Air Pictorial scans
Ahem, ... was a beauty!
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I like to keep my rose-tinted spectacles positive!
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Noteworthy that in the BOAC Britannia 102 sequence G-ANBA to 'BO there is no 'BG registered. Internet research shows photo evidence of 'BG in BOAC colours but the aircraft was later re-registered as G-APLL. Some sources suggest the change was demanded by superstitious pilots who were not keen to fly an aircraft whose reggie was an acronym for 'No Bloody Good'. Unable to establish whether this is merely an aviation myth.
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Thread Starter
The (free access) 1957 spotters' book 'Know Your Airliners' has been re-formatted and is now more user-friendly.
Noteworthy that in the BOAC Britannia 102 sequence G-ANBA to 'BO there is no 'BG registered. Internet research shows photo evidence of 'BG in BOAC colours but the aircraft was later re-registered as G-APLL. Some sources suggest the change was demanded by superstitious pilots who were not keen to fly an aircraft whose reggie was an acronym for 'No Bloody Good'. Unable to establish whether this is merely an aviation myth.
Looking through the list of registrations above, one may wonder why the registration G-ARVD was never allocated to a VC10. A logical answer would be that this one was already in use, but BOAC obviously used 'blocks' of registrations so surely this one would have been included. The true answer was revealed in the August 2003 issue of 'Aeroplane' by Mike Stroud in a review of a book about the Bristol Britannia. The seventh Series 102 Britannia was re-registered G-APLL in favour of its original registration of G-ANBG, and this was due to an overly puritanical lady in charge of allocating registrations at the ARB who felt that this would encourage disrespect and swearing ("No Bloody Good"). For some reason she let through G-AOVD for a Series 312 Britannia, but later on the intended G-ARVD was never allocated as she felt that the last two letters were equally unacceptable in nice company.
I'm not sure whether I still have that issue of Aeroplane lying about... but that's where I found it.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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A J Jackson has it "stored in Sevenoaks" in 1972. I no longer have any Air Britain registers which might have had some more info if it still survives; it was cancelled by the CAA in 1991, the late owner lived in Underriver. I suspect it may have been disposed by somebody who knew not what they were doing but you never know.
A J Jackson has it "stored in Sevenoaks" in 1972. I no longer have any Air Britain registers which might have had some more info if it still survives; it was cancelled by the CAA in 1991, the late owner lived in Underriver. I suspect it may have been disposed by somebody who knew not what they were doing but you never know.
It was seen in Coventry in 1968:
Thank you both for responses. Interested to see the photograph in Coventry. It still appears on G-INFO with the "Underriver" address and owner shown as "deceased". The whereabouts of the a/c have always intrigued me. Over the years I have expected it to reappear as someone's rebuild project (looks like it very nearly achieved that status, hence it's presence in Coventry) or possibly as some skeletal remains in a museum.... It receives a mention in W&Rs 7, 8 ; 9, one report as "just a fuselage". "Reading between the lines" I suspect the wings were w/o / destroyed in the hangar collapse at White Waltham in 1962. Not impossible to have built a new pair of wings. Still wonder what, if anything has survived some fifty years on.. /><br />
Last edited by Planemike; 4th Nov 2023 at 19:27.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Fuselage certainly looks in quite good nick there! Wooden wings I presume?
Cant believe anybody would have junked but I guess if serious rot had set in... Sort of thing that the late Ron Souch or his son Mike would have happily added to the queue. Perhaps Mike has...?
Cant believe anybody would have junked but I guess if serious rot had set in... Sort of thing that the late Ron Souch or his son Mike would have happily added to the queue. Perhaps Mike has...?
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I have a recollection of seeing 'XK (dismantled) at Biggin Hill in 1959 or thereabouts during a visit with three school chums (it's underlined in red ink in my Ian Allan). Not sure of the ident of this a/c. The 7-seater Prentice?
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Looks like G-AOLR, 'OMF or most likely 'PIU which seems to have joined S&K at Biggin in 1959 - the other two appeared there in '60.
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PS......<br />Many thanks Discorde for putting the scans on here. Both interesting and useful.... PM<br />
Last edited by Planemike; 5th Nov 2023 at 11:47.
Noteworthy that in the BOAC Britannia 102 sequence G-ANBA to 'BO there is no 'BG registered. Internet research shows photo evidence of 'BG in BOAC colours but the aircraft was later re-registered as G-APLL. Some sources suggest the change was demanded by superstitious pilots who were not keen to fly an aircraft whose reggie was an acronym for 'No Bloody Good'. Unable to establish whether this is merely an aviation myth.
Last edited by Planemike; 5th Nov 2023 at 11:36.
See my post #45 above. We can't ask Mike Stroud anymore, but I'm willing to believe the statement.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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G-ASVD, ATVD, AVVD appear not to have been allocated either, didn't look any further.