RAE Thurleigh
 

I used to work at RAE Thurleigh about 20 years ago. At the time they had a BAE111, amongst others. I seem to remember a Seaking with a radar bulb built on the nose. I know it is a long shot, but anyone got any photos of the Thurleigh fleet ?

I suggest you look for a copy of “A short illustrated history of RAE Bedford” by Arthur Pearcy. Airlife pubs ISBN 1 85310 660 8. Although the book is published in black and white, there is a good range of photos.

I've only got images of Puma XW241 and Lynx ZD559. Will scan them next week and post. Both official shots by site photographer (Peter ?). I never ever took a camera onto the site. Now I wish I had. Do an !!!!!!!!!!!!!! search for ZB506 and you'll see it with the nose radar. 241 is now a sad looking specimen; 559 is at Boscombe. Many happy hours on both as an FO (no, not a first officer:))

Canberra line up here

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/att...hmentid=109932

edited: to add that there was a unofficial and very limited edition video tape, made by some of the ground crew, of the last days at Bedford. It showed most of the aircraft doing very low farewell passes in front of the hangars. I had a copy but I can't find it (think the wife probably through it out when we dumped the vhs m/c.

'Testing Colours' by Adrian Balch ISBN 1-85310-349-7 has many colour photos of the RAE & A&AEE air fleets. Many of the Bedford types are included.

lm

I may have a few lurking in an album somewhere, what are you after?

G

Oddly enough I saw the Sea King when it visited Odious....... it had strain gauges all over its nose as part of the trial.... a Chief we had who had just done all the courses to move onto it, but did diddly squat else rushed out to refuel it and could not find the caps........ it was a US model I believe and they were on the other side to ours...

Thanks very much, i was an electronics apprentice at RAE Thurleigh, and remember doing compass swings on a god awful day in December. My apprentice master was in the cockpit putting his thumbs out of the window every now and again.

Many happy memories of RAE Thurleigh, from heading into the site on my little 80cc moped from bedford in the driving snow, to being caught using the phone to ring the Met Office, to get weekend weather report so could work out if I could met the girlfriend, urmmm to continue my education !!!

I also never dared to take a camera onto the site, and camera phones didn't exist.

I remember as a treat we were taken up in a BAE111 for a fly around. I also remember another apprentice had built a digital clock, that worked, but drew 3 AMPS !!!!

Just really looking for photo's to help jog the memories, i also recall a Jaguar coming in that had had some of it's wing ripped off, young pilot did not eject, brought it in safely

Got a copy of 'Testing Colours' and it's a very interesting book with some excellent photographs.

Here's a recent shot of Thurleigh from the air -

- - Aircraft Photos - Bedford-Thurleigh @ Airplane-Pictures.net

Two books about RAE Bedford, one as safetypee has mentioned

“A short illustrated history of RAE Bedford” by Arthur Pearcy. Airlife pubs ISBN 1 85310 660 8.

and another book with more information and photographs

"Wings over Thurleigh" by Micheal D. Dobson ISBN 0-9541594-0-3

The second book covers 1954 to 1994, an amazing history of research and development.

ps In 'Wings over Thurleigh' I figure in the photograph on page 98 :)

IIRC he lost the rest of it on the guy wires at the Sandy Heath TV mast.

I'd left by then and that was I was told by what I thought was a reliable source. :suspect:
Charwelton Radio Tower is even more solid than Sandy Heath twr.

Well someone from Northants eventually had to be famous I suppose. I lived in Bedford in the 70,s and remember the RB engined VC10 doing circuits in the distance. As with so many things in life in those days had no interest in aviation and only recall driving past the airfield once.

Anyone know where I could get a copy of "Wings Over Thurleigh? Booksellers of the world seem to be bereft of copies.

Try putting in a request at your local library and tell them that Bedford Library has a copy.

Thanks for that, GG, I'll give it a try.

I had the privelege of a guided tour of the windtunnels there a while ago, what a fascinating place! I live locally, went to school within a couple of miles of the airfield and wind tunnels.

Unfortunately the airfield is now covered in parked cars. I flew over it many times during my training. Of course now part of the runway and some of the taxiways form the Palmer racing track. There were plans mooted recently to turn it back into an active airfield, but I think they've been shelved because of complaints from locals.

rae thurleigh
 

I also lived in Bedford during the 1960s, 70s and 1980s and well remember Monarch Britannias and B720s pounding the circuit doing training as well as BOAC aircraft (cannot remember if they were B707s and B747s probably both) - am now an old git. As a member of Air-Britain Luton branch we managed to have a tour round in the 1980s and a fascinating day we all had. I could not believe the amount of aircraft they had there ranging from Tornados to a Vickers Viscount. Also went to an Arthur Piercy lecture in Bedford - he used to work at Thurleigh - very interesting it was too - he was also trying to sell some of his books as well - good old Arthur now sadly missed.

I did a liaison vist there years ago when I first arrived at Farnbrorough. The wind was south westerly favouring runway 24, but this didn't have ILS, so there was a Monarch '720 doing visual and ILS circuits on 27, interleaving with an Andover doing 5.5 deg MLS approaches; on the reciprocal 09 there was a Hunter doing 1 in 1s, and there was the odd departure/arrival on runway 24; yes it did get busy!!

I believe there is a strip available for "fly-in" visitors to the Jonathan Palmer driving days. Anyone used it or know where it is?

Thurleigh
 

we lived in the 'Officers Mess' at Thurleigh in the late 60's early 70's. I went to school at Pilgrim in Bedford, and learnt to fly at Cranfield..The most interesting aircart were the VSTOL 'flying bedstead', the Trident, Canbera and 111 'blind landing and ILS aircraft' - comet, also, I recall - with nose extention full of electronics; a couple of Shackletons; the STOL Harrier test facility, with the 'carrier ski-jump' set up, and the runway / carrier hook/wire set up.. Every morning an RAF Heron or Dove would arrive carrying who knows what/who. Phantoms would beat up the runway going afterburner / wertical at midpoint. But the Flying bedstead was the most unique... I used to ride to the fence near the approach or the hangers and breath in the amazing sights - wish I'd had a camera then, too..:cool:

Thurleigh
 

Charles; the 'Heron or Dove' was most probably the 'Bedford Ferry' Devon from Farnborough. It usually ran for the 'boffins' twice a day morning and evening, with a lunchtime one added when required. There were 4 Devons on strength at Farnborough and they also served the other RAEs at Aberporth, Llanbedr and West Freugh.

Thurleigh
 

Chevvron, thanks for the Devon correction. I also made an error on the 'flying bedstead' - I meant the VSTOL prototype the Shorst SC1 (I think) - an amazing aircraft that looked like a bumblebee with a very long probe on it's nose. The test pilots were very regular habitants of the officers mess. I also enjoyed the boac 747 crew familiarization 'touch and go' flights, and the VC10 RB test bed, there were also a number of Hunter test aircraft, but not sure of the project, etc. I met a retired BA Captain many years later who flew the 1-11 test aircraft from Thurleigh, and who, as a training Captain, made 747 familiarization flights to the field....

Back in the 70s Thurleigh was considered as a 3rd London Airport.....along with Foulness. Alas we got Stansted.

H49

Chevvron

Quite right about the Devons. and they were far superior (from a passenger point of view) to the Chieftains that replaced them. The Dak was occasionlly used as well for the ferry - got it all to myself one day to Farnborough!

Especially when the Chieftains undercart refused to retract, which seemed to happen with amazing regularity. :O

The Transport Flight pilots who flew the Devons (and later the Dakota and Navajos - we NEVER called them Chieftains) were characters in themselves although they weren't TPs.
The was 'Denny' Dennison for instance. If he was flying the morning Bedford, we expected the altitude readout on his transponder to fail about 2 miles south west of Halton, and miraculously re-appear about 2 miles north east of Halton!! Talking to an SNCO at Halton one day, he told me he'd been taxying a Jet Provost on the airfield demonstrating to apprentices how to taxy aircraft, and close to the edge of runway 02, he'd looked up to see a Devon on short final, gear and flaps down!!
One day I did the Bedford - Staverton ferry with Denny. They served Staverton for boffins to/from the radar establishment at Malvern. Midway between the two airfields, the aircraft suddenly went into an almost 90 deg bank. Avoiding action? No, I could see Gaydon directly beneath!

How time flies and things change.

When I started commuting to Bedford from Farnborough on the 'Ferry' in 1954 it was a Rapide or if you were unlucky an Anson (unlucky because you could be asked to wind the gear up and down).

Or if you were VERY unlucky it was the Miles Marathon in winter (no cabin heating!!)
I understand the ferry also used to drop in at Westcott too. The Flying Order Book still had details of procedures for landing at Twinwoods Farm when I first started at Farnborough.

Thurleigh
 

John, forgive my 'newness' to pprune, but do I recall that you flew the Shorts SC1 at Thurleigh as TP ( my memory raclls it as 'SC1' - but I might be a little off there. Did you TP the Harrier 'ski jump' etc..?

What IS the true story of the proposed 'long' runway at Bedford? One source told me it was to be built between Thurleigh and Twinwoods Farm, hence the reason a public road south of Thurleigh had a cutting built for it (so it could go under the runway) whilst another source told me it was to be built between Thurleigh and Little Staughton to the east. Or are both stories true?

The original proposal was that a 5 mile long runway was to be built between Thurleigh and Little Staughton. The cutting was built as there was to be a taxi track between the airfield and the Tunnel Site, which was built along side Twinwood airfield.

CharlesMO7

Yes to both queries. The SC1 64-67 time as an RAF tp on Aero Flight while the Ski-jump was 77-78 as a civilian tp for Hawkers.

JF

As a nipper, one lived briefly in a village called Sharnbrook. One of my very earliest aviation memories-maybe the first- is of the HP.115 flying over my house. Quite a unique shape to look up at. Another is of some helo beating up the school playground.:ooh:

Might have been 1967?

Twin Wood Farm
 

Spent a happy year or so gliding there with the RAE boffins. Very relaxed and spoiled me for joining an ordinary gliding club when I moved away. Landing a Tiger on the short runway in a crosswind was fun as there was a barbed wire fence down one side.

I seem to remember some good parties there as well.

My office window has a nice view of the Tunnel Site.

Happy memories of working with the Radar Research Squadron in the 1980s (I still have my personalised Squadron mug). The father of one of my colleagues was a pilot there.

Also enjoyed seeing the exotic aircraft that visited there - Concorde and the TR-1 to name but two, as well as the research fleet. I never saw a 747 there but BA DC-10s were regular visitors for crew training. Plus, of course, Cranfield Radar (of hallowed memory) operated from a console in the Thurleigh approach room.

I served my "time" there as a airframe/eng fitter during the early eighties. If you would have even suggested to me then that the place would close I would have not believed it. I loved working on so many different types of aircraft and gained experience there that would not be possible elsewhere. Many "characters" worked there, the crew room resembled the bar in the first Star Wars movie. Still miss it.:{

Talking of a 747, I remember one landing heavily and bursting a tyre, it was parked between the hangars and waited for a crew to come up and change the tyres. While it was there many of us went onboard and had a look around. Sat in the cockpit, thinking this is 'massive'. Maybe 1973 ish?

Fastener, I agree about closing, and now a carpark.:sad:

Thurleigh
 

JF- Many thanks for the reply and confirmation, I now recall the HP 115, as well. Did that model, or the SC1, survive as a museum piece? Last question.... did the Concorde sim survive at Bristol?