Clipper 1
 

Many moons ago listening to the wireless(not radio then)tuned to company frequency,Clipper 1 called asking that meals be ready for all the crew upon arrival at Heathrow,(carrier wave only) company must have queried why,broad American accent"Goddam mouse in the galley"------------query re passengers?"Hell no mam we've fed them ok".

'Red Dragon' was originally used by the Prince of Wales when he was learning to fly helicopters with the Navy.

Admittedly I haven't done radar for 9 years but 9 years ago, Martin Baker used the callsign 'Martin' at least for the Meteor.

In June of 1968 I was overnighting Charleville in Queensland on a charter to further out. At 0500, wandered to the Charleville Flight Service Unit to stick in a flight plan. Duly did that. Like many remote FSUs in those days, they were, depending on the shift, manned by one bloke only. So in the shouse there was a speaker allowing any incumbent to do his business while monitoring traffic.

That long-winded preamble was only to set the scene for myself listening in that same small room to a very British accent calling Charleville.

"Charleville, Speedbird Seven Oh Three, do you read? ".

"Loud and clear Birdseed ."

"Charleville, I say again, this is SPEEDBIRD Seven Oh Three . . .. "

"Okay Birdseed . . . . are you wanting to give me your Charleville position?"

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Incidentally, it was the same cove who would not reply to a preflight , pre flight plan lodgement, test call on both VHFs.

So, I go into the office and ask him did he read me at all?

And he says . .. . "yeah . . . two by two. . . .. too loud and too often".

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_ One other total segue . .. . .. while working at Perth Airport, Western Australia in mid 1965, I saw a British registered 749 Connie landing just after daybreak. She taxied to the freight apron. That aircraft had a big Ace of Spades painted on the tail. And it was the grubbiest 749 you could imagine.
After shutting down, the front door opened and a man let down a light extension ladder, which, first closing the door , he climbed down. He put the ladder flat on the ground under the 749. Carrying a small case, he disappeared in the direction of the cab rank.

To this day, I believe he was the sole occupant of that 749. (Not being a plane-spotter, I neglected to note the rego, apart from the G-????).


Anyone full of doubt, consider that the late Bryan Monkton, who bought four Sunderlands from the RAAF round 1949, flew one at Rathmines on Lake Macquarie, one calm early morning, entirely on his pat. Slipped the mooring, started engines, did a ten minute local, put down, shut down and judged it so finely that he could go below, open the front hatch and hook onto the mooring.

"And you wouldn't read about it in the PIX!"

(That was a popular saying in Australia 60 - 70 years ago, as PIX magazine was risque for those times.
https://www.paperworld.com.au/magazines/pix.html )

Apols drift, but FAR CU wondering if your Connie was G-ALAL....Ace Freighters?

airways intl cymru ? (1-11 and 737) was that red dragon>?

Someone mentioned "Rushton" used by the Sea Vixen drone conversions. That call sign is still used by the Cobham Falcons out of Bournemouth.

Thanks Mr Reid-I am glad to ehar that, always had a soft spot for them hanging on through all the troubles.

i had the pleasure of flying MEA back in the day- very nice trip with some of the most stylish and elegant ladies ever to grace the aisles of a Boeing.

Further to Speedbird/Birdseed, does anyone else recall a story from the 60s of a "Speedkok Bangbird" call being made to the Bangkok BOAC office?

As already pointed out BKS to Northeast was a straight rename. Designed to reflect the airline's services to Newcastle, Leeds etc rather than initials of it's founders Messrs Barnby, Keegan and Stevens. I think it became part of BEA owned British Air Services about the same time.

Channel Airways, for whom at least some of BKS/Northeast's Tridents were built, ceased operations at end of February 1972. BEA though had a Channel Islands Division operating Jersey/Guernsey services and also those from Birmingham. A Scottish division ran internal services in Scotland and some London services such as Wick and Inverness.

Northeast, Cambrian, Scottish and Channel Islands were rolled together as Regional from April 1976. Initially they used a mix of Bealine and Speedbird callsigns, Leeds to London for example being BE/Bealine 4403 an d so on. They quickly reverted however to NS/Northeast, probably because of callsign confusion in London TMA and on ground at LHR. BZ/Albion came along c1977.

Scotland's Air Sinclair used 'Clan King'.......Affectionately known in ATC as 'Clanking'.
At one time, they had a 748 that used 'Clan Speed'.

SSD mentioned 'Ghostrider' above. I seem to remember it was a Danish Jetstream, and it was actually 'Coastrider'.

Before we had the callsign word printed on the strips, one of our controllers kept calling a BOSAL a/c 'BOZO'. Pilot wasn't amused.

Polar Air Cargo used 'Polar Tiger', and I think Great Wall, (a Chinese freight outfit) used 'Taipan.

Emery Air Cargo was 'Rosenbaum'....Or often 'Rosie'.

Northern Executive Aviation, based at EGCC was 'NEATAX".

Excailbur used 'Camelot', Air 2000 'Jetset', Aer Lingus used 'Are Lingus' when I started in '79.

Airways International Cymru used 'Welsh Air' for their c/s. 'Red Dragon' was definitely used by Air Wales (the ATR operator).

Lionair 747s used 'TAG'.

Emerald Airways were 'Gemstone'. Manx, Euromanx and Spacegrand were also heard above The Irish Sea over the years.

More recently, "Raffles" was used by Singapore Flying College Lear 45's based out of Maroochydore, Qld.

Then you'd have the tossers that called themselves "THE Speedbird", which always caused gales of derisive laughter in every other flight deck that heard this.

Trundling along a taxiway, in a Shorts 3-60, when ATC advised the Speedbird "after the 3-60". Some smart**s female pilot came back with "after the shed". I can call it a shed, I'm flying it, she can't. I'm still proud of my quick reply. "ahead of the seedy-bird"

I only recall TWA using T-W-A rather than "Transworld" but maybe the latter was used during an earlier period.

Birmingham Exec Airways was BIRMEX, obviously.

Cougar used "Speedcat"....

In the mid '70s Air Anglia had a call sign of "Wright Flyer" for a staff positioning flight to the NWI Company Christmas party. "Wright Flyer" because one of the Co Founders was Wilbur Wright and the airline used to fly up and down the UK East Coast.
Flying two F27s full of staff for free to a Christmas Party, a great staff morale booster!