW27R.
Thread Starter
regular arrival of a Seaboard and Western CL44 freighter (based on the 'whispering giant' Britannia)
When I joined the BEA Vanguard fleet some years later we learned that the BEA SOP had been similar, except that the power reduction was done at top of climb - something to do with 'offloading the splines' or some such. By the time we converted onto the type the problem had been solved and the SOP discontinued.
Last edited by Discorde; 13th Jul 2017 at 13:29. Reason: Nerd stuff removed
Great to read these stories, but I'm particularly interested in the quote above. It's the first time I've heard of this, does anyone know more about it?
A few years ago a 747 was cleared to land at LHR although an A320 was lined up for takeoff on the same runway. Daytime, visual; the A320's topside color happened to be gray, blending with the runway; its company's SOP was to have strobes off at that stage; so the 747 crew didn't see the A320 until the last minute ... but they did make it to stage 3 and went around from about 200ft agl.