Just been reminded by my wife that we were on TV way back when. Valerie Singleton was filming for The Money Programme in the Terminal and we were seen in the background by some friends when it was screened.

Opening of the new control tower 1952

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a0a2a24.jpg

Even though it does seem to have a ring-pull on the top couldn't they have just used an ordinary can-opener?

Working my way through my box set of The Saint, I've just watched Vendetta For the Saint, set in Italy with a scene at Naples Airport with an Autair Ambassador and a Britannia Britannia in the background. Many of the ITC series used Luton for filming, standing in for some exotic location!

Those programmes were often filmed on a budget, Naples Airport = Luton Airport then?

Then you must have this episode then filmed at Luton in 1969 of The Saint
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps43375b17.jpg

It was an empty leg of a horse flight, there were grooms on board. It might well have been carrying newspapers. Fortunately it was my night off!

But we were on then - one of the very few times my husband and I were ever on watch together! There were three of us in the Tower chatting and watching it come in, realising as you do that it seemed to be ... oh my goodness yes it was too fast, our conversation slowed to a halt amidst a sudden rush for the crash alarms. Very fortunate crew and no horses. Slight damage to an ATCO racing upstairs from the rest room, trying to get his trousers on and ending up with "both legs down the same knicker" - he fell over the step!

Ah those were the days!

Mmmm why was the ATCO wearing knickers........

Does anybody remember Air Continental 500-501 to/from Geneva with the UK newspapers departing around 3 am and back about 9.30 am. I remember an article in the Luton News with a photo of the pilot in front of the PA-31 Navajo ostensibly reading a UK newspaper on the ramp at Geneva.
My apologies if this has been mentioned before.

I remember it well, did a couple of trips on it. It was always weight limited, and often taking a passenger put it overweight.
It was always the first a/c to land at Geneva when it opened at 0600 local. Straight turn-round the first time I went, second time we had breakfast in the Swissair canteen.

I used to do that in a Beech 18 from LHR about the same time. I think we used to arrive about 0300. All very scary. As I was young and foolish I didnt realise!!.

L1011 demonstrator arrives at Luton.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psdkebqa8a.jpg


http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psi3dlxkro.jpg

LTNman, are those two images of the same visit. The top photo has an Air Canada sticker below the cheatline with the lower image having a Court sticker. Was there some nifty ladderwork?

I have never noticed that before!!

I thought it came only once but as can been seen in the take off photo it left with neither a Court or Air Canada markings so either it came 3 times or indeed they were pealed off.

(Edit) Just spotted that in the last photo the Clarksons sticker is missing off the third tail engine which has writing on it instead, so now I have no idea how many times it came to Luton.



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

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...pszl3ezlds.jpg

I suspect all the photos were from the TriStar's world tour in late 1972.

Lockheed were very slick with the paint and decals during N305EA's stay in the UK. Courtesy of abpic.co.uk, here it is first at MAN:

http://abpic.co.uk/pictures/full_siz...8484-large.jpg

and, supposedly the same day (though that sounds a bit dubious), landing at LHR for BEA to play with:

http://abpic.co.uk/pictures/full_siz...0422-large.jpg

Then a few weeks later at the Farnborough show:

http://abpic.co.uk/pictures/full_siz...4404-large.jpg

Aviation photographs of Registration: N305EA : ABPic

There I was thinking that the 74 Farnborough show was the first time that the TriStar made an appearance in the UK, next you'll be telling me that it could land automatically....Those photos of it at Luton show what a jump in technology and size the 70's brought to the aviation scene, especially to small airports. It must've seemed as though a spaceship had landed.

I was at F'Boro to see the L1011 in the hybrid BEA livery. I was at the ripe old age of 11 !!

What a shame 411A is no longer with us as he would no doubt be waxing lyrical!

Anyone have a suggestion as to why I can't see the images for this thread when viewed on my IPad, yet I can see them on a PC?:(

Twas a Friday evening, I think, when N305EA paid its first visit to LHR.
It emptied out the Pionair Club at any rate - a rare event !

Some rapid brushwork meant it was sporting BEA colours (of sorts) by the
time the -72 Farnborough show opened on the following Monday. 'ZG

And not to be confused with sister ship N323EA that BA leased from Eastern a few years later:

http://www.aviationphotocompany.com/...45527065-3.jpg

I recall at the time that whoever designed the maintenance control database hadn't foreseen the need for it to accommodate US-registered aircraft, so we had to pretend it was registered "NEA" in order to get it in.