I had a look around Florida and noticed St Petersburg but couldn't see the challenge - should I look harder - or elsewhere?

You are on the right coast of the right state. Just a small step for men further south.

I guess from your clues, it's Tranquility Bay Strip (4FA3)

Tranquility Bay Strip Airport on Pine Island, FL

Bob has it with Tranquility bay airstrip.
Tranquility Base is on average equally fartedt away from all Prunners around the world.

If anybody has more info or pictures of the Tranquility bay airstrip (with aircraft?)
please feel free to share.

Bob has control.

Thanks Bear, unfortunately I haven't got any really old pictures but here's one I took after landing in 2005. Hope that's ok

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....860ead27dd.jpg

I definitely prefer own photos above Google maps/Earth shots.
The challenge is usually more difficult as own photos are usually not on the internet.
The historic context can follow later in clues or other photos.

I just appeared to me that the red X lines in the Union Jack are not centered in the white X.
That shows to be common.
Does anybody know how that came along?

Re the flag on the RAF Tristar - it's meant to be asymetric. The red saltire of St Patrick (N.Ireland) is offset so that it does not relegate the white saltire of St Andrew (Scotland) to just a thin border.

Of all the years I spent walking up the stairs and past that flag, I never noticed that lol

The flag is the correct way up if the flag pole was on the left, so is the one on the other side mirror image, ie still flying back from the fwd flagpole? (if that makes sense).
I can't find many images with the flag. Was that when carrying Royals or Blair Force One?

Is it Ascension Island?

Hi dixi188, no it was the standard paint scheme at the time. We were on a freight run so the aircraft would have been one of the KC1s (ZD948, ZD950, ZD952, or ZD953), without digging out my logbook, I'm not sure which one. I only know it was a freight run as we had stopped doing South Atlantic runs in 2001 (due to other demands) but the civil 747 which took over had been hit be a ground handling truck in the Falklands so we had to pick up the flex for a few weeks.

I was just about to post a clue about not being asleep when you arrive but it looks like OUAQUKGF Ops has already hit the nail on the head; Wideawake Airfield it is. It's one of the easiest airfields to find, you can see the solitary cloud over the Island from Top of Drop! Only problem is diversion; the nearest used to be over 1000miles away, now there's a runway on St Helena, it's only 800 miles (providing you can land at St Helena).

Over to you OUAQUKGF

Thanks Bob. I have a huge soft spot for The Tristar having worked for an airline that operated them. Back in time now............





https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f817637484.jpg

Hi OUAQUKGF are we in East Anglia?

Yes East Anglia. Big place - Four Counties - No lack of aerodromes fortunately.........

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....48c3a87734.jpg
1949 .You could say that the wood (middle distance right) was really the heart of the airfield.
Photo credit; Britain from Above.

also an amazing number of railway lines there pre- Beeching

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f0e7d83b40.png



If needed will supply clue this evening......

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0f99d9a8b6.png

Somewhere like North Pickenham?

Not really like North Pickenham or similar. Certainly no Thor Missiles or, as far as I know, Turkeys.