I always blamed Croydon for my appalling O level results! I was an avid spotter on on my first day at senior school I was amazed to see aeroplanes just out of the window - Croydon was less than a mile from my school and I spent many hours after school peering at the aircraft when I should have been home swatting!! Oh the memories of Burmese Air Force Provosts, Iran Air Force Daks... and everything in those days had a propellor. What bliss..

I seem to remember A Tiger Moth hitting a 194 bus in the late 50's. Only damage was a dent on the roof of the bus.:)
HEATHROW DIRECTOR - you didn't go to Cumnor House school in Pampisford road did you? It was right on shortish finals for Croydon. All the aircraft came right over at what seemed like rooftop height. Certainly stimulated my interest in aviation.:ok:

Will do some investigating on tours tomorrow. I see the Monospar in another current thread was built at Croydon.

Re the bus services, the 289 passes Croydon Airport en route from Purley station to God Knows Where (Beckenham Junction?), and the 119 terminates at the airport afore heading back to Bromley via East Croydon Station. The 194 is curtailed at West Croydon, a fine example of Ken Livingstone's service improvements. 455 goes up Pampisford Road rather than past the airport and thence to Wallington via the most convoluted route known to Nerdkind... Arrrrghhh, I'm talking about bus routes, Nurse! :8

Cheers

Blakey

WHBM
 

Getting back to the original posting, almost, an old edition of 'Propliner' magazine, I think it was No. 23, had an article on the final days of Croydon and gave a complete listing of movements for the final day of operations.

The magazine editor appears to have an unparalled knowledge of UK airport movements and may be able to assist with your enquiries.

Cheers

Southender

southender
 

Stephen Piarcy (R.I.P) who started Propliner back in '79 was the son of one Capt. Ray Piarcy of BEA/BA. I don't think there is an archive for the mag, so you'll need to drag 'em out storage.

Croydon Airport Tour & Drinks
 

I've had some information from Dr Frank Anderson of the Croydon Airport Society. The guides can manage up to 10 people in one go - if there are more takers, perhaps we can arrange more than one sitting on the day.

The tours takes about 1.5hr and he suggests early May would be best which would certainly suit me.

How about the Sunday 11 May - this would avoid the Bank Holiday weekend? I was going to suggest a tour starting at say 1100 or 1200; we could then retire to the Aerodrome Hotel for a few pints afterwards.

PPruNe Pop, this might deserve a separate sticky thread?

Cheers

Treadders

I'm out of the country at the moment so have got an advantage as I see this note while having an early lunch !

Date suits me, Treadders can you put me down for May 11 please. Thank you for the research and organisation. I wouldn't be able to make the following weekend.

11 May 08
 

Me also SVP

Treadders,

I'm in!

I'll see what I can do about the sticky. We limit them and are a bit full at the minute.

We should meet for a beer. Week after next OK?

PPP

PPP, have PM'd you...

Treadders

CHS re-locates 1939
 

Cumnor House School in Pampisford road mentioned by FLY380 in #22 was evacuated at the tail end of 1939, and out of 99 boys, 20 moved for a while to the Old Saw Mill in Sanderstead. ( "until machine gun bullets began spraying the classroom walls" ) 29 moved as boarders to the country. The R.A.F. took over the building that I imagine remains as CHS Mk 2 until around 1946.

At a book launch last May, I had the privilege of talking to Dick Wheeler, who in 1931 was the first ever pupil at CHS which was started by Martin Wheeler, his father. He described to me just how close the aircraft passed by the school, and that he had never forgotten their astonishment in earlier times at seeing passenger/s waving from windows set into the leading edge wing root of a German airliner. I suppose this has to be the Junkers G38 which I looked up on the internet later on. I was delighted to re-discover this machine that resembles nothing so much as an insane Brobdingnagian Art Deco Batmobile. What a delight. I would travel many times further to watch one of these stagger into the air than an Airbus 380. ( which with all this so-called Green technology still can't operate off grass! - probably less prone to icing problems I'd imagine though....)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP6Qvvdb1io

............If you have a spare 5 minutes, this is a rather well edited video clip, complete with appropriate sound track.

ONE GREEN AND HOPING:

Great video. That aircraft is ugly enough to be called beautiful. Fully agree that it is better looking than a modern jet airliner, even if the mofern ones are more reliable and faster.

Bumped - as I'm just home and putting 11 May in my calendar :)

Ok chaps, will check 11th is OK with Dr Anderson.

Cheers

Treadders

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but did any of you go to the 'London Society of Air-Britain' talk last Wednesday evening at the Victory Services Club?

The talk on the history of Croydon Airport was given by Dr Frank Anderson and Peter Skinner. Fascinating it was. I never knew that the airport actually started out as two separate airfields that were split by Plough Lane. When the airport was remodelled in 1928 Plough Lane was ploughed up (sorry about the pun!) and Croydon Airport as we know it was born.

I can't make the time suggested as it cuts across my church duties, but if it moves to a bit later can someone PM me please. Thanks.

Regards,

Cricket

Cricket, what time could you make it? I've just been invited to an 80th birthday party at a pub the day before and you know what that usually means! So I'd be happy with a later start.

If 1200 or 1300 would suit all, I'll try and arrange for then.

Treadders

Hi Treadders, very kind.

I could be there at 1:00 (at a pinch).

By the way, one other thing that came up at the Croydon Airport talk was that the last commercial flight out was flown by 'Captain Last'! Strange, but true.

Regards,

Cricket.

Crop Circles
 

Did I see crop circles on the runway, at Croydon International. ????

The previous rereferenced G Earth, shows crop circles.

Or perhaps D.K. has been picking mushrooms again.

glf

Enjoyable video (missed the display in 1980)....did you transfer by projecting on a screen and filming with a digicam?

Is that a certain PPRuNer flying an Islander in, in the first few seconds ? :)