O&B - Oh yes, BE99, so it was...and yes, I well remember that night even if other details (such as the a/c type...) have faded!

Yes, Neatax Aztec, used to arrive about 2300. Then, for some reason, it switched to Heathrow. However one night we noticed the usual trucks were waiting on stand 9 but we had no FPL. Quick call to London revealed it was bound for Heathrow. We got London to get him to call us and when we explained his trucks were waiting here (we did check!) he diverted into Luton. Customer service!

Ah Spiney, night duties with no aircraft just a ghetto blaster and lots of pink Floyd.....
not at all like the Night I shall be off to in an hour!

AP. I certainly remember that! Dark side of the Moon as a backing track to half mile talkdowns.. all the best old chap. Retirement is getting closer....

Now this almost touches on a subject I haven't seen mentioned previously....Shopping for diversions. The ideal situation. Heathrow and/or Gatwick in LVPs due to radiation fog but Luton on the hill sticking out in beautiful sunshine. Bovingdon hold clearly busy. We had the means to monitor the TMA frequencies for a while so it was easy to get a callsign of an aircraft in the hold. Next. Ring the TMA NW assistant and tell them that BAW*** had called us for the Luton weather but we didn't appear to be able to get two-way communications with him and could they help? The aim? To get the TMA controller to read the (probably CAVOK) Luton weather to the BNN stack. Blue touch paper lit..Stand by for interesting aeroplanes!

If memory serves correctly, did we not have a way of getting the actual sent to the various ops departments too?

In my early days there -we would collect the notams and any required forecasts and actuals from the briefing room below the tower.
When I was with Courtline-our ops room was right next door and we had a hatch cut in the wall-and could lean through and pick them up or ask the lovely girls in there for the latest actuals etc.
If LVPs we would normally get a call through from the mini tower

Why was the mini tower built and then abandoned? I might be wrong here but was it not taken out of service before the new tower opened? It has had a second lease of life with Signature as their ops room.

Certainly in the late Seventies there was the TV screen monitor, showing a piece of paper with the Luton actual on it in various Ops rooms.

Not sure when it started or 'disappeared'

The little paper notes for ATCAs to write on - remember that, it lasted till we got a proper ATIS to record on and an electronic weather input - That would have been mid to late eighties just before I left. I think we may have had Telex numbers for other off airfield Ops to get briefing girls to bash out the weather

The mini tower was Apron Control (stand allocation etc) not ATC although we subsumed them into the ATSA ranks after the new control tower was opened.

The opening in 1981? of phase 1 of the terminal upgrade.

I can remember the "gravestone" that was set in the middle of the check-in hall with the globe on top.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psb2904093.jpg

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps16bb0f2b.jpg

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps340a63ea.jpg

LTNman,

Your first photo is crying out for a caption:
:)

I am actually in that first photo but I would just like to say that I am not Prince Charles:)

Interesting B720 in that last photo,Kenya Airlines? seem to remember seeing that a couple of times.
Don't think it was a freighter but what flights was it operating or was it just maintenance with Monarch?

Your first photo is crying out for a caption:


"One does hope ones airfield gets orf the ground and is a success. However....."

"One is eager to go and savour the other delights this quaint little airfield has to offer. However......"

"The filly behind me looks rather bored. Maybe I should pop along and say hello and brighten her day. However......"

Falcon666 - That's a Uganda Airlines aircraft

On the day the first commercial passenger flight was not until the afternoon! In the event everyone was required in the terminal for the Prince so at least it looked the part! I believe friends and relatives of staff were also encouraged to attend to swell the numbers.

nvubu
Thanks for that , should have realised it wasn't Kenyan by the tail- my bad!

Your first photo is crying out for a caption:

"..and ...um.. How long have you been a globe?"