the First Officer on the 1-11 that hit the Aztec was Clive Dudley, who went on to start the hang-gliding group on Dunstable Downs (I think he went off to Brunei after the airline crashed ?). I was working in Flight Dispatch at the time but was not on shift when the accident happened. When I next came on shift everyone was buzzing about the incident, and the official pics were being discreetly circulated. I was told that "Ramp-1 was sick" when he had to drive out to the crash site! Memories are made of this !

CLdave.

Court Line Coaches ran a network of bus services around the Luton & Dunstable area, I used to ride on the service that went from Dunstable to Luton via Caddington, to visit my in-laws along Whipperley Way.

Romeo Golf was resplendent in the company livery and looked 'bare' in the Shell corporate colours thereafter.

G-AYEI, oh yes! Was this the Navajo that Air Luton then once operated?

Dennis White Got me into the cockpits of the Tristar and 1-11s. As an aviation mad kid it had quite an effect. Nowadays I must be the age that Dennis was then and with a similar number of hours, and I have yet to see a FA dressed as sexily as the Court girls did!

Always wanted to fly the 1-11 or the Tristar and never got a chance in my career, doubt I ever will now.

VH

The airline purchased an established Luton area coach operator primarily to run their link to London, and the local bus routes came with that. The vehicles (mostly Ford R1114 for the technically minded) were painted in the same range of all-over colours as used for the aircraft.

http://nationalbusco.fotopic.net/p23219408.html

Court Line Fleet
 

Believe there was also a baloon in their colours but I am sure someone can confirm it with a registration

The balloon was yellow and registered GBAND. They did inflate it once on the old 18/36 grass runway. Although I can't remember if it was tethered or it took off.

My father ran the coach part of the company for several months and reguarly hired one for Air training Corps days out! I think the company that was taken over was Costins, who were based in Gardenia Avenue, Luton

I remember Mike Ellis used to fly the balloon. I think he had a part share in it. Can't remember who else.

The late Mike James, who held the very first UK ATPL(Balloons), also worked for Court Line and may have flown their balloon too.

That seems to ring a bell.

Shreddies!!!!
 

Just remembered that I was a 10-year old at the time, completing an airport scene on the back of the pack of Kellogg's Shreddies - finishing touch was a big yellow or purple Court Line TriStar sticker. They went bust the same day!

Good to see Shreddies are still around though......!

Does anybody know if Capt Pete Barber of post #20 is the Pete Barber now of bmi??

The two Tristars ended up at Cathay Pacific in 1977 as VR-HHV (G-BAAA serial no. 1024) and VR-HHW (G-BAAB s/no. 1032) and were retired by CX in 1995/96.

One of the TriStars is now sitting in the desert at GAMCO in Abu Dhabi, more or less in pieces. I imagine it was cannibalised for GF. :{

Court line was born from the renaming of Autair in 1969. Didn't Autair have a HS 125 that crashed into the roof of Vauxhall Motors at Luton killing the two pilots?

The a/c in question was GAVGW. Although owned by Autair, it was operated for Beechams, the drug company.

It crashed on a crew training flight on the 23rd December 1967 onto the roof of Vauxhall's paint shop. Fortunately the factory was closed for Christmas.

Found this on an old hard drive.
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/2a...p5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg

Hope it works!

Court Line Reunion
 

Have just joined after finding site looking up anything Court Line. I was a tech apprentice with Court from 1972 until that sad day in August 74. I would be very interested in attending any reunions just to talk about and remember probably the most innovative airline of its day ( remember seat back catering) on th 1-11's. My new found nostalgia resulted from my finding a long lost box of "stuff" when moving home (brochures, photos tickets and others collected in my two years or "aquired" when we ceased trading ( I was working that night ). For anyone who might remember my name is Steve Callaghan.

Just a reminder: Courtline also bought out an interisland carrier in the W.I named Leeward Islands Air Transport. They used local crew to operate Avros and BAC 111s inter island. When Courtline folded, inter-island air transport virtually ceased in the eastern caribbean. A few days later, several regional governments came together, got a loan from the government of Venezuela and re-opened the company as LIAT(1974)Ltd. LIAT is still flying today.
Everyone remembers those colourful (and noisy) 111s

Peter Varley
 

Is the Peter Varley mentioned the ex Gloster Aircraft Test Pilot? If so, anyone know his status/whereabouts? as i have been trying to find out information on him for my Test Pilot tribute website
Regds
TheTartanterror

When I last heard of Pete he was flying an exec BAC1-11 out of KWI in the early 80's, I think it was. Then I heard of his death down the grapevine, so don't take that as Gospel.