LUTON History and Nostalgia

[LTNman]

The car park in 1969

[rog747]

may i ask did invicta ever use their Britannia a/c on IT charters from LTN on passenger flights ever or were they cargo and freight only


they were one of the later UK operators of the type after Britannia BKS Laker LLoyd British Eagle BUA Caledonian Donaldon Transglobe and Monarch and Tellair


thanks

[ATNotts]

The car park in 1969

How about a Christmas competition?

How many non-UK manufactured cars can you identify from the picture?

I can see a couple of VW Beetles and a VW Camper Van, but at first look I can't see many others. Plenty of BMC (Austin / Morris) 1100/1300s and lots of now defunct British marques.

How times change.

[Level bust]

Were the rates low enough that passengers could afford to leave their cars there in "long term parking"?

I may be wrong (I was only 10 in 1967!), but wasn't the car park opposite the teminal the only parking available. Although I vaguely remember that one of the hangars round the back was used for undercover parking at some point.

[LTNman]

may i ask did invicta ever use their Britannia a/c on IT charters from LTN

I can only remember them using Vanguards.

[LTNman]

I may be wrong (I was only 10 in 1967!), but wasn't the car park opposite the teminal the only parking available. Although I vaguely remember that one of the hangars round the back was used for undercover parking at some point.

That was Luton Undercover Airport Parking AKA Central Car Storage. They are still going and have a compound by the railway track in Kimpton Road.

They were in one of three T2 WW2 hangers that can been seen at the top of the page on the left of the photo and were set back from the road after being separated from the apron. Two of those hangars are still in place

[HZ123]

I am sure Vanguards was as far as they progressed !

[Level bust]

I am sure Vanguards was as far as they progressed !

They did have a couple of Boeing 720s for a short while, but I can't remember if they ever operated services from Luton.

[staircase]

Under cover parking - yeah right. A couple of my mates worked for a car parking company at the airport at that time, and two points;

1. The 'punter' dropped his car off at the under cover point and parked, and as soon as his fight had left the car was transferred to a field over towards Eaton Green until the day before his return, when it was driven back under cover.

2. I was always being picked up for a trip to the pub in the latest model of some up market motor on Friday and/or Saturday night!

[rog747]

re Britannia 300 series passenger services on Invicta many thanks but I have seen a photo now of one with passenger steps on and pax boarding at Pisa!

re the 720B's they bought 2 from AA G-BCBA & G-BCBB but that one never saw Invicta colours AFAIK - it went to Somali airlines and Deta on lease amongst other users and owners were Tempair Cyprus air Malta monarch air Ceylon and Maof

- Boeing 720-023B - Monarch Airlines | Aviation Photo #0120865 | Airliners.net

the other one was in Invicta colours and BOTH had the Boeing mods done with the 2 extra over-wing exits like Monarchs to enable 170Y pax

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untit...oBRUAuuA%3D%3D

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by staircase

The 'punter' dropped his car off at the under cover point and parked, and as soon as his fight had left the car was transferred to a field over towards Eaton Green until the day before his return, when it was driven back under cover.

A bit like what happens nowadays (allegedly) with some of the Gatwick valet parking operators.

I don't suppose their customers' cars have much fight left in them either.

[Buster the Bear]

G-ARXJ C-54B Skymaster and was once operated by Trans Meridian. During 1967 the aircraft was sold to Panama. Full history is - C/N 18370, C-54B-10-DO as 43-17170 for USAAF, next reg. as XT-100, next reg. as N8344C, N4270, N100J, G-ARXJ, HP-451, OO-FAK reserved NTU, [WFU].

[LTNman]

I can see a couple of VW Beetles and a VW Camper Van,

I think you have covered it!

[noflynomore]

What's lurking in the distance beneath the engines with a tiptank and apparently military roundels?

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by noflynomore

What's lurking in the distance beneath the engines with a tiptank and apparently military roundels?

I'd say it's a JP, with what could be a Devon behind it.

[22/04]

Invicta only used Brits for cargo ops AFAIK. G-AOVF c.'76-78) and G-ANCF (c.78-80), I think- only ever saw one at Manston. They leased 'NCF when it was still owned by Monarch- ( and still in Monarch c/s) - this was the last Monarch Britannia used largely for the Woomera run. And to my knowledge these were the last aircraft Invicta operated. Sq Ldr Kennard must have been "getting on a bit" by then I suspect having been involved with Air Ferry and Invicta and others before that - an early "serial entrepreneur".

[LTNman]

What's lurking in the distance beneath the engines with a tiptank and apparently military roundels?

This is the best I can do

[jumpseater]

Looks like an RAF Jet Provost

[compton3bravo]

Regarding Invicta they used there Vanguards on a number of services from Luton including flights to Basel for Blue Cars holidays, regular UK forces relative flights to Dusseldorf and numerous day trips. Boeing 720 G-BCBA was painted in full Invicta International colours and used on numerous charters from Luton. I remember the flight deck crew saying they used QNH operation for landing and take-off which was one of the first I heard over the radio in the mid-1970s. I think the crews were employed by Templewood Aviation (Tempair). For those interested you can construct a 1/144th scale model B720 with Invicta decals.

[22/04]

Three Jet Provosts?