Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
Just a few places/names to trigger memories of the Cognoscente....in no particular order
Biggin Hill
Cafe Michelle
Green Frog
Fudpuckers
Ned Kelly's
Jockey Club
The Flyers'
Red Baron
Sidetrax (sp?)
Reflections
Sign of the Whale
Rumours
Mon Cherie
Queen's Castle
Kangeroo Bar
Buffet de la Garre - remember the toilets
Castellis
Happy daze!!!
Biggin Hill
Cafe Michelle
Green Frog
Fudpuckers
Ned Kelly's
Jockey Club
The Flyers'
Red Baron
Sidetrax (sp?)
Reflections
Sign of the Whale
Rumours
Mon Cherie
Queen's Castle
Kangeroo Bar
Buffet de la Garre - remember the toilets
Castellis
Happy daze!!!
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C130
Just been delving into a couple of books - the first Herc' for the RAF, XV176, made its maiden flight at Marietta ( the Lockheed plant ) on 19th Oct' 1966.
XV177 was the first handed over to the RAF in a brief ceremony at Marietta on 16th Dec' 1966. It was flown by an RAF crew ( Mel Bennett, Dave Wright as pilots, Cyril Loughheed Nav', Fred Pennycott Flt Eng and John Sutton as AQM ) to Marshalls at Cambridge on Dec' 19th in silver livery. After painting and fitting of more flight deck equipment, 177 went to Boscombe in Feb' '67 followed by 178 in March.
Thetford's 'Aircraft of the RAF' gives April as date of first delivery to 242 OCU at Thorney Island and Andy Muniandy's book 'Hercules - the RAF workhorse' gives the date as 3rd May.
Initially 6 were delivered to 242 and my logbook shows 5 of them as 176,179,182,183 and 189 for the first part of 4 Course with 180,185,186 and 187 being there in November. Maybe some swaps took place with Lyneham as 36 Sqn formed there in August.
AA62
Sorry, no more photos found.
XV177 was the first handed over to the RAF in a brief ceremony at Marietta on 16th Dec' 1966. It was flown by an RAF crew ( Mel Bennett, Dave Wright as pilots, Cyril Loughheed Nav', Fred Pennycott Flt Eng and John Sutton as AQM ) to Marshalls at Cambridge on Dec' 19th in silver livery. After painting and fitting of more flight deck equipment, 177 went to Boscombe in Feb' '67 followed by 178 in March.
Thetford's 'Aircraft of the RAF' gives April as date of first delivery to 242 OCU at Thorney Island and Andy Muniandy's book 'Hercules - the RAF workhorse' gives the date as 3rd May.
Initially 6 were delivered to 242 and my logbook shows 5 of them as 176,179,182,183 and 189 for the first part of 4 Course with 180,185,186 and 187 being there in November. Maybe some swaps took place with Lyneham as 36 Sqn formed there in August.
AA62
Sorry, no more photos found.
The history of how the RAF finally got to the C-130 is pretty long and tangled - see Chris Gibson's "On Atlas' Shoulders," for example - but (and not having flown the beast myself) I'd imagine that most were content that we waited for the K model.
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Following ICM's answer to the Old Feller I think that it was probably financially not possible to reconcile the huge inventory of transport aircraft into a single fleet in the late 50s. Since ICM and I had been on Argosies in the 60s we encountered Comets, Beverlys, Hastings and Britannias down the route and expected the VC10s, Belfasts and Andovers to swell the numbers. Smaller comms aircraft like Devons, Pembrokes, Beagles, Twin pins and the odd Dakota kept the maintenance teams on their toes. I arrived on the mighty Herc in 76 and stayed there till 2003. Best fun ever. It looks like Bunta's carrot of "all the gin joints in all the world" has yet to get a nibble.
I do recall a Red Flag detachment where the Herc crew were approached in the Café Michelle with a request to do that "sign language" gospel song. We obliged with Swing Low Sweet Chariot in its various forms ( which went on to be a nightly feature) and the only thing I remember being asked subsequently by an elegant blonde lady of mature years: "Why do you Brits slap yourselves on the back of your neck when you're jacking off?" My reply is lost in the mists of time.
I do recall a Red Flag detachment where the Herc crew were approached in the Café Michelle with a request to do that "sign language" gospel song. We obliged with Swing Low Sweet Chariot in its various forms ( which went on to be a nightly feature) and the only thing I remember being asked subsequently by an elegant blonde lady of mature years: "Why do you Brits slap yourselves on the back of your neck when you're jacking off?" My reply is lost in the mists of time.
Last edited by Dougie M; 24th Sep 2017 at 16:44.
'elegant blonde lady of mature years'
Sounds very familiar.....they were certainly the majority of beasts that roamed the 'lounge'.....
And I haven't even begun on the Heart of Fayetville........a favourite 'haunt' I believe....
Sounds very familiar.....they were certainly the majority of beasts that roamed the 'lounge'.....
And I haven't even begun on the Heart of Fayetville........a favourite 'haunt' I believe....
Last edited by bunta130; 24th Sep 2017 at 19:02.
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I happened to wander around South Cerney churchyard on Thursday, armed with my trusty Hasselblad 500C and saw this memorial to the crew of XV180 (Fairford). Developed the film this morning and thought this thread might be a suitable place to upload the photo.
Edit - photo link refreshed.
Edit - photo link refreshed.
Respect to them all.
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Mixed fleet
Dougie M, I agree with your reasoning re the wait for the RAF C130 being partly financial. I shared several years with the RAF at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia (1963-1966). It was a relatively common thing to welcome RAF Britannia's, Hastings, Argosy's as well as having resident Valiant, Vulcan and Victor there. We also operated Meteor and Canberra aircraft as well as Dakota, Bristol Freighter and De Haviland Otter as well as Allouette III helo's. The C130A was a better aeroplane than many think. The bulk of my time was on the A model, although I did short tours on the E and H models. I enjoyed them all.
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Old Fella
I only remember once seeing a C130A model with its distinctive "Jiminy Cricket" nose and that belonged to a Reserve unit in the States. I do however recall some time in Adelaide when we went to recover some maritime detritus from a Nimrod detachment at Edinburgh Field after a Fincastle competition. There was some concern about just how much Hazardous Cargo was safe to transport so we were in the home of Two Dogs for a couple of days. On a foray downtown and trying to look in with the much younger crew I was denied entrance to a club because I was wearing jeans. "They are black denim trousers" I protested to no avail. For a garrulous race the Aussies can be quite taciturn when it suits. Anyway I found a bar not too far away fairly close to the uni. A couple of girl studes drifted in much later and said "C'mon Grandpa. Buy us a drink and we'll make you look good". Knowing the $99 cocktails around I said "Only if you're drinking beer at bar prices" "O.K." they said just before the rest of the crew came in saying "We have permanent hearing loss from that place and you can get arrested for being a paedo with these two". The girls fled but my cred was enhanced. I noticed that Adelaide has no twin U.K. city. I would suggest Surbiton.
I only remember once seeing a C130A model with its distinctive "Jiminy Cricket" nose and that belonged to a Reserve unit in the States. I do however recall some time in Adelaide when we went to recover some maritime detritus from a Nimrod detachment at Edinburgh Field after a Fincastle competition. There was some concern about just how much Hazardous Cargo was safe to transport so we were in the home of Two Dogs for a couple of days. On a foray downtown and trying to look in with the much younger crew I was denied entrance to a club because I was wearing jeans. "They are black denim trousers" I protested to no avail. For a garrulous race the Aussies can be quite taciturn when it suits. Anyway I found a bar not too far away fairly close to the uni. A couple of girl studes drifted in much later and said "C'mon Grandpa. Buy us a drink and we'll make you look good". Knowing the $99 cocktails around I said "Only if you're drinking beer at bar prices" "O.K." they said just before the rest of the crew came in saying "We have permanent hearing loss from that place and you can get arrested for being a paedo with these two". The girls fled but my cred was enhanced. I noticed that Adelaide has no twin U.K. city. I would suggest Surbiton.
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The list of salubrious joints earlier appears to missing Red Lips . Never went there myself of course, but have heard many interesting tales about them!!
Last edited by ksimboy; 26th Sep 2017 at 07:07. Reason: me being thick and unable to read a list.
That list could never be exhaustive........ Let's face it, the Ascoteers searched high and (mainly) low for suitable entertainment establishments....
Some I missed off:
Rumours (Happy Valley and Washington)
Cotton Club
Bredbury Hall
King George
For home fans......'Trotters', Camelots etc...
There is plenty more!
Some I missed off:
Rumours (Happy Valley and Washington)
Cotton Club
Bredbury Hall
King George
For home fans......'Trotters', Camelots etc...
There is plenty more!
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Bulldog Club - HVGB accessable with judiciously placed thumb over rank on F1250 
Safari Bar - Muscat
Carnivores - Nairobi
Sherlock Holmes - Bahrain
Adams Mark Hotel - St Louis
Gordon Biersch - Las Vegas
Safari Bar - Muscat
Carnivores - Nairobi
Sherlock Holmes - Bahrain
Adams Mark Hotel - St Louis
Gordon Biersch - Las Vegas
Seem to remember a Sherlock Holmes in Edmonton too.
Adams Mark......One of the late GB's favourites..bless him!
If I remember rightly, you had to travel down a 'bandit-infested' road to get to Carnivores. Nairobi was always a dodgy nitestop, with an incident in the 80s of Co (OB), Nav (The Wittering Taff) and GE getting mugged.
That reminds me of a ML story from the New Florida Bar....white trousers....with stripe 'applied'
What was the name of the bar between the NGor and the Diarama (?) in Dakar? Resident 'Austrian specialist' in most nights from memory!
So many hazy memories....and great blokes' company along the way....some huge characters; I was lucky enough to have been on the Fleet in the Pedro era.
Adams Mark......One of the late GB's favourites..bless him!
If I remember rightly, you had to travel down a 'bandit-infested' road to get to Carnivores. Nairobi was always a dodgy nitestop, with an incident in the 80s of Co (OB), Nav (The Wittering Taff) and GE getting mugged.
That reminds me of a ML story from the New Florida Bar....white trousers....with stripe 'applied'
What was the name of the bar between the NGor and the Diarama (?) in Dakar? Resident 'Austrian specialist' in most nights from memory!
So many hazy memories....and great blokes' company along the way....some huge characters; I was lucky enough to have been on the Fleet in the Pedro era.
C130As of No 36 Sqn RAAF
That photo of A97-209 flying over the Blue Mountains brings back many very happy memories of the time, 1965 to 1967, when I had the great pleasure of being first a co-pilot and then a captain with the Richmond-based Squadron. The photo shows clearly on the tail of 209 the Squadron badge of a rampant black stallion (motto, 'Sure') that today, i.e. more than 50 years on, is applied to the RAAF C17s of the modern No 36 Squadron now based in Queensland.
Having completed a two-year tour with No 24 Squadron flying Hastings out of RAF Colerne, I was fortunate to obtain an exchange tour with No 36 Squadron RAAF and enjoyed every minute of my time there! The first and best thrill was getting to handle this beautiful aeroplane that was so responsive to control inputs, and thereafter the fun was operating to airfields all around the Commonwealth of Australia and the surrounding territories: Papua New Guinea, Honiara, Nauru, Norfolk Island, Canton Island (Pacific), Hawaii, Philippines, Malaya, Thailand, Vietnam, Cocos Island, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, etc. Absolutely the best time in my (flying) life.
We operated onto crushed coral, grass, clay, PSP (Pierced Steel Planking) as well as hard surfaces, and flew some relatively long flights such as Darwin - Changi (7.15) whilst having the capability of making some very short-field take-offs and landings. The long three-bladed propellers gave this aircraft that extra performance. All very different from flying the Hastings - which I don't regret having flown for for the company and the challenges - and seeing many beautiful sunrises and sunsets all around the tropics.
On the way up from Pearce WA to Butterworth in Malaya via Cocos we would of course have to negotiate the ITF/ITCZ with its towering cumulus. We had a Flight Engineer who could draw quite well, and he would illustrate these clouds on the vertical profile chart on which we plotted our course, then handed the result with its depictions of where the clouds were to the Met folks at Cocos Island to help them with their forecasts. These charts, if drawn by this Flight Engineer, used to be kept as 'Pin-Ups' by the Met Office because he drew the big bubbling clouds in the style of Botticelli with voluminous curves, rosy cheeks and smiling eyes!
As co-pilots we were checked out in the left-hand seat, and over each weekend two of us would be on standby together with a Flight Engineer and a Loadmaster (no Navigator needed) to carry out air tests on aircraft that would emerge on Saturday or Sunday. We were authorised to fly for three hours, and after we had completed the air test, and assuming that there were no deficiencies, we could do whatever we liked! Thus we would shoot ILS approaches to Mascot (Sydney Airport) overflying the Harbour Bridge (for the view) and, my favourite, low flying along the canyons of the Blue Mountains.
Purely coincidence, but I'm meeting up tomorrow with the RAF Navigator who served with me in Richmond, and his wife, to meet and greet one of our RAAF colleagues and his wife who are visiting a member of his family over here in the UK. Friendships made all that time ago still endure!
Having completed a two-year tour with No 24 Squadron flying Hastings out of RAF Colerne, I was fortunate to obtain an exchange tour with No 36 Squadron RAAF and enjoyed every minute of my time there! The first and best thrill was getting to handle this beautiful aeroplane that was so responsive to control inputs, and thereafter the fun was operating to airfields all around the Commonwealth of Australia and the surrounding territories: Papua New Guinea, Honiara, Nauru, Norfolk Island, Canton Island (Pacific), Hawaii, Philippines, Malaya, Thailand, Vietnam, Cocos Island, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, etc. Absolutely the best time in my (flying) life.
We operated onto crushed coral, grass, clay, PSP (Pierced Steel Planking) as well as hard surfaces, and flew some relatively long flights such as Darwin - Changi (7.15) whilst having the capability of making some very short-field take-offs and landings. The long three-bladed propellers gave this aircraft that extra performance. All very different from flying the Hastings - which I don't regret having flown for for the company and the challenges - and seeing many beautiful sunrises and sunsets all around the tropics.
On the way up from Pearce WA to Butterworth in Malaya via Cocos we would of course have to negotiate the ITF/ITCZ with its towering cumulus. We had a Flight Engineer who could draw quite well, and he would illustrate these clouds on the vertical profile chart on which we plotted our course, then handed the result with its depictions of where the clouds were to the Met folks at Cocos Island to help them with their forecasts. These charts, if drawn by this Flight Engineer, used to be kept as 'Pin-Ups' by the Met Office because he drew the big bubbling clouds in the style of Botticelli with voluminous curves, rosy cheeks and smiling eyes!
As co-pilots we were checked out in the left-hand seat, and over each weekend two of us would be on standby together with a Flight Engineer and a Loadmaster (no Navigator needed) to carry out air tests on aircraft that would emerge on Saturday or Sunday. We were authorised to fly for three hours, and after we had completed the air test, and assuming that there were no deficiencies, we could do whatever we liked! Thus we would shoot ILS approaches to Mascot (Sydney Airport) overflying the Harbour Bridge (for the view) and, my favourite, low flying along the canyons of the Blue Mountains.
Purely coincidence, but I'm meeting up tomorrow with the RAF Navigator who served with me in Richmond, and his wife, to meet and greet one of our RAAF colleagues and his wife who are visiting a member of his family over here in the UK. Friendships made all that time ago still endure!
Good point.....albeit the 'joint' was a bit quiet, certainly in comparison with Rumours bar there.... Now that was a scary place, with the local mooses ready to 'pick off' 'tired and emotional' Ascoteers
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C130A
Nugget90. I am pleased my post showing A97-209 in flight over the Blue Mountains evoked some pleasant memories for you. I arrived at 36 Sqn a year after you completed your exchange posting. I remained with 36 Sqn, except for a short attachment to 37 Sqn in the lead up to 36 re-equipping with the H model, before leaving to undertake a B707 conversion with Qantas, in Jan 1979 when we acquired that type. I left the RAAF in 1981 after 23 years service and later joined CX in Hong Kong.
Hope life is treating you well.
Regards OF: ok:
Hope life is treating you well.
Regards OF: ok: