UK airports 1970s - the "satellite"
 

Sifting through odd memories to figure out flying history and so on. I remember my family boarding via "the satellite" at either Manchester or Gatwick. Anyone know which airport used this as a term in the 1970s?

Don't think it was Manchester - in that period you had the domestic, international and 'Jumbo' piers - A, B and C. Never heard the term 'satellite'

Gatwick.

Not sure when the satellite terminal opened but I'm fairly sure I went through in October 1983 boarding a CTA Caravelle to Zurich.

My memory is that the North pier at Gatwick was reconfigured into the satellite around 1980 or 81?

First heard it about CDG - then Gatwick

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

1983: As passenger numbers grew, a circular satellite pier was added to the terminal building connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated people mover system. (This replaced the original North pier dating from 1962, and the people mover connecting the main terminal with the satellite pier was subsequently replaced with a walkway and travelators). A second terminal was planned, and construction began on the North Terminal on the land earmarked for a second runway in the draft plan of May 1970. This was the largest construction project south of London in the 1980s, costing £200 million

Thanks, later than I thought. May be coming from slightly later memories of the South Terminal. I know the part of the terminal well, it's the circular section a little to the north of the main pier. Thanks for confirming it wasn't Manchester.

The original concept of CDG had multiple 'satellites'.

Four of the original seven Aérogare 1 satellites survive, each capable of accommodating up to five aircraft simultaneously, with one satellite having been demolished around six years ago and the two either side linked by a continuous concourse, though I suppose you could still describe the resulting monstrosity as a "satellite", making 5 in total.

It was very 'of the future' when it opened, especially as it was connected to the South Terminal by a monorail. I used it a fair bit back in the day and if I recall correctly it was only US Transatlantic flights, such as Continental, World, Northwest, People Express etc. The whole ambiance of it being in a circle was a very different experience imo.

They were fantastic, especially at the time, both inside and out. Accessed by tunnels with textured walls with the longest travellators that went downhill, flat and then uphill to arrive in the round satellites. I must have used them hundreds of times over the years, so familiar even now. All in all ADP were ahead of the game in the 70's-90's period. Anyone remember the announcement jingle followed by some lovely female spoken french ?

"They were fantastic, especially at the time, both inside and out."

Ahhh - the Concorde Lounge - carefully hidden in a pillar that looked like a door to some electrical cabinet - but inside............... :E​​​​​​​

On the other hand it was possible to follow everyone else on arrival and occasionally finish up at the taxi rank without passing Customs, Immigration and without your luggage. I managed it twice and still don't know how. And the issue was clearly not uncommon as on explaining it to an AIr France desk inside I was immediately let in through a door back to airside.............

It wasn't a monorail, but a rubber-tyred automated transit. It was sufficiently short that in more recent times it was replaced by a fixed walkway on two levels.

Not just US flights, I took Wardair from there to Canada, and later an Orion 737 to Palma.

Fair point, I assumed that as it ran along a track it was a type of monorail, but the tyres don't fit that description! I'm usually observant, but can only think that most times I arrived by train and went straight to the shuttle and the gates, or did I check-in in the main terminal ?? Whichever, I didn't really notice the wheels and tyres :-)

I think my first flight from the satellite was an American Airlines 747/DC-10 to DFW in 83 and the last that I can remember was a Dan Air 737-400 in the early 90's, though I must have taken flights from there since then, but too nondescript to remember. I'm not sure when, but at some point there was a bilateral agreement that allowed the main US carriers to fly into/out of LHR , and LGW was abandoned en masse by the major players. Possibly British Airways started flying long-haul scheduled from LGW around the same time, though not from the satellite.

I note from the UK AIP Aerodrome Chart for LGW that the Satellite is simply marked (somewhat prosaically) as 'Pier 3'.

I searched 'history of gatwick airport' then looked at results for Images. This image shows their original terminal that could certainly be called a Satellite. It was known as The Bee Hive.
http://iansapps.co.uk/oldbritain/cra...7/01_small.jpg

Just to round out there is a YouTube video covering the detail of the Satellite Transit. It had two single cars which ran alternately on parallel tracks. Having covered the better-known one between North and South terminals, it starts on the Satellite Transit, including odd moments of past aircraft, at 11:20 here :

PAXboy,

I'm intrigued by your photo. Where's the runway? Was it still grass, to the north of the Beehive?

I did some searching and stumbled on this older 1947 air photo mosaic:


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2404e2037f.png

Picture from the amazing National Library of Scotland map collection:
https://maps.nls.uk/view/238924891

Anyone care to zoom into the original and ID the aircraft?

Gatwick airport was known to get very foggy and very soggy in winter months hence the east-west runway (about 1400 yds) and the north east- south west runways (about 1500yds) both had steel mesh reinforcement however the runway running fom the Beehive northwards (about 1300yds) on a bearing of about 350 deg was natural grass.

Thanks chevvron, I had a vague recollection of the "foggy and soggy" issue but I didn't know where the runways were.

I've just noticed in the aerial photo mosaic that I posted, that you can see the old Gatwick racecourse to the north of the runways.

Try this one too:
http://www.atchistory.files.wordpres...twick-1950.pdf

Pre-war there were few hard runways, aircraft were still around which had not been designed for this, for example still having only a tail skid, not a tail wheel, and didn't have the wheel loading that necessitated hard runways, which only really came with WW2 4-engined bombers. Furthermore, cross-wind performance was poor (almost non-existent for some), so a large open grass area, and a wind indicator visible from aloft, was necessary to always land into wind.

Gatwick, like Croydon, in the 1930s was grass only, but suffered from winter waterlogging to the extent that (the pre-war) British Airways, who had transferred there when the new Beehive satellite terminal opened, moved on again after the first winter to Heston. I read recently that the underground passage at "old" Gatwick from the Beehive to the railway station terminal (which was to the south of the current station), although still present, was waterlogged, and could only be passed through with waders. Clearly the drainage there was inadequate.

Croydon had a pioneer "runway", though done for takeoff, it was marked out on the grass each day, into wind, with white lines like a sports field, and was done to give direction for pilots in low visibility departures.

I too recall it being quite a ‘special’ experience. I think I flew long haul to the US from there. Perhaps Continental back in the late 1980’s.

Earlier this year I walked there from South and flew Vueling to BCN and it was decidedly unremarkable. Tacky feeling even.

P.S. Although, incidentally, I was pleasantly surprised by the Vueling flight.

0918

A major factor in the water-logging and not infrequent mist cum fog at Gatwick Airport was/is the River Mole that these days runs in a culvert under the runway on its merry way to join the River Thames at Hampton Court.

Indeed it was a special experience when travelling through the satellite when it was brand new. When it was built in 1983 it really transformed the airport.

And I totally agree with your comment regarding it now being totally unremarkable and 'tacky'.

I personally feel that the satellite is now totally outdated and in need of a total rebuild or a huge refurbishment or better still replaced entirely with a more modern and up-to-date structure. But that is not in the airports master plan for now, plus it would create complete chaos.

India Four Two This is an image search from the big G: History of Gatwick Airport

This is a clear timeline: The History of Gatwick Airport 1241AD to 1958 with multiple photos and diagrams. It is part of a tribute site to B-Cal.

PAXboy,

Excellent links. Thank you.

Just on the subject of Gatwick and the Beehive, it's possible to buy parking at the Beehive for £5 a day via yourparkingspace, (referrals available via DM for a free fiver credit I think) with about a 20 minute walk to the modern terminals. For anyone with an interest in civil aviation history it's ineffably cool to park outside the Beehive, which still has the rails on which the early airbridges extended out to the aircraft. It's now bookable office spaces.

We're quite well served for early airports in the UK SE. Most of the Croydon terminal is still there and worth a visit for the museum and tower, and the lovely Shoreham art deco terminal is still used for general aviation.

there's even a working relic along the M4 - I think its called Heathrow.

Heathrow was of course famously built on the pretext of helping with the war on Japan, but with the unstated aim of setting up a civil base to replace Croydon, thereby sidestepping a great deal of scrutiny. A relative newcomer.