G-AVRL was one of Britannia's first 737's. There are other photos on the web ( I'm not going to attempt to post them after all the recent furore over copyright and attribution) showing her in the same colour scheme but with the Britannia emblem on the tail. Long before my time in B., but I suspect she was leased out to Argentina for a winter when there was not enough work for her in the U.K.

G-AVRL's delivery to Luton in 1968 (my photo). Broken up at Mojave in May 1994.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...iveryLuton.jpg

Was the photo actually taken at Luton as I don't recognize the background or even the bushes?

Yep, from the then spectators enclosure next to what we use to call the central taxiway. That is Switch House 1 under the tail.

"I don't recognize the background or even the bushes."

Plane spotters, Reg. spotters, and now we have bush spotters?

Yep that's me. Where is the car park? I can't ever remember the airport without what is is now the midterm car park.

I'm sure you can LTN Man- don't you remember the bushes that hid the damaged Autair Ambassador ('LZS I think). Vintage ATCO will remember when that was removed.

I am really enjoying this thread, as in the past I used to fly a Falcon 900EX, a Falcon 50 and 50EX into Luton from the US until the boss made us switch to Farnborough because he thought it was closer, driving time, to his London homes in Chelsea.

So keep it up guys, especially the old photos. :ok:



Oh, his daughter told me time wise it was about the same, but her dad would never admit he was wrong, so we kept going to Farnborough.

Britannia's early liveries on its 737s
 

Photo by me (not taken at Luton) in 1974, showing the second iteration of this. I do remember the first livery, but never got a photo of one in it-something I don't now regret (see my caption to the photo):


https://www.flickr.com/photos/489750...-8qpVdB-8ZrQwr

In the days when every summer BMA used to fly weekends to Jersey and sometimes Guernsey with Viscounts and F27's and maybe DC9's?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ps90b090f1.jpg

1946. Two aircraft are parked just to the right of the north west corner just about where the entrance to the security gate is. The Gulfstream hangar is to the left and Signature to the right.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psf0060511.jpg

Super photos LTNman. Have you any pictures of the Channel Airways Flyer ? HS 748 bus-stop service which used to transit keeping one engine turnin' and burnin' ?

SCOTTISH FLYER
 

I remember seeing the odd BAC 1-11 and a number of Vickers Viscounts on the service as well. plusBritish Midland Viscounts going to Palma, Barcelona on Friday nights from Luton in the late 1960s.

Ah... The Scottish Flyer , an attempt at a "bus stop " service. If memory serves me right starting at Southend routing , Stansted, Luton , East Midlands, Leeds and other stops to Aberdeen? Then back again all outside Controlled Airspace using Mil Radar. Mainly Viscounts , did one have "Scottish Flyer" on the fuselage? Also at least one trip with a 1-11. It couldn't have made money and didn't last long. I remember a Viscount making at least two attempts to land at Luton in poor weather to pick up one piece of 20kg freight. All load info passed through ATC :-)

Never seen a photo of a Channel Airways aircraft at Luton.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ps62b70691.jpg

Great shot-just look at those wonderful Britannias; "proper" airliners.

Another Postcard from LTN
 

Scottish Flyer
 

Not at Luton but found this on the Vickers Viscount Network

http://www.vickersviscount.net/Default.aspx

photo no 9 G-AVHK under photos

Scottish Flyer through LTN
 

I worked for Channel at LTN in 1969,the route north was from SEN,ZSD,LTN,CDD,LBA,MME,NCL,EDI then ABZ.and the same a/p's south.
The flights ceased in the Autumn of 69 when CW were operating Viscounts on the route.

The Autair Herald and the Britannia Brits: another cracking shot-thanks for posting. Wish I'd been around to see airliners like these, but I wasn't old enough to start spotting till April 1971, by which time the Britannia Brits had been gone for nearly 1.5 years-I read somewhere that last flight of one was 30th December 1970?

ZSD????
CDD?????

Stansted and Castle Donington.

If I remember correctly, they were the original 1960s IATA codes.

Garden Party Query.
 

Percivals held a garden party for their staff in July 1945. There were some amusing histrionics organised with some wrecked a/c sections being painted-up black with white crosses as 'German', and the 'German' pilot being rescued from the burning wreckage/bonfire.

A long-shot, but does anyone happen to know where on the Luton site this event took place? All I know is that there was a mention in a local rag with a really naff photo.
I'm looking for any photos of this event too.

GQII.

After a comment here about me being a bush spotter I think I am going to re-enforce those views with the following post.:eek:

As you know, but for the benefit of others, post 76 on page 4 of this thread contains the photo in question. Looking at my collection of photos and aerial views I would hazard a guess that the photo was taken to the side of Percivals complex by Eaton Green Road as hedgerows were in short supply around the airport even in 1946. In fact the second and third photo in post 24 on page 2 were taken just after the war and shows a nice hedgerow by Percivals. I can't find any other hedgerows that could have been used as a backdrop in the photo in post 76 as everywhere else just had scrub land on the airport border and no hedgerows.

The photo shown here is Eaton Green Road taken in the early 70's with the airport boundary to the right and Wigmore Hall Farm in the distance. This was taken just past what was once Percivals and is the remains of that hedgerow seen in the photos in post 24.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psace78379.jpg

aahhhh yes, I remember that road being the way to that nice little pub at Tea Green.

Luton Airport Summer 1963
 

Is that a Jet Provost I can see in the middle distance by the curve of the centre line?

Definitely.

Looks like a Twin Pin behind it, and a Connie in the background.

Love the old photos! What are those Varsity-like aircraft on the right ? Why would an RAF trainer be there considering the over-supply of bases back then ? Whose Connie might that have been and…..:8 would I be correct to say that the taxiway to the runway would be to the left of the Connie ?


SHJ

SHJ, those are Vickers Vikings of Autair, as in this image: http://www.airpixbycaz.co.uk/cazsite...lp/balp18.html

........

Euravia.........predecessor to Britannia Airways.

PM

It was probably built there!

The centre line as seen in the photo bends to the left then out of shot to the right and then left again to what was then the end of the runway.

Thanks for all the answers chaps!

You live and learn….my knowledge of LTN doesn't go much further back than the late 60's, so that there was a factory producing military aircraft came as a surprise. On checking they (Percival) left in early 1960's, so the above photo must have captured one of the last examples.


SHJ

The Vickers Viking was never in production at Luton. Autair bought in those examples.

I think the reference to being built there was about the JP. :O

Think you are right:O

I assume this Cliff Minney Luton photo is a prototype Jet Provost?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ps9f101cfc.jpg

It's certainly a T.1, but not (I suspect) the prototype XD674.

Built at Weybridge.........

PM

@staircase. The pub at Tea Green would be the White Horse. Used to be my local!