Nice nostalgic video find mr ron! All those spectators around St Pancras got a good showering of coal dust , I'll bet there were a few people coughing up black mucus after the event. :yuk:



SHJ

As I recall it, the US military were completely on side in assisting the UK in handling these flights at the New York end. USAF handled the RAF Harriers and US Navy handled the Royal Navy Phantoms. I recall as a kid TV footage showing Hot Refuelling in progress by a USAF ground team, that is having engines running and full tanks, refuelling hoses in and held by ground personnel, topping up tanks to 100% as it burned, waiting for the race participant to arrive on a motor bike. Mr WHBM Senior :ok: was appalled !

Meanwhile, on the original topic of aircraft factories without runways, there have been plenty of these over time. Avro Chadderton in Manchester was another.

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Meanwhile, on the original topic of aircraft factories without runways, there have been plenty of these over time. Avro Chadderton in Manchester was another.

Ah, but what you perhaps don't know is that what we in later years knew as the allotments and carparks across Greengate from the factory was designated to be an aerodrome during the Great War long before Avro had any presence there

I can't turn up any references but in the mid '70s the late John Bagley, then of RAE but later of the Science Museum, showed me the site of a factory near Oldham, built in 1918 for making HP 0/400s, and we then went to the aerodrome site (as above) and there was HS Chadderton just across the road.

Wasn't there another 'factory without an airfield' just south of Lincoln?

If you mean Bracebridge Heath...it was an airfield and manufacturing facility during WW1 and the Hangars remained after airfield closure - used as a repair centre by Avro etc

Bracebridge Heath

Hot refuel on a toom?sounds like a doddle :)

Now a Hot refuel on an all metal Harrier...that was 'interesting' - the refuel panel was between the Hot and Cold Nozzles :)

Easier on a plastic pig harrier because the refuel panel was forward of the Cold Nozzle !

early days of the Harrier
 

Hi, I started my apprenticeship at Kingston in 1965, good memories. The P1154 as I remember was just being laid down for the six pre production runs prior to the harrier. Other comments seem to coincide with my memory as all of the aircraft during my time at Kingston were indeed taken by artic to Dunsfold (much to the aggravation in Guildford high street). I never saw any aircraft fly out of Kingston, not sure it would have been possible although I stand to be corrected. The heathrow flight path would have been a problem and from memory the only place remotely possible would have been the sports club ground. There were also Hunters and the red Arrow Gnats on site at various times as I remember. These were transported in by lorry with wings off. Good time and learned a lot to take forward in life.

Further to earlier post
 

Memory kicked in overnight, mentioned 1154 in previous post should have been P1127. Ian.

Chaps

Interesting thread – facts, memories and myths.

No Harriers ever flew from or into the Kingston site.

Harrier I fuselages were built at Kingston. Wings at Brough. Not sure about tailplanes - I think they may have moved between Kingston, Brough and later Salmesbury to balance work loads. All final assembly and flight test was at Dunsfold from components supplied by road.

The whole of every Harrier I was built in the UK. With the Harrier II Macair built the nose and wing and the UK did the rest. Neither country ever had the capability to build a whole Harrier II. Both countries had the ability to carry out final assembly and flight test.

Once they closed Kingston the manufacturing of the Harrier II fuselages was moved to Dunsfold.

Production first flight normally started with a conventional take-off and ended with a conventional landing. (we had to do one of each or some customer smart arse was bound to say how did we know there were no related problems).

All production test flights were flown clean until the Sea Harrier where the inboard pylons were not removable (need for nuclear weapon wiring to be continuous from cockpit to store)

Hot refuelling on the Harrier I was done a few times with the nozzles down while fiddling with the hose. The USMC (who were very keen to use hot refuelling) routinely did it via the flight refuelling probe.

All the engines were built and initially serviced and repaired at Bristol. Later NAVAIR at Patuxent Rriver established a service and repair facility for USMC engines and the RAF an engine bay at Wittering

Once we had the later Peg 11 engines I used to like to VTO on a delivery flight to Germany just because one could.

We did the odd demo inside the London TMA. No problem as we had radios.

If I have missed out on any aspect of this thread please let me know.