LUTON History and Nostalgia
aceatco, retired
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In post #2886 LTNman posted a pic of a Tempest and Lincoln in a hangar but some of us doubted it was Luton as we couldn’t recognise the hangar. The following pic has been posted elsewhere and the back of the pic clearly identifies it as Luton.
Nov 1945
By looking at aerial pics of the period I think I have identified where it is. In the following two pics I think that long hangar is on the right of both pics and the two black hangars on the right in the first pic must be the rear of hangars 24 and 26.
1951
1946
Anyone disagree? 😊
Nov 1945
By looking at aerial pics of the period I think I have identified where it is. In the following two pics I think that long hangar is on the right of both pics and the two black hangars on the right in the first pic must be the rear of hangars 24 and 26.
1951
1946Anyone disagree? 😊
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I concur, all three hangars are still there. Google Earth Satellite verifies this. Either H 24 or 26 still has the rails in the floor for the dollies to allow the Napier Lincoln to be hangared sideways.
Tempsford
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When Autair got the Vikings from Germany ( D-BONE ?? and D-BORA ??) they decide to cut costs - By crew training at Panshanger.!
All went well until on a T&G they retracted the gear but the aircraft sank and the props clipped the ground. As the prop tips bent back and the aircraft “ settled” they selected the gear back down. Grass airfield so no one hurt ( only pride!) When we go there the aircraft was sitting on its belly and props bent. We thought OK pump the gear down and drag it clear. Jacked it up and pumped the gear down but it would not extend ???. Pulled the nacelle panels off and behold – The gear actuators had fully extended but the gear was already being pushed up into the nacelle. The gear rams had fully extended but the gear was fully retracted so the shiny portion of the rams were like a trombone !!
All went well until on a T&G they retracted the gear but the aircraft sank and the props clipped the ground. As the prop tips bent back and the aircraft “ settled” they selected the gear back down. Grass airfield so no one hurt ( only pride!) When we go there the aircraft was sitting on its belly and props bent. We thought OK pump the gear down and drag it clear. Jacked it up and pumped the gear down but it would not extend ???. Pulled the nacelle panels off and behold – The gear actuators had fully extended but the gear was already being pushed up into the nacelle. The gear rams had fully extended but the gear was fully retracted so the shiny portion of the rams were like a trombone !!
From photographic evidence, the only 707/720s that lacked the HF probe were US domestic aircraft, specifically, American's 720s (but not their 707-120s), United's 720s and TWA's 707-120s. As far as I'm aware all other 707/720s had the probe.
TWA retrofitted a couple of early 707's with tail HF Antennas for transatlantic ops. They were removed when the a/c returned to domestic duties
Some 707's had a second HF Antenna (not probe) on the R/H wing to allow a dual HF set-up
TWA retrofitted a couple of early 707's with tail HF Antennas for transatlantic ops. They were removed when the a/c returned to domestic duties
Some 707's had a second HF Antenna (not probe) on the R/H wing to allow a dual HF set-up
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Yesterday on itv4 the protectors.Good old shots of Courtlines hangar and Aircraft.Robert Vaughan collected a packet from Courtlines Navajo G.AYEI. Also in the background invicta vanguard a couple of Britannias old Brits and also a Donaldson Bri. The Nostalgia could have been 71/72 the registration on van used in film was the letter J.
GotTheTshirt - very interesting post about Autair Viking training at Panshanger.
Do you recall the same sort of thing happening again to an Autair Viking at Stansted whilst on a training detail? The late John Handley was one of the crew and he told me that the Stansted SATCO roared up to the aircraft in his Land Rover and loudly berated the crew for damaging "my grass" - sod the damage to the aircraft or any cuts and bruises to the crew. This would have been well prior to 1966 when I joined Autair. I suppose it could well be the same incident and John muddled up Stansted and Panshanger but I think not. On reflection I remember John saying that one of the main landing gears collapsed on landing and they swerved off the Runway. The SATCO's first arm-waving words to the crew were "Look what you've done to my grass! Look Look!"
Do you recall the same sort of thing happening again to an Autair Viking at Stansted whilst on a training detail? The late John Handley was one of the crew and he told me that the Stansted SATCO roared up to the aircraft in his Land Rover and loudly berated the crew for damaging "my grass" - sod the damage to the aircraft or any cuts and bruises to the crew. This would have been well prior to 1966 when I joined Autair. I suppose it could well be the same incident and John muddled up Stansted and Panshanger but I think not. On reflection I remember John saying that one of the main landing gears collapsed on landing and they swerved off the Runway. The SATCO's first arm-waving words to the crew were "Look what you've done to my grass! Look Look!"
Last edited by OUAQUKGF Ops; 16th Mar 2018 at 16:43. Reason: Grey Cell Activity
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In post #2886 LTNman posted a pic of a Tempest and Lincoln in a hangar but some of us doubted it was Luton as we couldn’t recognise the hangar. The following pic has been posted elsewhere and the back of the pic clearly identifies it as Luton.
post 2886
Yes well spotted. Even the camouflage lines up
post 2886
Yes well spotted. Even the camouflage lines up
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Ops, I remember John Handley but not the Stansted event.
There was a Stansted event that ATCO may remember. The Airspeed Amabassadors had a quite large nose cone that was hinged at the top and had a toggle type fastener at the bottom. It was access for the hydraulic sysytems and some radio equipment. Normally it was locked closed of course but in normal flight airflow kept it closed anyway. The aircraft departed Luton for crew training. I think that the captain was Stezeyak ? and Liz Overbury was copilot training. All went well until the stall !! The cone opened fully and smashed against the windshield. Quite a mess and of course the drag/ turbulence must have been pretty daunting!. Anyway they diverted to Stansted and landed OK. !
There was a Stansted event that ATCO may remember. The Airspeed Amabassadors had a quite large nose cone that was hinged at the top and had a toggle type fastener at the bottom. It was access for the hydraulic sysytems and some radio equipment. Normally it was locked closed of course but in normal flight airflow kept it closed anyway. The aircraft departed Luton for crew training. I think that the captain was Stezeyak ? and Liz Overbury was copilot training. All went well until the stall !! The cone opened fully and smashed against the windshield. Quite a mess and of course the drag/ turbulence must have been pretty daunting!. Anyway they diverted to Stansted and landed OK. !
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Yesterday on itv4 the protectors.Good old shots of Courtlines hangar and Aircraft.Robert Vaughan collected a packet from Courtlines Navajo G.AYEI. Also in the background invicta vanguard a couple of Britannias old Brits and also a Donaldson Bri. The Nostalgia could have been 71/72 the registration on van used in film was the letter J.
Regarding the incident with the Ambassador nose cone the late Liz Overbury described it thus in Graham Simons' book 'Colours in The Sky':
"They were interesting times flying with Autair. On an early qualifying flight aboard the beautiful Airspeed Ambassador I was doing a series of stalls in an area between Luton and Stansted, flying with Captain Jan Szczesiak, when the nose-cone came loose and flipped up against the windshield, totally obscuring his view and much of mine. He was marvellous, briefing me to call directions left, straight ahead, or right and calling out what I thought of height from my view down to the landing, when the cone went down and he could see to control the aircraft on the landing run and taxi.
I had many flights with Jan, and as we both shared a love of animals, he showed me many European zoos when we had stop-overs. I could never understand why he ate so quickly and walked so fast until I found he had been a prisoner of war - it must have played hell with his life. He never mentioned these times to me, but otherwise I found him a real joy to fly with and he happily shared a wealth of flying knowledge with me - sadly he is no longer with us. I could never three-point a Viking, but I did get the knack of feather-bedding the Ambassador and the One-Eleven!"
"They were interesting times flying with Autair. On an early qualifying flight aboard the beautiful Airspeed Ambassador I was doing a series of stalls in an area between Luton and Stansted, flying with Captain Jan Szczesiak, when the nose-cone came loose and flipped up against the windshield, totally obscuring his view and much of mine. He was marvellous, briefing me to call directions left, straight ahead, or right and calling out what I thought of height from my view down to the landing, when the cone went down and he could see to control the aircraft on the landing run and taxi.
I had many flights with Jan, and as we both shared a love of animals, he showed me many European zoos when we had stop-overs. I could never understand why he ate so quickly and walked so fast until I found he had been a prisoner of war - it must have played hell with his life. He never mentioned these times to me, but otherwise I found him a real joy to fly with and he happily shared a wealth of flying knowledge with me - sadly he is no longer with us. I could never three-point a Viking, but I did get the knack of feather-bedding the Ambassador and the One-Eleven!"
Bill Buxton's (Autair's Engineering Director) Bone Yard Circa 1963? Ambassador G-AMAF was purchased by Autair for spares. Click on image to see this and images from the heyday of British Charter Companies. PhotoCredit Tony Clarke Collection.
Last edited by OUAQUKGF Ops; 18th Mar 2018 at 12:14. Reason: Add Photocredit.
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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From photographic evidence, the only 707/720s that lacked the HF probe were US domestic aircraft, specifically, American's 720s (but not their 707-120s), United's 720s and TWA's 707-120s. As far as I'm aware all other 707/720s had the probe.
TWA retrofitted a couple of early 707's with tail HF Antennas for transatlantic ops. They were removed when the a/c returned to domestic duties
Some 707's had a second HF Antenna (not probe) on the R/H wing to allow a dual HF set-up
TWA retrofitted a couple of early 707's with tail HF Antennas for transatlantic ops. They were removed when the a/c returned to domestic duties
Some 707's had a second HF Antenna (not probe) on the R/H wing to allow a dual HF set-up
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BOAC 707-436's for s start used to have them, certainly in the early days. I only know this because I remember it on my Airfix model from 50 years ago!
Boeing 707-436 - BOAC | Aviation Photo #1538434 | Airliners.net
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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G-BCBA and G-BCBB were Boeing 720-023Bs, inherited from Invicta and passed on to Maof. I flew both of them with Monarch, and had to do a half day differences course in order to do so.
There was also the Boeing 707-123B G-BGCT which I also flew with Monarch, which went to Cyprus Airways.
There was also the Boeing 707-123B G-BGCT which I also flew with Monarch, which went to Cyprus Airways.
Bill Buxton's (Autair's Engineering Director) Bone Yard Circa 1963? Ambassador G-AMAF was purchased by Autair for spares. Click on image to see this and images from the heyday of British Charter Companies. PhotoCredit Tony Clarke Collection.
https://flic.kr/p/9jjGVG
https://flic.kr/p/9jjGVG
ZeBedie that's a good idea. Perhaps you would like to do it. I suggest you contact D.C.W. or Tony Clarke first.
This is an old post that I have found on PPrune which refers to the photos mentioned above by you.
D.C.W.
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I notice a reference to the old photos on my Flickr pages.
The pics from the 1950's and 1960's are mostly quick scans from a collection of negatives taken by an enthusiast called Gerald Lawrance. He was based in the Cambridge area, and travelled a lot throughout East Anglia and the South East. The earliest shots are from 1948, when he was a teenager, and come from Airshows as well as airports and smaller airfields. They cover a very wide spectrum of types both military and civil, and although they are of variable quality, the 4000 odd negatives make up a significant archive.
When Gerald died, the collection went to Tony Clarke (who is very much still with us ). Since his recent retirement, Tony has spent a lot of time scanning and researching the photos. We both felt the pictures deserved a wide audience, and I have been adding them to my Flickr Photostream and posting selections on the Flypast Forum. There are still a lot more to be worked through. It is frustrating that very little information on exact dates and locations has survived, and research has been very time consuming.
So if you like Geminis and Messengers, Beaufighters and Valiants, Bristol Freighters and Tudors, take a look at:
Flickr: David Whitworth's Photostream
The pictures are of variable quality, and you will have to put up with my own more modern sets, but if anyone can add to the (limited) research, I would be grateful for info via Flickr or E-mail.
Thanks for the opportunity to plug the link, I wish I could claim more credit for the photos.
DCW
This is an old post that I have found on PPrune which refers to the photos mentioned above by you.
D.C.W.
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 5
I notice a reference to the old photos on my Flickr pages.
The pics from the 1950's and 1960's are mostly quick scans from a collection of negatives taken by an enthusiast called Gerald Lawrance. He was based in the Cambridge area, and travelled a lot throughout East Anglia and the South East. The earliest shots are from 1948, when he was a teenager, and come from Airshows as well as airports and smaller airfields. They cover a very wide spectrum of types both military and civil, and although they are of variable quality, the 4000 odd negatives make up a significant archive.
When Gerald died, the collection went to Tony Clarke (who is very much still with us ). Since his recent retirement, Tony has spent a lot of time scanning and researching the photos. We both felt the pictures deserved a wide audience, and I have been adding them to my Flickr Photostream and posting selections on the Flypast Forum. There are still a lot more to be worked through. It is frustrating that very little information on exact dates and locations has survived, and research has been very time consuming.
So if you like Geminis and Messengers, Beaufighters and Valiants, Bristol Freighters and Tudors, take a look at:
Flickr: David Whitworth's Photostream
The pictures are of variable quality, and you will have to put up with my own more modern sets, but if anyone can add to the (limited) research, I would be grateful for info via Flickr or E-mail.
Thanks for the opportunity to plug the link, I wish I could claim more credit for the photos.
DCW
Last edited by OUAQUKGF Ops; 18th Mar 2018 at 17:33.
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As well as the four former AA 707-123Bs, Monarch also operated two ex-American 720-023Bs G-BCBA/B in the late 1970s.