Good thread!!

Back in the early 80s I was on my QXC, Biggin -Cambridge-Southend-Biggin. I was taxing out at Southend for the last hop back and on the radio I heard "Southend, G-FIRE two minutes" "Whats all this G_FIRE nonsense" I thought "What's wrong with 'Romeo Echo'".

Over the sound of my engine I heard the roar of a Merlin on full chat as Spencer Flacks bright red Spitfire beat up Southend. I carried on taxing to the threshhold and waited until the Spit was on finals and then asked for permission to take-off.

"G-BGSL line up and take off after the landing spitfire", I keyed the mike and said "After the landing spitfire", it's not often you get to say that!!

1. The lovely sound of six Merlins coming over my back garden as the BBMF Lanc, Spit & Hurri return from Biggin.

2. I was watching the programme on the TV a few years ago about the 50th anniversary of LHR and looked up out of the window to see a DC-8 (?) fly passed quite low. 2 minutes later, B707 flew passed, also quite low. Then a DC-9. etc etc.

A quarter of a hour or so passed and then the TV announcer said 'and here's the first of the big jets, the DC-8'

I'd actually seen most of the fly-past go past my window.

3. About 25 years ago at home in Southend. It was a clear quiet dusk. I was just putting the car away when I heard an unfamiliar jet noise from the north, towards the airport. A minute or so later, the silhouette of a Vulcan drifts across as he does a go-around on very low power. All goes quiet as he goes round the circuit and positions for another approach.

But this time when he reaches the upwind end of the runway, he pulls the aircraft vertical and puts on full power. You have never seen a town wake up so quickly. Amazing.

Some of the flying I saw at Duxford in the 80s springs to mind. I'll never forget the fantastic display flown by John Larcombe (tragically killed a few years later) during the official flying presentation of Blenheim G-MKIV in May 1987, following its lengthy restoration. It just appeared from the south, over the hill and broke to the west. The sound those Mercury engines made was fantastic. How were we to know we were to be heart broken when it crashed, in the hands of different pilot (thankfully with no serious injury to those on board) just three short weeks later?

[ 09 January 2002: Message edited by: Bus429 ]

[ 09 January 2002: Message edited by: Bus429 ]</p>

Tiger_mate,

The year was 1977 or '78. I think your flyby was probably some time later as the Buccaneer was still very much one of our front line aircraft back then, before those ugly pointy things took over. Same pilot perhaps?

BTW, by co-incidence, my first tour was on your Sqn. See you at the SH reunion? Kita Chari Jauh!

I wasn't there at the time but some legendary flybys occurred at RAFC Cranwell in the mid to late 80's.

Each graduating squadron organised their own graduation flyby. The flybys were getting more and more impressive. Right up to the point where a Phantom had to use full reheat to clear the far wing of College Hall Officers Mess. Hats, graduating Officers, families and dignitaries were involuntarily scattered all over the parade ground. <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

Early 90's two fast pointy things (probably Tornados) over flew the Marconi building in Milton Keynes. So low that they set off car alarms all around.

The building was part of the Foxhunter radar design / development group (or so I was told). The flyby was totally unoffical and no-one got the tail numbers (yer right). However the presence of most of the company on the roof made the council take a very dim view of the event. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

I remember Earls Colne about seven years ago on a perfect summer’s evening. Had just finished flying when a Spitfire and Yak 11 (both belonging to Eddie Coventry, I think) put on an impromptu ten-minute tail-chasing display. At one stage they passed so low they could have cut the grass on the field. The combined sound of the Merlin and Shvetsov ripping through that calm summer’s evening is something I’ll never forget.

I can remember in the late 80's British Aerospace at Salmesbury rebuilt a PR Spit, and fitted it with a Griffon 58 that had been re-manufactured to a single prop g/box by Rolls Royce, then came the flight tests, one of my warehouse's and office was alongside the railway in Blackburn which seemed to be a good big target , for many times did I hear that glourious growl of the Griffon as the test pilot blasted his way through the atmoshere at about 5 to 600 ft, to do a 180 right above my factory, on several occasion I left visitors, to quickly run out to the car park to watch this, and hear that wonderful sound, some visitors who were often trying to sell things to me, really couldn't understand why I was so intent on not listening to their drivel, but rather standing like some nutcase with my neck cranning skywards, needless to say they didn't sell me owt!
Nothing beats the sound of many cylinders and exploding hydrocarbons. :)

The day after one of the Airshows, I remember standing on top of the tower at Southend 1990/91? and watching a Jaguar with reheat fly through the main apron below me! A former colleague had a series of photos and people on the apron could be seen diving for cover! I think that was also the year that the Vulcan turned up about 20 minutes early for his display slot and flew 3 or 4 circuits at the Airport (3 miles or so North of the seafront Display site) which became progressively lower, faster and 'artistic'....really quite breathtaking.

Nothing quite as fast and powerful as some have described, but I've got two that stick in the memory.

The first was that unforgettable 'Big Wing' at the Duxford Battle of Britain display in September 2000. 19 Spitfires, 4 Hurricanes, and thousands of people with lumps in their throats.

The second (or first, if we're being chronological), was around 1989 or 90, while I was flying a C150 out of Southend. Overhead Osea Island on the way back in from a local area bimble, I heard a callsign contacting Southend approach and saying they were also overhead Osea Island. Obviously a bit worried about getting run over (!) I started scanning the sky just that little bit more carefully, craned my neck forward to peer up from under the front of the Cessna's wing... to see the BBMF overtake me, 1000 or so feet above and about three quarters of a mile over to my right. And that's the closest I'm ever going to get to flying in formation with them! <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

Please forgive the intrusion of a non-aviator in your trip down memory lane, but my experiance may make you smile. Every Fourth of July, the Blue Angels and others like them descend on Quonsett Point in Rhode Island, USA for an air show. I was always of cruising on my sailboat so I never saw the show until 7/4/00 when I anchored right off the runways at the old military base. Well of course they do their show at 1500-2000 feet (I guess) and everybody cheers. THEN these F-18's (??) swoop down and buzz the flotila of pleasure craft anchored off the runway at about 200-500 feet off the deck (I guess). I can see the pilot in the plane as he flys by my starboard side at maybe 200 feet, its pretty quiet UNTIL he passes by me! The roar and heat was like nothing I have ever heard in my 47 years. In my next life I'm going to become a fighter pilot, there is not a vehicle on this planet that comes close to a fighter jet. I'll never forget that roar as he flew by. The other cool part is that my friend's son is an F-18 instructor in Nevada, short, balding, not terribly imposing but all steel! Thanks

Being beaten up by a couple of Jags in Northumberland this August.........think they were using my motorhome as a target....b*gger the 500' rule!!

Going back a bit and an unlikely aircraft....
Early 60's - We were picking up a Beverley from the Brough factory after heavy maintenance and it just happened to be 'Timber' Woods's last day as Chief test pilot. He was allowed a farewell flight and what a flight !! It would have been impressive in something smaller, lighter and more manoeuvrable but in the Bev... just spectacular.
Bangkok, Don Muang early 60's - (Jimmy Harrison??)Avro's company test pilot demonstrating the 748 to Thai Airways ... rotated and cut one engine on the rotation, turned INTO the dead engine and circuited (VERY)low level to come back down the ramp area, past the assembled dignitaries. Parking at DM was in a straight line along the apron in front of the Tower and he HAD to lift to clear the fin of a parked 707. As a spectator, I had a touch of the 'half crown /sixpence' syndrome and then he was past and around low level to land, greeted by a massive round of applause - and, I believe, they eventually bought the aircraft type.
Valley in the mid 60's - Jimmy Dell picked up a Lightning to take back to the factory. The RAF had already outlawed the 'rotate to the vertical' take-offs but he was a 'civvy'.... <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> His call crossing the airfield boundary at FL260 sticks in the mind !! :) :)
Late 60's - Gaydon air display. Nine ship Belgian 'Diables Rouges' Magisters. Three, three ship 'vics' for take-off. Lift-off, up maybe 25' then formation roll for the lead three to inverted for the climb out.. impressive: as was the arrival of the Reds for the start of their display. Low level run-in from all compass points for a join in the vertical. We were on SAR stand-by next to a USAF Husky and 'our man' came through between us, below our rotor heights.
70's - Akrotiri.. Standing outside the 84 ops block looking DOWN at our hangar - both end doors open and the 'Sparrows' doing their pre-season work-up. Red 7 (or 8) went past, in the break, low enough for us to see him THROUGH the hangar. Mind you, they were still mounted on Gnats then - a close second to the Hunter as the best of the aero display aircraft.
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be !! :) :)

Going back even further I remember coming out of school in the late 50's and a USAF B47 came over so low the trees were blown about. He then did a tight turn over the town just above rooftops causing panic in the streets. The papers were full of it the next morning as he had repeated this over many towns in the southwest. According to the papers he wanted to go back to the States. He got his wish but not quite in the way he would have wanted.

Cornish Jack
Do you remember Joe L'Estrange's Vulcan displays at AKR in 69-72 era?

I have on video tape, (not a very good one)in Black and White, an 8 to 10 second grab of a Buccaneer passing between 2 hangars at an unidentified airfield. The camera position is above the aircraft looking down. There is a road between the two hangars, and the a/c is tracking along the road. The a/c is well below the level of the hangar roofs. Dunno who or where, but I wish I was there!

Gainesy
Indeed I do! In fact, I suppose we were treated to the two extremes of performance. The Vulcan memory is of being blasted by the noise and staring up the tail pipes as it went up and up and up ... into the clear blue. Marvellous Wx for displays. The opposite end was the Victor B1 take-offs - towards Lady's Mile. Our ops room was about three quarters (or more) down the runway and the B1's used to go past us with their nosewheels still on the runway.... if we were on standby, it used to up the adrenaline level a bit. Mind you, if they hadn't hacked it, I doubt there would have been much for us to pick up :)

<img src="smile.gif" border="0"> Yep,I remember one day that a bunch of Victors were trailing some Phantoms out to Singapore; on of the Vs was delayed and took off at about 1030, by which time it was really hot, he only just made it off. I was in Local at the time and the controller had his hand on the crash phone for the last half of the take-off. The Victor kicked up dust as it staggered off the end of the runway at about 50ft--if that.

I think it was Joe L'Estrange who managed to put a Vulcan down when a Britt was stuck about half way up the runway with multiple tyre bursts one afternoon. He popped the brake 'chute at about 50ft as he came over the RW27 barrier (Ladie's Mile end) and the main gear touched before the 'piano keys'. Heavy breaking and he turned off at the eastern intersection.
Remember the Lightnings practising landing on the taxiway?
Absolutely magic place then; I passed through a few years ago and it was a ghost town. <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

I've posted this before somewhere but it has to have been an outstanding fly-past by anyone's standards...

Early 80's. A B52 en-route Guam-Exmouth and return is enticed down to give the faithful at a local air pageant at Port Hedland (northern Western Australia) a thrill. The Buff's departure was via r/w 18, by agreement with the twr at "not above 100". Swept the r/w and many hectares of surrounding spinifex clean, then pulled up steeply over the departure threshold for a rapid, smokey and noisy climb!

Does it have to be a "fly-by"? Vulcan scramble at Finningley for Silver Jubilee Celebrations must be towards top of most lists!