Hullavington airfield
 

The MOD is to sell Hullavington,the end of another historic airfield.I went to my first air show there on 1954,flew many hours there with Bannerdown gliding club years later,wonder where the two V.G.S. Units will move to-sad:sad::sad:

Only 621 VGS there now. 625 Disbanded a while back.

I assume you mean just the airfield-the main site is listed.


When will this be sold?

2 ANS
 

I remember the tortuous process of learning basic navigation at Hullavington in the Valetta and Varsity which puddled around standard routes with long suffering Master aircrew staff pilots and siggies, coping with a hesitant stream of wrong information being passed forward by the baby navs. Innocent days.




http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/...psenajnv4w.jpg

Hullavington airfield
 

M.O.D. Has placed ads in local paper with list of pre war owners of the land,they have given them or their descendants two months to contact that's as much as I know!

The Basils had that y'know! ;)

The adverts have to be placed to meet the obligations of the Crichel Down rules ( which have just been revised).


This does not necessarily mean that the whole airfield is to be sold. It may be only a portion, for example the site which the karting hangar stands on.


There has certainly been no word locally that the airfield is to be sold.

Dougie M, what a lovely photograph. Reminds me of my time at 6 FTS in the back of a Dominie.

I understand that a company in Malmesbury is trying to buy it to build an additional factory

There would be only one company in Malmesbury that would be in the frame to build a factory that size-as their new factory is already well under way it is unlikely that they would be interested in Hullavington.


In any event, the site would have to be put on the open market so that the taxpayer can see that it has been properly exposed to the market and the best price achieved.


And then there is the small question of planning permission.


Don't hold your breath on this one. Sounds like Kemble all over again.

Dougie M. that picture reminds me of being in Nav school in Texas and shooting a night cel triangle that was big enough to put Texas inside of... and Texas wasn't inside it! Later I got a little better.

Incidentally, is that kit where they got the idea for Teletubbies from? :p

Valetta
 

The Nav Training variant or "Pig" as it was known could get several baby navs lost at the same time. A classic case was on a night astro sortie when the students ascended into the astrodomes to take a sighting of the same celestial body and all the little heads were pointing in different directions.


The nursery blue flying suits, G helmets, LSJ's and chest mounted parachute harnesses did nothing to abate the muck sweat of being temporarily unsure of your position.




http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/...pso3ptxmzz.jpg

My Hullavington memory is slightly different: in 1970 I hitched from school in my CCF uniform to the World Aerobatic Championships there. It was mostly Zlins, I recall. It took me so long to hitch I could only spend an hour there. Must have been plane crazy...

I understand that a company in Malmesbury is trying to buy it to build an additional factory - WE992

Interesting: not so long ago, the head man at the said company was looking for somewhere convenient to both home and HQ to house and operate a very nice set of private wings.

Jack

Planning applications Hullavington Airfield
 

Despite hearing rumours recently of a "sweeping" nature, nothing showing on Wiltshire CC Planning web site.

Dougie M #4,

You look as good in your Blue/grey flying suit and yellow LSJ as you did in later years in green growbag sir. More than I can say for myself. Trevor, I too flew with Bannerdown out of Hullavington, though my first exposure was at Colerne in 1972 at Colerne. A quick question for the Navs here. As a youngster my local B of B display was at Gaydon, post V bombers, and the home of No 2 Air Navigation School with Varsities as I recall. Was Hullavington a follow on, a forerunner or just an alternative operating base ?

Smudge :ok:

Smudge

2ANS moved from Thorney Island to Hullavington over the Christmas/New Year period at the end of 1961. The first course to start there was 36 Course at the end of January 1962. At the same time 1ANS moved to Stradishall.
I started on 37 Course the day after my 18th birthday party, with my first legal hangover. The rest of the course were not much better!!:sad:

The move to Gaydon was later, I think about 1970.

Hearing the news about Hullavington brings back wonderful memories of a bank holiday summer weekend spent camping on the base in 1970.My Dad was a member of the Chichester model aeroplane club (CADMAC) and took our family down there to fly control-line a/c and see the flying radio controlled models of other club members. My Brother and I used to fly our little rubber band planes in the big hangars on the base, good fun coz they flew better and didn't blow around. I remember watching the film ' Flight of the Pheonix ' in the station cinema.
We heard a roar of engines from the far side of the airfield one morning and legged it over to find a Lancaster ( NX611 now at East Kirkby ) doing engine runs. My Bro took a photo of me proudly standing one hand on the bomb doors and we were lucky enough to re-create the snap 40 years later in the hangar at East Kirkby in 2010 thanks to a chat with a lovely chap called Fred who let us get thru the barriers and close to his aircraft. Fred sadly passed away in 2013 but we were so impressed with his love of their Lancaster and his genuine interest in our old photo's which he asked to keep copies of. RIP Fred and I hope she flies soon in you and your Brothers honour.

Dougie M , Is your photo showing the World's first laptop computers ? .............................Blue boxes with green screens look just the right size to hold a Dalton computer [ whizz wheel ] And does not need a battery !

rgds condor .

2 ANS
 

I was on 63 Course, and we were joined by ten Iraqis, who were taught by our Course Commander in Russian. At the end of the Basic course they went on to Stradishall as 63 Course, and we stayed on at Hullavington as 63A Course to do the Advanced Course, only going to Stradishall to do 12 hours on the Meteor NF14.
Remember one of our favourite pubs was The White Hart at Ford, and parties at the various female colleges in Bath.
Happy days 1964!

Pencil Cases?
 

Those green lidded boxes intrigue me. When did they appear & are they pencil boxes?
Also the Gee box squeezed against the fuselage side, was it always placed there? But its 58 years ago.
"12 hours on the Meteor NF14", we did 30 hours on the NF 10 Vampire.

Those boxes lined with green felt were grey in colour and were indeed pencil boxes, marked 6B/472 on the top. They were issued with standard RAF nav bags (you can see them by the students' left legs) and fitted into a specially designed pocket in the bag.

The nav bag also included a stowage for the RAF nav ruler, but I found it easier to shorten the nav ruler and stow it inside the bag.

All were excellent pieces of kit!

Hullavington
 

Smudge Tengah Type


I started my Nav trg at Gaydon in Nov 69 so Big H had closed by then. I was privileged to live in the OM there in 1972/73 as it was overflow accommodation for the OM at Lyneham. 18 singlies galavanting around the world and living in a country club!! Happy days.


Nobby and Percy were the barman and they were glad that the Mess had a resurrection as only 4 livers until we arrived - 2 were civil servant.


Our pubs were the Vine Tree in Norton, the Suffolk Arms in Malmesbury and the Wild Duck in Ewen near Kemble.


middlesborough - The White Hart at Ford still going and well known

Dagama,

Thanks for that, I joined the RAF in January 69, and I'm sure I have memories of seeing the Varsities at Gaydon prior to that. Our ATC squadron attended there for Air Experience flights, we also went to Shawbury. Gliding from Tern Hill. Gaydon was our local B of B open day, a must for the likes of myself. I know for sure that 2 ANS Varsities always took part in that display. FYI, myself, wife and an old GE mate of mine regularly visit the Vinetree at Norton, great beer, great food and some very welcoming patrons too. No wonder you chaps enjoyed it.

Smudge :ok:

I was on 88 which started 3/5/66 at Gaydon - my school mate I followed into the mob was on 74, which commenced at Hullavington and moved to Gaydon in mid 1965.

There was a BofB day while I was there and our course had a stall with some sort of model aeroplane doing something similar to the malteser and tape measure trick that has been all the rage on TFI these last few weeks!

Dagama

Ah! The Suffolk Arms, watering hole of Miserable Mike Wood and Howard Mansell when they lived at Monk's Park - the latter did a streak around the pub! I used to frequent The Vine Tree early 70s and The Wild Duck from 72-80 when we lived in Ciren' then Minety. The guv'nor used to lock everyone in at closing time, being ready to serve baskets of chips if the rossers called!

I lived in quarters at Hullavington in 1971 and belonged to the Mess there untill we were kicked out and sent to Lyneham.

A picture of Gaydon in 2007: 2ANS was dead centre and the Aston Martin factory is just West of the former OM location. The old SCAF building is still there.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/43823021/Gaydon.JPG

Brian were you on 29 Herc Course?

Sadly, the Suffolk Arms was knocked down and is now a housing estate!

I still have my original grey pencil case and the plastic ruler and I also have an as new, unused RAF nav bag in my cupboard. ;)

I have four 6B/472s on the floor here, the newest one actually says 6B/000-0472; the metal clip however still says AM and has the Kings crown on it, Stores Ref 10A/3371.

Whopity
 

No, I was on 4 Course - my only claim to fame is the first baby nav' to be told he was going to the 'not yet in service' Herc. Just before 88 Course finished one of our syndicate instructors, the only decent one I might add, the great Brian Weatherly ( later a Flt Cdr on 48 at Lyneham ) told me there was a chance that a Herc' posting would be offered to a first tourist, if so its yours he said.
In fact there were 2 slots for my course ( 88 ) and Tony Fawcus got the other - by the time 4 course started Dai Jones ( 89 ) and John Pilkington ( 90 ) had also received Herc' postings, all of which were to 48 at Changi. Des Pope and my old mate Arthur Chapman from 90 were on 5 Course.
This of course opened the floodgates for first tourists, as from 5 Course onwards there must have been at least 50% first tourists.

I guess 29 Course must have been in 1970.

Brian, now there's the name of a true gentleman, Arthur Chapman. I had the great honour of being a GE, allocated to his crew during GW1, and he made me feel a real part of the team. I remember finding a "Muslim ? " compass, with 400 degrees on it in the local souk, and bought it for him as a Christmas present. With typical aplomb, he asked why I thought it was special, didn't all compases have 400 degrees ? Great bloke.

Smudge :ok:

I recall Brian Weatherly joining us at Lyneham when we had relocated 48 from Changi.

AA62
 

Were you at the 48 bash last year? Brian was in great form ,amazing for 82 years old - I passed him as we went off to bed and there he was chatting up some youngsters from an adjoining party.

This should probably be on the Herc' thread but here goes, IIRC you had Brian and Tony Barrett as your Flt Cdrs - round the corner on 30 we had Colin Quaife and Doug Pettinger, both drivers as we had a nav' boss, and they were replaced by Ugly Bob Gray ( my skipper on the OCU in '67 ) and Jimmy 'The Gun' Gillmore.

Brian,
yes those were two of the flight commanders. Tony was alas the captain of the Hercules that crashed at Colerne. I had known Tony on Hastings.
I do not attend reunions these days.

any more on the future of the airfield ??

Arc

Brian 48Nav
Funny you should mention Brian Weatherly, he was the Brian I twas thinking of, as we had both been on the same course in 1971.
Flew with Bob Gray's son on 10 Sqn

Hullavington Thread
 

What happened to the Hullavington Thread?

Pencil Boxes
 

I feel hard done by nobody ever gave me an official pencil box! But then we were the last of the National Service aircrew.
Nav. rulers we called them straight edges, never used to measure anything. What was the scale on them?. Measurements done by dividers and the corresponding longitude scale.
??? That name rings a bell, he wouldn't be about my age would he?

Looks like this thread has been hijacked by the Tangent Brothers.


No further news to my knowledge on what is happening.


I still think that it will be related to one of the off lying sites however.

Measurements done by dividers and the corresponding longitude scale. - Pom Pax

I hope that you were allowed plenty of latitude.....:)

Jack

SX983,

I apologise for my part in the thread drift, never having been a Navigator, I would never have been clever enough to calculate any correction required. I'm sure that my interest in the history of No 2 ANS is genuine, and my memories of Hullavington, having spent time gliding there, are good ones. Perhaps some more input from those who attended, worked or otherwise lurked there during its time as an operational unit would keep us "on track" :eek: Otherwise, living fairly nearby, I've heard nothing on redevelopment of the site.

Smudge :ok: