Aldridge
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I remember meeting you there but ISTR ICL then operated from a portacbin on the east side of 14/32..............?

Can any of you remember why Blackbushe closed to the larger airliners in the late fifties?
Was it competition from the newly reopened Gatwick?
I've seen loads of pictured of Vikings Hermes etc. Theres even a commercially available DVD with about a thirty second clip in colour of the same types in 1957.

I remember seeing pics of Globemasters and the like there in the 50s... happy days I should imagine!

Mike Stapp - I know the name, was he a regular on one of the Flying magazines?

I was there during Farnborough week in 1980. We were standing at the end of the runway (26?) by the fence. Jeff Hawke took one of Doug Arnold's Ju-52s for a stagger around the circuit (having first uprooted it I should imagine - it hadn't moved in two or three years). I think he reached the aeroplane's ceiling at about 500'. His approach cleared the fence - about chest height on me - by about... well, the wheel was just about on a level with my face! Well, that's how I remember it anyway!

bean.. I can't speak with any authority, even having worked there in the 60s and having lived close by for 24 years. I guess there was a feeling at the time that Heathrow was better equipped in every way so there was no need for Blackbushe. Also, I do vaguely recall someone mentioning severe fog problems at Blackers.. It wouldn't matter nowadays and I've never noticed it to be any worse than, for example, at Heathrow..

It's an interesting place (and far better now than the tip where I worked). There are several public footpaths across runways, although I guess they have been closed off somehow. When I worked there in the mid 60s a local gent insisted on riding his horse across the airfield every morning to preserve the right of way! This behaviour used to cause the then SATCO to have frequent convulsions..

The ancient 'Drovers' route' right-of-way still exists. Look out for the westbound gate in the southeast corner of the apron. Obtain the key from the office when you wish to drive your cattle to market. Expect to be escorted in the interest of safety!

Interesting thread indeed.

Wasn't one of the r.o.w.'s over the Reading end not named, officially or otherwise, for Hollie Birkett, owner of Auster G-APKL and founder of the Austin 7 club?
Stuart Marshall is still there, he and I were anoraks in the fifties and sixties. I remember AVM giving us kids talks about his exploits in the clubroom, the bar on the corner of the building. Enthralling stuff, no matter what he was like as a bloke. He gave us a Proctor to play with, expected us to restore it, all it got was a coat of silver paint! Airport Manager was one Bill....? Later went down to the West Country I believe.

In the days when it was still open, we used to congregate up on the carpark. I recall one Farnborough week, 1957 I believe, watching a Seahawk doing its stuff, but above us? It had in fact broken away from its Farnborough formation and had made for Blackbushe as designated diversion. It flew a perfect loop, but something was amiss, the pilot had ejected! The loop would have ended in our carpark, but fate caused it to twist at the last minute, and it plunged into the ground not far from the Silver City hangar on the south side of the A30. Bob Ruffle took a photo of it with its nose a yard away from the ground, which was suitably published in the press. I recall rushing across the road, oblivious to the traffic, and dodging various bits of burning wreckage to get to the pilot, who had hurt himself on landing, but not too badly. Broken ankle I think. The black S-55 picked him up and whisked him off.

Excitement over.

One of our crowd, Baz Harris, fellow Fernebergian, had a huge marine telescope that only he could use with any success. He would read off the Lufthansa L-1649s rumbling across Green 1 to New York! Perhaps that lead to LH's deleting underwing registrations - very un-European!

We had formed the Blackbushe Branch of Air Britain in 1958, I was member no. 19. BARG or Blackbushe Aviation Research Group was born on 1 Jan 63. Kingpin of the group was Arthur Pearcy, who had worked in ATC, with wife Audrey, until they re-positioned to Llanbedr. Arthur was the expert on things Douglas, particularly the DC-3/C-47. I have his personal copy of the book The Dakota, with all sorts of well-wishings in the early pages...'and thank you for returning No. 24 squadron's operational diary....Arthur and Audrey were guests of honour at our 21st Anniversary get-together in 1979. The booklet produced for the occasion contains a potted history of Blackbushe, if anyone is interested in a copy. Please PM me.

cheers

atb:ok:

JSM tells me that he has been writing a book about the 'Bushe. He may well be interested in anecdotes, PM me if you have anything that you would like passed on to him. He retires in October. Maybe he will get around to finishing it then!
I have a number of BARG foolscap newsletters in my loft.........I will dig them out if of interest.
Arthur worked at Bedford Thurleigh and, I believe, the RAE too, but before my time in N1 Building.
Mike Stapp checked me out on a Pup in '73..........
And, Aaah. The Lufty Connies on 131.2...............
Anybody else have a 'Johnson's Radio (Worcester) one-valve airband receiver'? (Before all the Gauers and Shorrocks!). It was thirty nine shillings and sixpence. Then you had to build it.....

TDM

...I have a number of BARG foolscap newsletters in my loft.

I contributed the paper in the early sixties...well, FUDC did!

Not much that JSM doesn't know that I might...he will also recall careering into the fence at Greenham on his motorbike. Remember the F-101s from Laon on detachment?

Oh but I digress.

Were you at the Raven in 1979??

BB 1 Sept 59

2 Rapides, MJK, KJS
4 VH-34 Choctaws Pres Eisenhower to Regent's Park (believe he had had a round of golf at Fleet golf club).

3 Victors
3 Vulcans
6 Javelins all overhead

typical of the Bushe!
cheers
atb:)

Airport Manager was one Bill....?

Bill Freeman... nice bloke... took me on as a "Trainee Controller" at £10 for a 50-hour week, as laid down by the AVM.

Talkdownman... My first a/c radio was the Johnsons' super-regen. I got it working, only to find that it smahed every telly down our road!! Initially it would not tun lower than about 126mc/s but by messing the with that fat coil arrangement I got it to go down to about 118. Great fun and i must still have it somewhere.

Blackbushe flying clubs.
 

I see on this thread that there has been no mention of the "Monarch Aero Club" which was around in the late 60's and early 70's. I soloed there in April '69 in a C150, G-ASLB courtesy of the late Wing Commander George Barrett who was the CFI and, as I remember, the only instructor. I recall that the club was located in a small office upstairs in the main terminal building conveniently close to the bar when flying was finished for the day! Any ex Monarch members out there?

BB954

I was a member of the Monarch Aero Club in early 1970. My first ever flight in a light aircraft was in G-ASLB. It inspired me to go on and get my PPL with ICL Flying Services. The pilot was a guy called Alan Fowles. He is now a 747 captain and we still keep in touch. I remember George Barrett. Nice old boy. The bar. It was run by a woman called Joyce. Permanent fixture in the bar was Dennis and Sheila Herd. Dennis was a Laker B707 captain and flew a Terrier G-ARZT out of Blackbushe. They were both killed when it crashed in Kent later on. Timmy, their son, aged about six survived.
The pic was taken early 1970.

Clint.
http://www.btinternet.com/~simon.gur...-ASLBsmall.JPG

Balckbushe Aero Club
 

Many thanks to all who have contributes to this thread. As I sdatated in an email to heathrow Director I am trying to find out the service history of Wg Cmr Ken Gray who I believe was the club Secretary from its formation until his tragic death driving one of Bennetts Fairthorpe Electron cars.

Any information would be much appreciated

Fairthorpe - another name to be remembered. They used to inhabit a blister hangar on a bit of Denham chopped off by the public road at the east end of the airfield.

HD - how can you say the 'bushe suffered from fog - they had FIDO (and the channels are still there I think)

Chevvron.. Sorry... I didn't mean to personally imply that the 'bushe suffered fog... it's in my mind that someone told me that many moons ago. There was no fog when I worked there - the extremely hot breath of the AVM wouldn't permit it!

Did you ever fly any Proctors?

Dusty

Sorry Proctors a bit before my time. It was C150/152 types, although 3CAC still had Cubs and Pups when I first joined.

Proctors at Blackbushe
 

Anyone out there remember the Proctors at Blackbushe? it would be great to see a few pics. from the family album.

Dusty

I was a member of BAC about 1968. Learnt to fly in an Auster JIN G-AJIS and a Fairtravel Linnet.

Bennett owned the club and supplied the Linnet thru this company Fairtravel who built it. We used an office in the terminal building on the ground floor
CFI was Oscar Elliott. Nice guy.
Towards the end of my training Oscar left the club and went upstairs to join the Crowthorne School of Flying. I followed him and did my GFT on a brand new Bolkow Junior. The school was run by two bods who owned a garage in Crowthorne.
One of the owners went off to look at a twin at Elstree and perished in hilfield lake(?) with water in the fuel of one donk.
I remember flying to Biggin to get some more keys for the Bolkows as the keys went down with the twin.
The School folded soon afterwards and I moved on.

Great fun flying the Auster on X countries. No radio and swing the prop (on your own in those days).

Was Don Andrews an instructor in 'them thar parts'?

Anyone know where he ended up?

Would like to catch up with him if poss

FW