Mosquito Squadron
Correct.
After the hangar roof collapse, Charles Church acquired from a farm in Canada, the fuselage of Lancaster KB994 to use in the rebuild of KB976. Kermit Weeks acquired this along with all the non-damaged bits of KB976 as a job lot, and which is still all packed in the shipping crate, that it all arrived in in Florida some 30+ years ago.
The roof damaged mid-section of KB976's fuselage went to Australia for use in the rebuild of a Lincoln at Moorabbin. And the damaged rearmost section of KB976's fuselage is (or was) on display at Aeroventure in Doncaster.
After the hangar roof collapse, Charles Church acquired from a farm in Canada, the fuselage of Lancaster KB994 to use in the rebuild of KB976. Kermit Weeks acquired this along with all the non-damaged bits of KB976 as a job lot, and which is still all packed in the shipping crate, that it all arrived in in Florida some 30+ years ago.
The roof damaged mid-section of KB976's fuselage went to Australia for use in the rebuild of a Lincoln at Moorabbin. And the damaged rearmost section of KB976's fuselage is (or was) on display at Aeroventure in Doncaster.
Edit: if the Youtube videos don't want to play along, go to Kermit's YT channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/KermitWeeks444/videos
To continue thread drift, that seems to fit historically: I think I remember that in the 1920s, when the Hummingbird was new, Geoffrey de Havilland was flying one home across Belgium when he was overtaken by a goods train.
It was the Hummingbird that finally convinced Geoffrey de Havilland that motorcycle engines or similar were never going to be any good to power a practical light aircraft.
Off he went to Frank Halford with the idea for the Cirrus.
Off he went to Frank Halford with the idea for the Cirrus.
Second thoughts, maybe that was the EE Wren I'm thinking of.
Last edited by chevvron; 28th Sep 2022 at 10:56.
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You mean Hatfield, not Henlow (as related in "Airborne" by Neil Williams). I was working at Hatfield at the time (73 or 74, I think) and saw him take-off for the leg to Old Warden. Henlow was mentioned in the story because he saw Henlow airfield, flew on for some minutes, looked down and saw an airfield, then realised that it was STILL Henlow!!
BTW, in fact, I worked with you Allan when I was at Hatfield! We used to pop up to the Waggoners(?) for a sandwich/beer at lunchtime in your Marcos Mini.
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Getting back to the 633 Mosquito thread
During that time, Taffy Rich was one of my flying instructors at the Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club, RAF Swanton Morley.
As well as Taffy there were other instructors, and the CFI who came with a wealth of WW2 flying experience that I can discuss later.
However, Taffy could be described as a " fiery little Welshman", but he had a wealth of experience flying spitfires in the high altitude reconnaissance role during WW2.
He owned a 2 seat Spitfire and he always told me that he would take me up in it one day.
The machine was kept in a hangar at RAF Swanton Morley and I went to see it every time I was at the airfield,
Then requirements of his insurance was that any passengers had to have a PPL, and as my PPL training was a bit elongated, by the time I had achieved it, unfortunately for me Taffy had been forced to sell his spitfire, so, no back seat spitfire rides for me.
During this time the film 633 squadron was being made and the mosquitoes would occasionally arrive at Swanton.
At the time I was working at a well known department store in the center of Norwich and one afternoon the peaceful sky above Norwich was disturbed by three mossies', led by Taffy showing the city what the mossies' were all about.
It was a short lived, but remarkable display that stopped everyone in their tracks.
Yarmouth
During that time, Taffy Rich was one of my flying instructors at the Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club, RAF Swanton Morley.
As well as Taffy there were other instructors, and the CFI who came with a wealth of WW2 flying experience that I can discuss later.
However, Taffy could be described as a " fiery little Welshman", but he had a wealth of experience flying spitfires in the high altitude reconnaissance role during WW2.
He owned a 2 seat Spitfire and he always told me that he would take me up in it one day.
The machine was kept in a hangar at RAF Swanton Morley and I went to see it every time I was at the airfield,
Then requirements of his insurance was that any passengers had to have a PPL, and as my PPL training was a bit elongated, by the time I had achieved it, unfortunately for me Taffy had been forced to sell his spitfire, so, no back seat spitfire rides for me.
During this time the film 633 squadron was being made and the mosquitoes would occasionally arrive at Swanton.
At the time I was working at a well known department store in the center of Norwich and one afternoon the peaceful sky above Norwich was disturbed by three mossies', led by Taffy showing the city what the mossies' were all about.
It was a short lived, but remarkable display that stopped everyone in their tracks.
Yarmouth
There was a very nice display of the Wren earlier this year at Old Warden. Did several circuits of the airfield at a height of 20-30 feet or so. It was actually quite impressive for something with so little power.
Yarmouth , fully agree with AQ, UK, GF ... [ don't know OU ? ] Ops .. Keep 'em coming .
Read Taffy Rich [ a name I'd not heard in 50 yrs ] and realised S.M. connection .
As a land scout won an Air scout Nav badge ,[ course in the running Valleta at Horsham St Faith , ''NWI'' ] , top 3 got to Nav. a flt of 3 a/c from SM on a flyby of a Scout fete in NW 'Naarfick .
Was in a Rallye , me in back Naving . " Pilots , FIs , scout leaders up front... Taffy Rich ? Would have been '66-'68 ish..
Got to fly myself out of Felthorpe and Seething after '71.
Yarmouth , is that the 'Naaridge equivalent of H.A. Rods .... J.AR. Rolds ? Dad was a printer with them for 40 + yrs .
GeeRam , remember that shot in the Daily Express when it happened all those years ago .
Mossy connection , seeing Kermit Weeks a/c being prepped and air tested out of Booker , before ferrying to the US in the '80s.
rgds condor .
Read Taffy Rich [ a name I'd not heard in 50 yrs ] and realised S.M. connection .
As a land scout won an Air scout Nav badge ,[ course in the running Valleta at Horsham St Faith , ''NWI'' ] , top 3 got to Nav. a flt of 3 a/c from SM on a flyby of a Scout fete in NW 'Naarfick .
Was in a Rallye , me in back Naving . " Pilots , FIs , scout leaders up front... Taffy Rich ? Would have been '66-'68 ish..
Got to fly myself out of Felthorpe and Seething after '71.
Yarmouth , is that the 'Naaridge equivalent of H.A. Rods .... J.AR. Rolds ? Dad was a printer with them for 40 + yrs .
GeeRam , remember that shot in the Daily Express when it happened all those years ago .
Mossy connection , seeing Kermit Weeks a/c being prepped and air tested out of Booker , before ferrying to the US in the '80s.
rgds condor .
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Condor 17
Yes it was Jarrolds..
I did a stint there before moving on to BY at LTN.
My job was to gather up school books that had been ordered by schools all over the eastern counties.
Once gathered books/ pens/pencils were all sent to the packing department for packaging and posting.
The packaging department was manned by 2 gents who were dispatched downstairs to be father Christmas's during the Christmas season.
These gents also did printing from memory so one may have been your father.
OU was Court Line.
Yarmouth
Yes it was Jarrolds..
I did a stint there before moving on to BY at LTN.
My job was to gather up school books that had been ordered by schools all over the eastern counties.
Once gathered books/ pens/pencils were all sent to the packing department for packaging and posting.
The packaging department was manned by 2 gents who were dispatched downstairs to be father Christmas's during the Christmas season.
These gents also did printing from memory so one may have been your father.
OU was Court Line.
Yarmouth
I owned a Monnet Moni in 1986; 30 bhp 2 stroke similar to the Hummingbird (don't know what the 'RAC' HP rating was) and cruised at about 90mph so it can be done. I remember someone flying the Hummingbird at Farnbrough in (I think) 1970; I was there as a spectator 4 years before I was posted in there. It only managed a straight flight then landed at the far end of the runway!
Second thoughts, maybe that was the EE Wren I'm thinking of.
Second thoughts, maybe that was the EE Wren I'm thinking of.
Yarmouth 1010 - Scuse the thread drift. But my first job before I joined Autair at LTN was as an assistant at Weatherhead's Bookshop in Aylesbury . They had the contract to supply all the Library and School Books for North Bucks. I used to spend one day a week delivering books to village schools all over North Bucks, in those days a beautiful unspoilt county. Weatherhead's paid for my Driving Lessons - I drove a Hillman Husky Estate.
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OUAQUKGF Ops.
I have a distinct feeling we have met in the past;
However, returning to; the Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club, RAF Swanton Morley.
As I mentioned earlier the CFI was a local business man. His name was Peter M and he had completed two tours in bomber command, his second tour being a master bomber in the Pathfinder Force on the Lancaster and I believe Mosquitoes. He had been awarded the DFC.
Peter was involved in some of my PPL training and his name is in my log book when he signed me off to fly the MS 880B Rallye and the DH Chipmonk..
Peter also gave me some oportunites to be involved in his later operation at NWI.
The company was called BY Air and I did some aircraft cleaning and some office work in return for RHS rides wherever possible.
I have just checked my log book and on 1st Sept 1970 I was sitting in the RHS in G-AVJG a C337 en-route St, Mawgan - NWI and Peter was flying.
As we came abeam Bristol, ATC said to look down to our left and we we see one of the development Concordes downwind for Filton.
We looked down and there she was, slowly overtaking us about 1000 below, So, would you believe it, this was the one occasion when I did not have my camera with me and was not able to take some air-to-air shots with a Concorde.
Another memory of Peter was the rollicking I got when I arrived back from a local flight and having refueled and put the aircraft away I was hauled over the coals for taxing too fast. Peter said, tongue in cheek, that I had been taxing like an instructor.
Another story about Peter was, a few years later he was aware of my job in BY Ops and he called me to say that he and his wife were travelling on a BY flight to Spain on Holiday and could we meet up prior to his flight.
Unfortunately I could not meet him that day, so I asked one of the girls in the terminal if they could look after him and his wife.
They certainly did that and I received a letter a few weeks later thanking the traffic staff and the flight crew for they way they looked after them during their check in and subsequent flight.
Peter was an absolute gentleman and I feel proud to have known him.
The BY traffic girl who looked after him, also contacted me and said what a delight it had been to look after a gentleman such as Peter M.
It was all a long time ago and I am not sure if Peter is still with us. The last I knew of him was he and his wife had retired to the Isle Of Sky to run a pub.
Yarmouth
I have a distinct feeling we have met in the past;
However, returning to; the Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club, RAF Swanton Morley.
As I mentioned earlier the CFI was a local business man. His name was Peter M and he had completed two tours in bomber command, his second tour being a master bomber in the Pathfinder Force on the Lancaster and I believe Mosquitoes. He had been awarded the DFC.
Peter was involved in some of my PPL training and his name is in my log book when he signed me off to fly the MS 880B Rallye and the DH Chipmonk..
Peter also gave me some oportunites to be involved in his later operation at NWI.
The company was called BY Air and I did some aircraft cleaning and some office work in return for RHS rides wherever possible.
I have just checked my log book and on 1st Sept 1970 I was sitting in the RHS in G-AVJG a C337 en-route St, Mawgan - NWI and Peter was flying.
As we came abeam Bristol, ATC said to look down to our left and we we see one of the development Concordes downwind for Filton.
We looked down and there she was, slowly overtaking us about 1000 below, So, would you believe it, this was the one occasion when I did not have my camera with me and was not able to take some air-to-air shots with a Concorde.
Another memory of Peter was the rollicking I got when I arrived back from a local flight and having refueled and put the aircraft away I was hauled over the coals for taxing too fast. Peter said, tongue in cheek, that I had been taxing like an instructor.
Another story about Peter was, a few years later he was aware of my job in BY Ops and he called me to say that he and his wife were travelling on a BY flight to Spain on Holiday and could we meet up prior to his flight.
Unfortunately I could not meet him that day, so I asked one of the girls in the terminal if they could look after him and his wife.
They certainly did that and I received a letter a few weeks later thanking the traffic staff and the flight crew for they way they looked after them during their check in and subsequent flight.
Peter was an absolute gentleman and I feel proud to have known him.
The BY traffic girl who looked after him, also contacted me and said what a delight it had been to look after a gentleman such as Peter M.
It was all a long time ago and I am not sure if Peter is still with us. The last I knew of him was he and his wife had retired to the Isle Of Sky to run a pub.
Yarmouth
OUAQUKGF Ops.
.
As we came abeam Bristol, ATC said to look down to our left and we we see one of the development Concordes downwind for Filton.
We looked down and there she was, slowly overtaking us about 1000 below, So, would you believe it, this was the one occasion when I did not have my camera with me and was not able to take some air-to-air shots with a Concorde.
.
As we came abeam Bristol, ATC said to look down to our left and we we see one of the development Concordes downwind for Filton.
We looked down and there she was, slowly overtaking us about 1000 below, So, would you believe it, this was the one occasion when I did not have my camera with me and was not able to take some air-to-air shots with a Concorde.
NB We weren't supposed to carry cameras with us either in RAE or on flights so don't tell on me.
