My Memorable flights - Boeing 707s, Viscounts & Sandringham.

[viscount]

MEMORABLE FLIGHTS

In recent days 'Samba' has thrown down a gauntlet on the 'Nostalgia' section for photographers to place their best Viscount and Boeing 707 shots on the appropriate thread. Well I started to scan my shots of flights in both types (and another), then realised that what I was putting together in my head was more of a blog about some of the more memorable flights I have had. The slides copied ranged far from the starting aircraft types. So I'm starting a thread with some flight tales of mine, which may inspire others to post their own. There are also lots of shots that could equally be at home on the 'Out of the cabin window' thread.

MY FLIGHTS ON BOEING 707s

Part 1: Dan Air in 1975

My starting type will be the Boeing 707, an iconic airliner that came into service only a few years before I started taking an interest in aircraft and aviation. I must have seen my first on the ground at either Manchester or London Air Port (Heathrow) in 1962, I had my first flight only the year before, but in a Fokker Friendship. It would be a number of years before I first flew on the aviation icon, that was the Boeing 707. By 1975 I had been in full time employment for a couple of years and had the cash for an 'exotic' holiday. So with non-spotter friend planned an epic camping 'road trip' around the USA’s National Parks that eventually covered 7,000 miles in five weeks and took us from Vancouver to San Francisco, then inland via Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Jasper and Banff, Calgary, Lac Louise, Vancouver Island, Seattle and back to Vancouver. That trip though is an entirely different story although did wangle flights in a Bell 47J over Alcatraz, a Beech Bonanza down the Grand Canyon and floatplane Cessna 172 off Union Lake over Seattle.

This illustrated story is about getting to (and back from) the USA. At the time the £50 travel money limit had not long been lifted and ABC (Advanced booking charters) had replaced Affinity Groups as the cheap way of getting across the Atlantic. So via Wise Travel and Phil Salt, we booked with Jetsave, flying Dan Air from Manchester to Vancouver on a Boeing 707. The service was quite a marathon as the routing turned out to be not direct as stated on the ticket, but via Prestwick collecting more passengers, then into Sondrestrom Fjord in Greenland for fuel en route to Vancouver. The reverse routing was followed on the way home, so 6 sectors on G-AZTG a former Pan Am Boeing 707-321 built in 1959. On the way out as DA6708, I logged the MAN-PIK sector as 30 minutes at 16,000ft, then PIK-SFJ at 3 hour 25 at 35,000ft at 550mph and SFJ-YVR at 5 hours 57 minutes again at 35,000ft. On the way home as DA 6719 YVR-SFJ 5 hours 20 at 33,000ft, SFJ-PIK 3 hours 05 reaching 37,000ft at 530mph and finally PIK-MAN at 30 minutes again, this time at 19,000ft. The flight was an adventure in itself, as the following set of images shows.



The departure from Manchester was on a dull dismal day, Prestwick was not much better - however on departure the clouds cleared somewhat as this cloudscape photo records. The Manchester passengers remained on board during the refuelling and boarding of further passengers.

Flying over Greenland the white Atlantic clouds gave way to the white Greenland Icecap, but it was as we crossed the western edge of the ice cap that the size really became apparent. The glaciers flowing out through gaps in mountains towards the sea, giving way to long fjords and bare rock as we descended.



Once beyond the fjords, a long turn, still descending, along the coast, before turning inland again, clearly following a procedural approach pattern despite the fine clear weather, to fly down a very long fjord, still in the descent towards finals, before crossing from water to land and immediate touch-down and rapid de-acceleration on a very barren airfield at Sondrestrom Fjord. Our Boeing 707 was the only aircraft on the apron apart from a Gronlandsfly Sikorsky S-58T and a DC-6 over by the hangars, with another inside - just the tail showing. Here we disembarked and entered the terminal. No transit lounge segregation, we mixed freely with the locals and local traders.

Debated on including this one of a scruffy and somewhat hairy self, some 42 years ago.

Departure was equally informal, when called everyone simply wandered back to the aircraft, carrying whatever they had purchased (in a variety of currencies) with them and returned to their seats. No security, no bleeping metal detectors, no x-rays, no pat-downs, no removing belts and shoes, no boarding cards - wow, how air travel has changed!

Climbing out of Sondrestrom Fjord and setting course for Vancouver. A photo I consider to be one of the more striking I have taken out of an aircraft window. Those P&Ws just scream power, while the pylons and wing just reek of classic Boeing 707 against a stark landscape and attractive clouds.



In late July the sea ice across Hudson Bay in Northern Canada had broken up in small pieces drifting from horizon to horizon, a white speckled Arctic Ocean]



The sea gave way to cloud, which gave way to the jagged peaks of the Canadian Rockies on the descent into Vancouver.



Long finals over Vancouver.

As already stated, the trip home was the reverse of the trip out. However the visit to Sondrestrom Fjord for a second time cannot go without further images, not just of the Boeing 707 basking in arctic light, but also two Gronlandsfly helicopters present this time and an Icelandic survey (note the tail magnetometer boom) BN-2A Islander departing. For this flight we were seated right in the back row – as the aircraft swung around 180 degrees at the runway end it seemed that we were hanging looking down at a cliff face to the sea! The airfield runway ended with sheer cliffs at both ends, no over-runs, something of a rock aircraft carrier! Today now known as more correctly as Kangerlussuaq; it was originally built in 1941 as Bluie West Eight by the US Army Air Force as a fuel stop for aircraft on delivery and carrying war supplies to Europe. Then it was a remote airfield and dangerously difficult to locate in poor weather with only basic navigation aids and unreliable radio beacons at the extreme range of the ferry and transport aircraft of the period.








Part 2: Air France in 1977.

Two years later in June 1977 came my next ride in a Boeing 707. I booked with a fair number of others on a weekend trip to the Paris Air Salon with the MAS. This was a Tony Williams led trip, only he could have found a way of getting from Merseyside to Paris return on 3 different aircraft types at £62 for flights, two nights hotel and coach transfer to the Air Salon! So it was with some excitement I looked forward to my first flight on a SE.210 Caravelle (a type that was missing from my passenger log book) outbound on the morning AF961 Manchester to Paris Charles de Gaulle. However on walking out down the pier at Manchester, what was on the apron but a Boeing 707-328 F-BHSJ, the larger type substituting due to our heavy booking. I logged the flight at a mere 52 minutes. We came home on a BUA BAC.111-201 G-ASJC of BUA CDG-LGW and BIA Dart Herald G-APWG LGW-MAN. So while I missed out on a Caravelle (I never did get to fly in one), I did get what became my only flight in a Dart Herald that weekend. F-BHSJ did not remain in service long after my flight in it – indeed the TAHS Production List Book states that it was broken-up at Paris/Orly in April 1976, a year before we flew on it!



F-BHSJ Boeing 707-328 waiting for passengers at Manchester. Left the pier window reflections in place, as they were impossible to avoid at the time.

Part 3: El Al/Sun d'Or International in 1981.

What became my last flights in a Boeing 707 came a few years later in August 1981, flying from Manchester to Tel Aviv and return. Another trip booked through Wise Travel, although Phil had moved on by then. The direct flight out, LY 5318 took 4 hours 28 minutes at 37,000ft, the return LY 5317 two weeks later, flying into wind, took longer at 5 hours 08 minutes at 35,000ft. Sun d’Or, the tour and charter division of El Al, operated just the one former El Al aircraft at the time, 4X-ATR a Boeing 707-358B. The aircraft first saw service January 1966 and operated mostly with El Al until retired April 1988.







As the aircraft had a leisurely turn-around at Manchester, it was possible to be out on the roof terrace and watch it land before going downstairs to go to the gate. Difficult to do that today, even if there was still a roof terrace!



Winding out of Manchester. The airport can be spotted under the wing-tip - still very much in the days of single runway operation and GA black sheds. Note the different nacelle shape compared to an earlier, not dissimilar angled shot from the Dan Air Boeing 707.





Having kept my camera concealed passing through Tel Aviv on the way home, shots of the initial climb out from Tel Aviv. A long climbing turn, with considerable height gain before heading out over Tel Aviv and Jaffa resort on the Mediterranean coast.



Presumably Greek Islands basking in the haze many thousands of feet below.



Crossing the Alps in clear conditions en route to Manchester.

As a footnote to this trip, the flight home was the only time an airline has lost my luggage. I had arrived somewhat early at Tel Aviv for the flight home, so enquired at the El Al desk if I could check-in early and get rid of the encumbrance of my back-back, even though the flight was not up on the departure board. Yes, no problem, the clerk was happy to accept ticket, luggage and passport, but informed me that the airline did not fly to Manchester and I would have to change at Heathrow. She even told me I was mistaken in thinking I had flown to Tel Aviv direct from Manchester 14 days earlier, as she wrote LHR on the baggage tag! I requested the supervisor, dug my heels in, and when one came she agreed that I was indeed on a direct flight to Manchester as indicated on my ticket, where they did indeed fly to. The baggage tag was removed and replaced with another to MAN. You can guess how this story ends. I got to Manchester, but my bag didn't. Two days later British Midland at Liverpool rang me to say that my rucksack had been delivered to them from Heathrow, could I collect it. At Liverpool, Steve (who is a member of this forum) was on duty with BMA. To confirm it was my bag, he required a quick description of contents. "Dirty washing" as a reply did not deter him, as he unthreaded the flap, before that task was completed: "I don't need to go any further, I can smell you are right - you owe me a pint!". It would appear to me that the clerk at Tel Aviv, as soon as I left the desk replaced the LHR tag onto my bag, and Steve was right, the contents were 'rich'!

Hope you have enjoyed my trip down Boeing 707 memory lane. I’ve got another two memorable air trips on the production line to come shortly, and if encouraged to do so a few more possible beyond that.

[viscount]

MEMORABLE FLIGHTS IN VISCOUNTS.

While all my Boeing 707 flights either started or ended at Manchester, with the Viscount all but two flights either started or ended at Liverpool. My first Viscount flight was my fifth flight, August 1962 with Aer Lingus to Dublin. There then followed a school air experience flight and standby fare flights to Heathrow with Cambrian, along with a trip to the Isle of Man and twice to Dublin. When BMA took over the Heathrow route a couple of further Viscount rides at weekends. In 1982 came the trips I’m about to relate in detail between Glasgow and Kirkwall. Four years later Manx Airlines on their ‘Farecracker’ lunchtime flight took me to and from the Isle of Man on a BMA schemed aircraft (already related on the IoM Section). The final 2 flights were further ‘farewell’ specials, first with Manx in 1988, then in 1997 with Heli-Lift Avn on G-APEY a Viscount 806, a former British Airways machine, as the final passenger flights by Viscounts in Britain were flown.

In all I clocked up 15 flights on 11 different aircraft, mostly series 800s, the only 700 series being G-AMOA; flying with Aer Lingus, Cambrian, British Airways, British Midland, Manx and Heli-Lift Avn. While all could well be considered ‘noteable’ flights, indeed three were ‘farewell’ specials, I will cover just the one return flight here, which oddly is the one that did not either start or finish at Liverpool Airport.

A WEEKEND IN ORKNEY BY VISCOUNT - 1982



The tale starts, as many did at that time, sat around a table in the upstairs cafeteria at Liverpool on a Saturday afternoon waiting for not much to actually happen. Paul had spotted an article in TTG (Travel Trade Gazette) announcing that British Airways Scottish were retiring their last Viscounts from service and were inviting people with an association with Viscounts to come and join them. So Paul applied for places, and to my considerable surprise a couple of weekends later that all four of us had seats, accommodation and train tickets all booked, just needed paying for!

So it was very late on a Friday evening, indeed maybe just into the early hours of Saturday, Paul Ellison, John Waddington, John Pope and Brian Jones found themselves being entertained on Wigan high-level station waiting for the overnight train to Glasgow. Why use the word ‘entertained’, well also waiting were a large contingent of Uni students at the start of Easter break en route to Stranraer for Belfast. They were mostly female, had been drinking and got bored waiting – so started impressing each other with cartwheels and handstands, without any thought of the amount of multi-coloured underwear displayed by their prowess. Anyhow I digress somewhat from Viscounts!

Don’t recall too much of the rail trip to Glasgow, then out to the Airport. Once at the Airport we showed our ‘tickets’ – not much more than an invitation card, and eventually out onto the apron where four of the final five BA Scottish Viscounts awaited. I had previously flown on one of them, but fortunately it was to 'YO that our group, Aircraft 3, were ushered. On board balloons decorated the luggage lockers and drinks distributed. The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny, though clouds were moving in on a bit of a breeze.







A 35 years younger version of me now, complete with much facial hair and poor clothing taste (well one of two statements has changed with time!).



Out of a choice of G-AOYL, G-AOYM, G-AOYO and G-APIM, it is G-AOYO that we are directed towards
.
Following departure it was up to a cruise at 13,000ft at 270mph, mostly above cloud as we crossed the mountains of Northern Scotland, before a descent toward the Orkney Islands. Those on the Starboard side, which fortunately included us, were treated to an amazing flight along the high sea cliffs of Hoy, banking around a clear view of the Old Man of Hoy – which had featured not many months before on a pioneering BBC real-time live broadcast rock climb. Then we were taken on a low level tour of various archaeological sites, before lining up for a landing, with 1 hour 10 minutes in the air logged.



G-AOYO Viscount 806 cockpit, instruments showing 5,000ft at 210kt in level flight, outside air temp +2 degrees.



Decorated festive interior, Paul, John and John toasting the flight from our seats near the back

Coastline of the Orkney Island of Hoy, including a dramatic pass at cliff top level of the Old Man of Hoy.



The landmarks just kept coming, here passing over WWII sunken ships still blocking one of the entrances to the natural harbour of Scapa Flow.



Then a turn over the pre-historic settlement site of Skara Brae, exposed by coastal erosion behind the beach.



Flaps down for finals at Kirkwall after an entertaining and visually thrilling flight. Only dementia will ever erase the memory of that low level sweep along the Hoy coastline and past the Old Man. Did the pilot forget that he was flying a Viscount with passengers? I’ve since learned that in good weather it was a not unusual for an early descent to enable sightseeing from the cabin.

Disembarkation at Kirkwall. A never to be repeated line-up of four British Airways Viscounts at Kirkwall (the tail is that of a HS.748 that was replacing the Viscounts with BA Scottish). Just one set of steps to serve each Viscount aircraft at it arrived. The Pipers provided a good Scottish welcome on disembarkation down the steps, in fair sunny weather and warm for the time of year.



Only other aircraft around was a very conveniently parked BN-2A Islander G-BEDZ of Loganair.

Arrival at Kirkwall was in the early afternoon, and after being taken to various B&B accommodation around Kirkwall by small coach, there was a walking tour of Kirkwall town for those interested.

Don’t recall too much of the walking tour, but clearly took in the magnificent Romanesque style Cathedral (massive round headed arches, the Nave vaulted with Early English style pointed arches) and the harbour. That evening there was a buffet and dance, plus speeches from, and thanking the organisers etc. I felt somewhat of a gate-crasher at the party, but we were made very welcome all the same although it was clear that many of those there knew each other.

The following morning, after a good Scottish B&B breakfast, we were loaded on coaches for a tour before returning to the Airport. Overnight the warm, fine settled conditions had turned cloudy with a cold, wetting drizzle. But undeterred off we went around the prehistoric sites of Skara Brae and the burial mound at Maes Howe.





Back at the Airport, of interest were a BN-2A Islander G-AXXG of Air Orkney and a British Airways Sikorsky S-61N G-BEOO on a combined training and photography mission of us as we departed.





Note the rather unusual sight of British Airways departing passengers sheltering under the wings of their aircraft - you don't get that at Heathrow, indeed don't dare even to try and walk under a wing! By lunchtime the morning drizzle had turned to rain, but we all had to wait our turn for the single set of steps - the terminal would not hold four aircraft-worth of passengers at once.





Well what did you expect but a lot more Viscount pictures on a blog about a Viscount flight! Note the long line of parked cars which had come out in the rain to watch us depart.



Again we were number 3 of the procession of 4 aircraft, after take-off each aircraft returning to ‘salute’ Kirkwall with a fly-by.



Despite the cloud and rain we proceeded across the Pentland Firth for a go-around at Wick. This geological feature on the North coast of Scotland is a Geo, formed by a cave roof collapsing. We were on the wrong side to see anything of Wick airfield. After Wick we climbed to a comfortable cruise for the rest of the flight to Glasgow.



Back in the 'Seventies a cockpit visit was almost obligatory, now a thing of the complete past which is most regrettable. The panel reads G-AOYO, 14,000ft, 230kt indicated, straight and level in the cruise, flying due south 180 degrees.





Finals over the Clyde for Glasgow, then a race to the station for the train back to Liverpool to be ready for mundane old work on the Monday morning. An excellent weekend, unforgettable flights and visits to places I’ve not returned to despite vowing that I would. But then, I could not do the trip by Viscount ever again.

[gerrymanning]

Two excellent pieces, well done.

[viscount]

Gerry, wait until you see the third!

[viscount]

MY FLIGHT IN A SANDRINGHAM - 1977

- A flight that officially never was!

I’ve been fortunate to fly in several types of which there were very few still flying at the time. Ford Tri-motor, DH.84 Dragon, Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer immediately spring to mind - and the aircraft about which this tale relates, the Short Sandringham.





For several summers during the mid 1970s Captain Charles Blair, owner of Antilles Air Boats brought the airworthy one of his two Short Sandringham flying boats across for a long summer vacation in Ireland. Probably the second, or maybe the third summer of doing so, he entered into an agreement with Aer Arann, who at the time were a West Coast of Ireland BN Islander airline, to fly passengers between Killaloe on the River Shannon and the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. Naturally this caught the attention of a number of aviation enthusiasts across Europe. No doubt the idea was discussed in the MAS clubroom and soon Phil Butler, Gerry Manning, Steve Williams and Brian Jones were deep into detail planning. An early August date was suggested, the year 1977. Aer Arann were less than helpful, but tickets were purchased. I flew across to Dublin (by BA Viscount G-AOYM flown by Capt. Vernon) several days before and stayed with relatives in the Dublin area. I forget the detail now, but either I hired a car and met the other three off the overnight Irish ferry early on Friday morning, or they brought a car across and I joined them at the Port. Either way around we were soon on our way for a visit around the aircraft of the Irish Air Corps at Casement/Baldonnel airfield arranged by Phil, who at the time was a leading authority on Irish aircraft registrations.

After a successful tour of Baldonnel, it was off across Ireland to Killaloe on the River Shannon, just at the south end of Lough Derg and not that far from Shannon Airport. We had vague instructions from Aer Arann on how to find the Sandringham at her moorings. However on arrival there found that despite Aer Arann earlier in the week confirming that our flight was ‘on’ (weather permitting), when we met the crew, found that it had been cancelled for some days as Captain Blair had been urgently recalled to the West Indies. The AOC regulations state that the aircraft needed two flight crew and an engineer for a passenger flight. However the co-pilot and engineer were present, indeed ‘married’ to the aircraft that could not be left unattended for fear of breaking its moorings in an unexpected wind gust. They told us that we would get a full refund from Aer Arann, but also report to them the next morning as they needed to run the engines and get the oil moving again after some weeks of inactivity. As the Sandringham is a flying boat, there are no brakes, so an engine run would entail taxiing out onto the lake. Disappointed, but buoyed up by at least moving on the aircraft we set up camp for the night close by, after first a quick visit to Shannon Airport.

The Saturday morning was another fine day. We reported to the aircraft’s crew and were taken out in a motorboat for the rather awkward, undignified transfer from open boat to the near waterline passenger door. We were given the ‘run’ of the aeroplane, not just the two passenger cabins, but into the tail space, around the spacious cockpit, crawling into the wing space beside the cockpit that would once have held the depth charges. The Sandringham was a conversion of the Short Sunderland IV, and this aircraft which first flew in June 1943 had served operationally with the R.A.F. as JM715 before post-war conversion as a passenger aircraft and operated in New Zealand as ZK-AMH and later in Australia as VH-BRC, before becoming VP-LVE 'Southern Cross' with Antilles Air Boats.

I’ll let the images and captions take over the rest of the story.

View from the lower passenger cabin as we taxied under power from the River Shannon into Lough Derg. As I recall the procedure was to start one engine, then as a second was started cast off before the mooring bouy was pulled out of the river bed. Once under power and moving the other two engines were started and warmed up and we all gathered to stand behind the pilot’s seats in the spacious cockpit.

After a few minutes, the Co-pilot, sat in the Captain’s seat spread his hand across all four throttles, half turned to us and said “Aw, what the hell, let’s go”, moving his hand forward and in moments we had smoothly transitioned from fast taxi to flight. Yes we were definitely airbourne. Wow!

“We can’t stay up here long, I’m keeping that hill between us and Shannon’s radar, as I’ve not told them we are up here. By the way, this flight is not happening and has never happened, Don’t tell anyone!”. So, even though now so many years ago, I have to warn you that all these images are the product of some excellent recent work on photoshop. The flight I’m describing is totally unreal - indeed that was the way it felt at the time too.

So after a brief figure of eight flight it was back for a remarkably smooth transition from flight to water. One moment flying, the next a boat with no real sensation of change between the two.

The Flight Engineer’s position.

After mooring and shutting down, we left VP-LVE with her crew performing post engine-run checks and writing up the engineering logs, but not the flight log. We did feel though for the two Swiss enthusiasts who were also booked to fly to the Aran Isles that day, they arrived in time to see us cast off for our engine runs only then to see us flying.

We then drove back to Dublin, attempting (with a singular lack of success) to locate some private strips en route. I dozed off and awoke to find the other watching for camp-site signs. I looked out and realised I knew where we were and declared "next left" and spent the evening with an Aunt and Uncle before using spare accommodation in their bungalow. The others were delivered back onto the ferry on Sunday morning, I spent a few more days around Dublin before flying back courtesy of an Aer Lingus Boeing 737. After a few days in Liverpool I was off to Iceland, but that is a tale yet to be retold.

x x x x

Some years later (2009) I visited VP-LVE again. Her last flight was 2nd February 1981 into Lee-on-Solent, and since 1984 she has been in the Southampton Hall of Aviation (now Solent Sky) at Southampton. They have repainted her back as VH-BHC ‘Beachcomber’ in her full Ansett colours. I had requested prior to my visit a look at the aircraft log books but they were unavailable, however I was taken into the cockpit which is now quite restricted in space as sometime after our flight a large rack of navigation equipment had been added into the cockpit. She is a big aircraft in a building not much larger, so photographs are not easy.

Captain Blair the owner of the last two flying Sunderland/Sandringhams was killed a year after our flight, when a Grumman Goose he was flying crashed into the Caribbean, 2nd September 1978. More on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_F._Blair_Jr. Following his demise, eventually both Sandringhams were sold and returned to the UK. During the early 1980s it was the other former Antilles Air Boats Sandringham that was back in the air and flown around the UK. This aircraft was now G-BJHS and appeared at a number of air displays before sale in the USA to collector Kermit Weeks and is now in store in Florida, still with a potential for restoration to fly.





Somewhere I have photos of G-BJHS in the air but cannot recollect just which air show I saw her perform at. Here though she is moored on the River Thames at dawn during September 1982. This was a ‘request stop’ for the MAS coach trip heading for the SBAC at Farnborough and made for odd sight as 50 odd aviation enthusiasts spread out along an otherwise deserted embankment for 5 minutes before retreating back to the warmth of a (likely) Home James (remember them?) coach.

So a final reminder, you have been reading fiction backed-up by some inspirational photoshop work. As the pilot said, this flight never happened....and to prove it, we got our fares fully refunded by Aer Arann.

Well that is the last of these tales for a while as I need to delve back deeply into the slide boxes and select some more. The Tri-Motor flight is a good one, or domestic flights around Iceland, or by DC-8 around Peru, then there could be ............... well wait and see!

[gerrymanning]

Great to read about what was the best flight I have ever done, In one of the shots I am just visable sitting in the co-pilot's seat for the whole flight. If you remember the other three of you were standing on the flight deck and nobody was strapped in to a seat. My memory of it was that we met the pilot, an Australian named Ron Gillies (think that is the correct spelling) and he told us on the Friday evening that Charles Blair commuted from the Virgin Islands each weekend and when we met him again on the Saturday he said that Blair had not come over that weekend so could not fly it solo..... the rest is your classic tale. I have no memory of a flight engineer however but on another point you had the hire car and collected us from the ferry.

A friend of mine who flew in it in the UK had as the cabin crew, Charles Blair's wife, the Irish film star Maureen O'Hara.

I cannot think of another type to fly in that will top a Sandringham/Sunderland

Gerry

[viscount]

Gerry, the part of the story I was always a little woolly on was the cause of the unavailability of Captain Blair, apart from the fact that he was unavoidably detained in the West Indies. I intended to state why it was that Charles Blair spent the summers across in Ireland in the introduction, but them omitted mention of Maureen O'Hara.

The flight engineer was at his somewhat isolated panel at the rear of the cabin, some distance behind your co-pilot's seat. The only time he showed any action was going down to the nose to hook-in the mooring buoy.

For 40+ years we have never before published the story of the flight that officially never was. Certainly a number of important aviation rules were, in a flash ignored as the throttles were pushed forward, and we have kept that to ourselves for all that time. However I am sure now that our pilot's commercial flying days are long over and it would be a very vindicive Aviation Authority to pursue them after such a passage of time. The very fact that it was a flight that officially never was, makes the story a special memory. Brian

[crumb]

I made a special trip up to Lake Windermere and went out by boat for a tour of g-bjhs, very interesting. Somewhere in my loft I have photos, I'll have to dig them out and scan them.

[vanguard]

Morning Brian,if i am correct the Sandringham did a flypast down the river east to west on what day,what year,what date i can't remember.
I was driving past what is now South Parkway and saw it just above the buildings,quite a few years later i had a look inside it at
Kermit Weeks "Fantasy of Flight"in Polk City FL,your article was brilliant thanks for shearing it with us all.

Frank

[ian531]

Hi Brian

Great report, just been showing my Dad and brothers your report

They saw the Sandringham landing in the distance while we were on holiday at Shannon in 1976

I was only 7 at the time so don’t remember much of the holiday

Thanks for posting
Ian