LUTON History and Nostalgia

[LTNman]

After doing a bit of Googling there didn't seem to be a standard car ramp for the Bristol Freighter and it was down to the airline or airport to come up with their own arrangement. The one used at Luton on the last page seems unique to Luton and looks to be made out of Meccano.

Here is another design but there seems to be many others.

[TCAS FAN]

LTNman

No, cockpit crew upstairs, PAX down the back.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by TCAS FAN

No, cockpit crew upstairs, PAX down the back.

Interesting that SOP for loading cars seems to have been a scissor-lift rather than the ramp used for the Freighter, presumably because of the Carvair's greater height.

[LTNman]

Photos of the seating arrangement on a Carvair seem quite rare but I have found this one. I like the luggage bins behind the rear seats.

[GotTheTshirt]

TCAS fan- yes sorry down stairs looking at the cars - my copilot reminded me !!

Does anyone remember the date when the Dan Air Comet overshot and ended on the grass at the the end on the Vauxhall end of the Runway ??

Also the Overbury John ?) that was killed on the test flight - his wife Elizabeth, flew for Autair

[spekesoftly]

Originally Posted by LTNman

The one used at Luton on the last page seems unique to Luton and looks to be made out of Meccano.

Or made out of its big brother - Dexion.

[noflynomore]

Were the cars weighed or did they use standard weights - presumably including a bootfull of luggage?

[Allan Lupton]

Originally Posted by noflynomore

Were the cars weighed or did they use standard weights - presumably including a bootfull of luggage?

I don't remember the car being weighed, but then I don't remember any reference list of standard weights being available.
The shipping companies did have a list of overall lengths to stop you declaring an unrealisticly short car (as they charged by length). Stood me in good stead when I found that the length of the Daimler SP250 quoted was without the optional front bumper which both the examples I used for holidays were fitted with.

[vintage ATCO]

Does anyone remember the date when the Dan Air Comet overshot and ended on the grass at the the end on the Vauxhall end of the Runway ??

Also the Overbury John ?) that was killed on the test flight - his wife Elizabeth, flew for Autair

I was on duty in the tower when the Comet slid off the end but I cannot remember the date. It occurred one evening. The runway was blocked until the next day.

John Overbury was killed on 16 Nov 1960 when Jet Provost T.2 G-AOUS disintegrated in mid-air over Langford Common, Biggleswade. I knew Elizabeth.

[Wee Clink]

Originally Posted by oftenflylo

there was a Vauxhall contract with BKS to deliver cars to Ireland/ vegetables for the London market came on the return.
I suspect the picture seen is a Vauxhall advertising example.

In Arthur Whitlock's excellent book Behind the Cockpit Door, he recounts a number of stories during his time with BKS flying the Bristol Freighter - a couple of these were about the contract flying Vauxhall cars from Luton to Belfast. Apparently the heating system in the Freighter was very temperamental, and during the Winter months pilots often had to endure hours of freezing temperatures when the heater could not be persuaded to work. One of the pilots then hit upon the idea of using the cars they were transporting to keep warm, so they took turns to climb down from the cockpit and sit in one of the cars with the engine running and heater on full blast. Apparently the draught in the Freighters cabin soon dispersed the car exhaust fumes !

Dunno how they kept warm on the return leg to Luton though with a cargo of vegetables......

[oldandbald]

Dan-Air Comet

Like Vintage ATCO (Vintage as well!) I cannot put a date on the Comet incident. However if my memory serves me correct it was ‘DD which subsequently managed an overrun at Newcastle. I did however have the interesting task of assisting the Airport Director’s secretary (Gloria) in transcribing the R/T from the reel to reel tape. Director then was C.K. Cole ‘64-’70 and his office was in the corner of the Terminal. Anyway the transcript was interesting as the language from the Captain was quite choice. When instructed to 180 and backtrack there was an immediate response of “I’m off the ***** end and I’m **** sinking “etc. Embarrassment by me “the junior” and Gloria as how to type this out. Just after the incident I was Tower controller and whilst efforts were made to remove the Comet we were given the OK to depart traffic from 08 away from the Comet. However as I departed a Monarch Brit. close to the site one of the inflatable bags being used that had been sent up from Heathrow deflated and they had to start again. I too would be interested to know the date.

[LTNman]

I can't find any mention on the internet of a comet coming off the runway at Luton. I guess it was classed as a minor incident and has slipped though the "Net"

[compton3bravo]

Regarding the Bristol Freighter could I recommend the excellent Air-Britain book on the said machine. It contains some excellent photographs and line drawings of the ramps etc. The book is not cheap but personally it is well worth the outlay.

[vintage ATCO]

I seem to remember the Comet was G-APDD now. Dan Air acquired it in Mar 1971 and it was PWFU in Apr 1973. The accident occurred during light snow fall (which may or may not have had something to do with the overrun ) so it was either winter 71/72 or 72/73; I would suggest the latter. MGC was also there.

[DaveReidUK]

I can confirm that there's no mention of the LTN incident in the CAA's annual Aircraft Accidents publications for 1971, 1972 or 1973, though there's an entry for the same aircraft's nosewheel collapse at Salzburg in August 1972 on what turned out to be its last commercial flight.

[vintage ATCO]

1971/72 then. It's not amongst the pile of reports which I have written over the years (sad, I know) so I guess I wasn't actually in a seat at the time (it wasn't me, guv, honest). Shortly before the accident I do remember someone (who shall remain nameless) uttering those immortal words "Doesn't the apron look clean, it's so white . . . " Er . . .

I have all the old ATC Watch Logs in my garage (even sadder . . .), when it's a bit warmer I may go and look.

[lotus1]

I remember a similar incident with another Danair comet with a nose wheel lock up it was diverted to manston must have been around 73/74 where it performed a foam landing remember seeing the clip on nationwide cannot not find it anywhere even on YouTube believe it was comming back from Alicante to gatwick or Luton but divered to manston where it performed a text wheels up landing

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by lotus1

I remember a similar incident with another Danair comet with a nose wheel lock up it was diverted to manston must have been around 73/74 where it performed a foam landing remember seeing the clip on nationwide cannot not find it anywhere even on YouTube believe it was comming back from Alicante to gatwick or Luton but divered to manston where it performed a text wheels up landing

19th May 1972:

[barry lloyd]

Re the Carvair. At LPL where we had the Aer Lingus variety, we used standard weights, as declared by the manufacturers (and often in the handbook), and a scissor lift.

[treadigraph]

Alright so long as you aren't loading Auric Goldfinger's Rolls Royce, eh Barry?