Pan Am DC-8 photographed low alongside A30 in ~1976 preparing to land
I live in Camberley and drive along that part of the A30 daily.
I am inclined to the view that the pic is contrived.. Asa has been pointed out the aircraft is some way beyond the famous (well locally famous) white elephant and would be over the A331 dual carriageway just south of the Meadows roundabout. Neither there back in the day. If you were headed west from the point where the picture was taken you drive mostly up hill until just short of the airfield which suggests the DC8 would be very close to the ground very quickly.
Also the weather is poor and at least today anything of any size going into Blackbushe usually joins the extended centre line a mile or more back over Camberley so to me unless the DC8 crew are really having a risky business day I have doubts about the picture . I mean did airline pilots back then really look to make 40-50 degree turns 1.5 miles from the runway in bad weather with slow to spool up first generation Prattt and Whitney JT3s at an airfield they had almost certainly never seen before with a runway of very marginal length for a dc8??
I am inclined to the view that the pic is contrived.. Asa has been pointed out the aircraft is some way beyond the famous (well locally famous) white elephant and would be over the A331 dual carriageway just south of the Meadows roundabout. Neither there back in the day. If you were headed west from the point where the picture was taken you drive mostly up hill until just short of the airfield which suggests the DC8 would be very close to the ground very quickly.
Also the weather is poor and at least today anything of any size going into Blackbushe usually joins the extended centre line a mile or more back over Camberley so to me unless the DC8 crew are really having a risky business day I have doubts about the picture . I mean did airline pilots back then really look to make 40-50 degree turns 1.5 miles from the runway in bad weather with slow to spool up first generation Prattt and Whitney JT3s at an airfield they had almost certainly never seen before with a runway of very marginal length for a dc8??
If the pic is real, then what's happening?
The elephant has always been in the same spot, at 51.33306N 0.77102W? If so, the DC-8 is just under a half-mile south of the approach course for Blackbushe runway 25. It's heading about 330 degrees true, so it needs to turn 75-80 degrees left to line up. Think they can manage that, at maybe 250 feet above the ground?
With flaps like that, the DC-8 is for sure landing -- right? No other airport it could be headed for?
The elephant has always been in the same spot, at 51.33306N 0.77102W? If so, the DC-8 is just under a half-mile south of the approach course for Blackbushe runway 25. It's heading about 330 degrees true, so it needs to turn 75-80 degrees left to line up. Think they can manage that, at maybe 250 feet above the ground?
With flaps like that, the DC-8 is for sure landing -- right? No other airport it could be headed for?
Here's a clue. It's another of Meyerowitz's from-a-car photos from his 1966 UK visit.
This one clearly isn't a fake and - surprise, surprise - it's a Pan Am DC-8, which appears to be on final approach to Heathrow (probably on 28L and likely taken as the car passed the National, now BP, filling station on the A30 at Hatton Cross):
I'd suggest that another photo of the DC-8 taken a few seconds previously would be a dead match in azimuth and elevation for the one that's been superimposed on the Camberley photo.
This one clearly isn't a fake and - surprise, surprise - it's a Pan Am DC-8, which appears to be on final approach to Heathrow (probably on 28L and likely taken as the car passed the National, now BP, filling station on the A30 at Hatton Cross):
I'd suggest that another photo of the DC-8 taken a few seconds previously would be a dead match in azimuth and elevation for the one that's been superimposed on the Camberley photo.
Here's a clue. It's another of Meyerowitz's from-a-car photos from his 1966 UK visit.
This one clearly isn't a fake and - surprise, surprise - it's a Pan Am DC-8, which appears to be on final approach to Heathrow (probably on 28L and likely taken as the car passed the National, now BP, filling station on the A30 at Hatton Cross):
I'd suggest that another photo of the DC-8 taken a few seconds previously would be a dead match in azimuth and elevation for the one that's been superimposed on the Camberley photo.
This one clearly isn't a fake and - surprise, surprise - it's a Pan Am DC-8, which appears to be on final approach to Heathrow (probably on 28L and likely taken as the car passed the National, now BP, filling station on the A30 at Hatton Cross):
I'd suggest that another photo of the DC-8 taken a few seconds previously would be a dead match in azimuth and elevation for the one that's been superimposed on the Camberley photo.
I haven't seen a 'National' Petroleum sign for quite some years (no surprise), but seeing that one has brought back a mini-flood of memories of seeing them in many locations back in the day, they were yellow/white on blue if memory serves. Glad to see that London Transport (TfL now) have kept their iconic signage.
I'm glad we've been able to put to bed the PanAm DC-8 landing at Blackbush possibility ;-)
I'm glad we've been able to put to bed the PanAm DC-8 landing at Blackbush possibility ;-)
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,618
Received 294 Likes
on
162 Posts
