Obviously you're referring to the present Luton Airport rather than the 'original' one at Barton in the Clay, where the Luton Minor and Major were developed.
Anyway my first visit was for a flight in the Chrisair DH Dragon (not Rapide) G-ADDI in about 1964. It was arranged by Air Britain (Chorleywood Branch - yes it actually existed!)and the pilot was Claire Roberts, wife of the owner Chis Roberts. It signifed several 'firsts' for me: first flight in a civil aircraft (but as a seasoned ATC cadet I'd flown in several miltary types), first in a biplane, and first with a 'lady' pilot.

Entaxei thanks a lot for your contributions and everyone has been putting up fabulous photos here. To see G-AHFK again in a photo I've not seen before is quite a thrill. It's funny but when my memories are from the age of 7 the boarding of the Proctor sticks in my mind as particularly tricky since it only had a couple of half-foot shaped reinforced dents in the wing close to the cockpit side and getting one's feet into them when your legs are only child-age short was extremely scary.

Later "treats" to board G-ANOK Saab were a lot easier as it had a simple non-slip wide band up the wing and you could get into the aircraft almost like boarding a car.

I had no idea during later years that G-AHFK would go on to win Air Race trophies.

Incidentally Entaxei if you're having trouble resizing photos digitally drop me an email and I'll give you a few tips & tricks.

Is there any chance you might remember what colour G-ANOK was?

My own memory is that it was a pale primrose yellow with a black stripe down the side. Of course all old photos are black and white so I can't prove that it was a pale yellow aeroplane.

I'm just hoping you can recall or know what it was registered as?

Thanks
--
Plado

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3394/21770342.jpg

Taken late 40's with the old Italian prison of war camp in the background

I thiink Barton opened in 1935 while Luton was already open in 1934

Saab Safir G-ANOK
 

I grew into aviation as a young teen at Southampton/Eastleigh as it then was, and was closely linked with the Hampshire Aero Club as one of a number of youngsters who were encouraged to get involved. I washed aircraft and helped with various minor "engineering" tasks, and occasionally got to taxi an aeroplane etc. I was never paid for the jobs I did, but did log some great flying experiences - C of A test flights, etc - and flew quite regularly from there and from Hamble as an ATC cadet.

G-ANOK was based at SOU in the early 60s, not sure who owned it but the guy who flew it on the occasions I was aboard was Shaun Hennessy a club member. A great aeroplane, and fairly powerful as I recall.

Yes I can confirm she was painted primrose yellow, with I think a redstripe. Thanks to those who've supplied her later history.

Interesting to read your contribution Victor Oscar, suspect we may have been around HAC Eastleigh at the same time. G-ANOK was owned by Ben Halpin who as I recollect ran a radio business. After the Safir he owned Comanche G-ARFY, remember a flight to Blackbushe with him and Shaun Hennessy. I wonder if the Safir was resprayed around that time as I remember it as being grey with some dayglo on it? Some where I have a slide of it but sadly I do not have the IT skills or necessary hardware to display it in here.

Planemike

PS 04 May 10. Have dug out my slide of G-ANOK taken in the aeroclub hangar: Grey, dayglo orange and white. Have checked dates on G-INFO. It had been sold to KFP Couling in Essex (Stapleford ??) before I arrived on the scene at HAC Eastleigh. So it was a "visitor" when I saw it. Suspect it came back for some work on the avionics.

This is really testing the grey cells but think Halpins system was called ADAS ???? The obvious external feature was a red "T" shaped aerial fitted above the cockpit. It was fitted to G-ARFY as well.

Saab Safir G-ANOK
 

Planemike, you suspect right! Confirmation for you from my present location and interest in this thread. But interesting that although we were contemporary (and friends) at Eastleigh, your memory of the Safir's colour scheme is different. Guess we must be talking of slightly different dates then. But my memory is gettting selective. Thanks for confirming B G Halpin as owner.

Chevvron

Further to yours above, you might be interested in...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2016/...57987e41_o.jpg

Taken in 1966 while parachuting at Thruxton. Claire Roberts used to fly it for us.

2 s

Was she wearing the `sprayed-on` leopardskin trousers,or were you too keen/innocent to notice ?

G-AHFK went on to finish to its life in Kenya. I have a photo of it at Nairobi West (Wilson) in 1964. Unfortunately cannot display it on here (limited IT skills).......!!!

Planemike

Good grief! Planemike, Dayglo orange must have been an afterthought.
Back in the 1950s there wasn't any dayglo paint for painting on vehicles and aeroplanes!
Back then even the police cars were black Wolesleys with bells on the front.
Someone must have re-painted it. I think it was Primrose Yellow with a black stripe.

So it looks like it's down to memory for this, after all most of us in the late1950s and very early 60s were only doing black and white photography until Kodachrome transparencies came along with 35mm. I doubt if any colour prints exist from that era.

Anyhow it's all very interesting what you've all come up with on this.
G-AHFK did indeed go to Kenya but I had heard that it rotted away out there once it fell out of use. Rather sad really.
--
Plado

Plado...........

See my msg No 28. Take your point about "dayglo", I would have said not around in 50s. My slide was taken in early 64, I reckon NOK had just been repainted. I would be more than happy to display the image on here but unfortanely my IT skills do not permit that. Have a slide of Tiger Moth G-ANEE with "dayglo" rudder, wing tips and nose cowling.

Yes, my understanding is also that HFK fell in to disuse after arrival in Kenya. In all probablity it was burnt at Wilson. My slide shows the a/c intact so I guess just after arrival in Kenya.

Planemike

Dayglo in the 1950s
 

I think dayglo was around in the (late) 1950s. I saw a couple of Geminis (G-AKGC and KHH) and an Auster Autocrat (G-AJRN) at Tollerton with dayglo markings in October 1959. There was another Auster, an Aiglet Trainer G-APVG, at Rearsby, also in October 1959.
Several aircraft had dayglo in 1960, such as the Argosies G-APRL and M.

Laurence

DAYGLO
 

The earliest dayglo type example that I can remember, is the Automobile Association Auster Alpine G-APAA, which was painted bright yellow for all lettering and the AA badge, this was registered 23/6/56. I cannot remember anything prior - even military.

Re colour film, for individual filming and shots, it simply was not available, the developing process was extremely complex and results very variable. I worked in BOAC's photographic unit in London for a couple of years, where we did all of the publicity photography and developing, and we kept to B & W, even when we did all of photographs of Princess Margrets wedding dresses as they were designed by Norman Hartnell !!. (could have made a fortune from the press, but we were very honest/loyal).

I was given a 50 foot length of 35m Positive Eastmancolor film by the sales rep about 1959 to try out at a Brands Hatch motorbike race, but the result was very poor. It was only the film industry that got it going.

I will try & send over a photo of PAA in a minute - Plado I will be back at some stage for Bucketshop tuition!!

Cheers :ok:

Hi Plado!

This is my very first post having joined just a few hours ago. And now an automotive memory. Like your father, my grandfather had a Hillman Minx and I remember him asking for a shot of RedEx. I never thought I would hear that name again! I did fly out of Luton in about 1967 in a Britannia Airways Britannia - G-ANBL.

Well I'm sure everyone welcomes you here just as they all welcomed me a few days ago.
Hillman Minxes of the 1950s stuck in my mind vividly because my Father had 4 of them as company cars with Smiths Aircraft Instruments Sales job. Sorry if this is a bit off-topic from our conversation here about GANOK and GAHFK but it's nice to just talk 50s nostalgia as a by-product of the thread. Some of the early Minxes were column gear change and my dad used to let my brother and I take it in turns to steer the car at normal cruising speeds when we had the opportunity such as on a holiday visit to the Durham Dales. Lots of deserted winding roads there and the Minx had a bench front seat and no floor change in the middle to get in the way.

It struck me as very easy to steer a car (I was only 12 years old then!) not much movement needed more just guiding it with small steady movements of the steering wheel.
The cars my dad drove were all serviced at a place called Campbell Simmonds on London's North Circular near Hendon.- and I remember a flaming row developed when someone left all the jets out of the carburettor on re-assembly when cleaning the fuel system.
Somehow the car ran, but a half mile from the dealer things went a bit pear-shaped.
So he walked back and ordered them to tow it in and give him a car to get home.
Sparks flew! Not only from the plugs.

I used to help with later servicing jobs when my dad did stuff DIY at home once he'd got his own car. I remember two products that may ring bells with you. Dirty Paws (Hand Cleaner) and Rozalex hand barrier cream for making it easier to clean off gunge from your hands after an oily job. Amazingly Rozalex still exists.

For Luton to have taken Britannia aircraft in the 1960s the place must have undergone a considerable runway upgrade as I don't think there was enough room for something that big to land or take off back in the mid 1950s. The ground was much too bumpy for a passenger aircraft of that size to land without suffering the "forced landing in a ploughed field" effect !

One last thing that just sprung into my mind, we had a holiday on Hayling Island in the 1960s and the approach road to the Caravan Site had a small bungalow opposite a fairly large field. The occupant of the bungalow had his own Piper aeroplane parked opposite in the field beside the pavement. He used to fly in from somewhere and make a low pass to shoo away the horses and get a strip to land on. Then he'd come round again and do a proper approach and touch down. It had a very short pull-up distance and also when taking off he'd repeat the same thing by taxiing round to move horses out of the way and then take a really short run-up to lift-off almost like a Harrier jump jet. We were astounded to watch it. No fire engines standing by. My father never said it was illegal what this chap was doing. I don't even know how he refuelled as there were no pumps or cans beside the road. What freedom eh?

Cheers
Plado

Remember doing the same thing with several of dad's cars, Standard Vanguard, Austin A55 and Zepher 6 spring to mind, that was out in Kenya, open roads and very little traffic.

Planemike..........

Hi Plado and PlanMike!

Thanks for your welcome and Hillman Minx comments. Yes, my grandfather's was a column shift/bench seat arrangement. I never got to steer it on the road, but in my parents' driveway, which was uphill and short, he let me try to find the clutch bite-point.

I remember Rozalex barrier cream from my days as a British Aircraft Corp (just missed being able to claim Bristol per se) Filton apprentice, so I guess that at least gets this sequence back to aeronautics!

Cheers

bassbellman