EGGP/Speke. Slides from 60's/70's

[Beemer]

Ron it was the first thing we looked at.

Renault Dauphine
Ford Anglia
Mini
Austin? 1100

Regards Beemer

[SAHG]

There's a very good chance that Dauphine belonged to my Aunt Ed. Both my Father and Ed worked at the airport and were friends 'back in the day' with aircraft painter Wally Robinson.

A couple of years ago, my Aunt dug up some old photo's and there was a pic of her, my older brother - and a chap I didn't recognise. I asked who it was and to my surprise she said "Wally Robinson". I had gotten to know Wally over the last 7-8 through his painting of the Rapide at the North Field. Small world eh?

[buryspotter]

Found this in the January 1961 edition of the Air Britain British Civil Aircraft News:

Paris, anybody?
Our Merseyside friends have organised a dayreturn
trip from Speke to the Paris Air Show in June,
and seats are available at a cost of £8. Details
may be obtained from Mc. N.Eakins, of 112,
Holmefield Road, Liverpool 19, and firm bookings
must be accompanied by a deposit of £4. First
corners will be first served.

Anyone old enough to remember this far back ?

Alan

[coaxingtin]

Unfortunately, yes! We flew to Orly on Starways DC-4 G-APEZ.

[viscount]

Although continuing the above answer takes this thread well off the thread title, the account of the day that appeared in 'Northern Aeronews' magazine of the MGAE (Merseyside Group of Aviation Enthusiasts) transports spotters to a time now long lost, so is well worth the time to transcribe a manually typed, poorly Gestetner reproduced page onto the net.

Parlez-Vous Francais ?

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Sunday, June 4th 1961, dawned fairly normally, to find an unusual number of people awake. A high proportion of these subsequently converged on Speke where they monopolised the terminal with what must have rivalled an R.AE.S. Convention! After a while this ensemblage overcame Starways' G-APEZ to embark on the Group's most ambitious project yet - the long awaited visit to the 24th Salon. The presence of Twin Bonanza HB-GAY at Speke augured well, and during the next 12 hours were seen some 350 aircraft of 150 basic types.

After a comfortable two-hour flight we circled Paris, affording a magnificent view of new suburban development areas, and let down to Orly. After taxying past inordinate quantities of Caravelles and Boeings of Air France, 'EZ parked between a Cessna 310, an Aeronavale Languedoc and a Portuguese A.F. C-54. After some delay the party was on the apron - in fact all over it. After collecting a C-135, Finnair Caravelle and El Al Boeing among others, they were extracted and carried to the quite marvellous new terminal. From its heights we added a Tu.104 and Atlantic Gulfstream, before setting off to Le Bourget.

The coach journey enabled us to survey some of the local scenery. One item omitted from most guide-books is a roadside Ju.52; how RLW managed to photograph it at that speed may never be known. The Salon was reached and entered with remarkable speed and economy. It is difficult adequately to convey one's first impression of Le Bourget on this occasion. Indeed, one is perhaps dazed by the multitude of unaccustomed sights, and much concentration is needed to regard each in turn.

As a first thought comes the spectacle of no less than 52 aircraft in the static display. Quite why a Cogea Spitfire appeared was obscure, but there was no doubt as to the significance of such as the Mirage, Mystere, Etendard, F-104, G.91(T), Javelin, Skyray and Skyhawk. British involvement was not novel, but facing the Victor and Vulcan, the Tu.114 alone carried Soviet colours. A pleasant surprise was the German UF-1 Albatross, with various U.S.N. 'flying radomes' nearby. The light range was largely American, with the new Macchi-built LASA-60 and the Marquis (Astazou-engined Baron) as interesting variants. A new Ambassador was the DR.1051, and the RW.3 is now more-or-less adequately powered as the Passat. The Picchio and SIAT.222 looked extremely attractive and very effecient, and those who thought the Nipper entertaining should see the Junior by Bolkow, nee Malmo, nee Andreasson. Everywhere the scene was dominated by the monstrous wing of I.G.N.'s 8th HD.34.

Shortly after our arrival, the Rubis-Emeraude development, and a genuine Scintex product, began to aviate. It was followed by an unprecedented succession of items straight for our notebooks. I say this since your scribe at least has little recollection of any of them in more than numerical form. With so much to see, there was no time to watch anything for long. Perhaps outstanding was the U.S.N. effort, with Crusader, Phantom and Vigilante demonstrations. Other flypasts included Gannets, Vixens and Scimitars from H.M.S. Hermes; Mirage, Super Mystere and F-100 of A.del'A; and 3 Victors. The Patrouille aerobatics were a treat, especially since their coloured smoke worked, but the 9-Lightning wing-over by 74 Sq. will be long remembered. A very motley array of helicopters cavorted, including the massive Frelons, several S-58s, the many tailed Huskie, and the very new Lualdi L.59 helpfully labelled '5'. Alouettes seemed to be breeding, and it is said that the Gyrodyne XRON-1 will fit in the boot of a Mini-Minor. For the rest, they replaced one another with such stealth and skill that even telescopes boggled. They are amply described in other places by those with more time.

One field wherein our journalistic colleagues are silent, but a speciality of the Group, is in the contents of the formation of hangars. Many of our lynx-men failed to detect a lurking Me.108 and a Beech Traveller bi-plane. No one could fail to find the stack of Alouettes (some Luftwaffe, and XJ380 for us), Djinns, French Dakotas and Invaders, 3 Bobcats, 2 Commanders, Baron, Super 18, Broussard and Cessna 310 are unlikely bed-fellows. The prototype Sipa 261 accompanied 2 Alycons ... one could go on. But there was the airfield, with a genuine Lancaster - and another! Also a York, Saharas, Noratlases and Flamants all but hiding Siebel 204 No.15. A derelict S-51 leaned on a derelict Ju.52 - TWO in one day! An Armagnac kept watch on 3 Alouette 3s. A storch, alias MS.502, leered at us from the other side. Swedish Dakota 79006 was ex LN-IAF on one side and SE-CFP on the other. Amid all this we might well have lost our heads - we merely........... and there mid sentence, the article is cut-off in full flow, by the bottom of the foolscap shaped page.

Do take the time to read this carefully, the use of the English language is delightful, not just a report, but a verbal picture of the day. No author is acknowledged, the editor at the time being A.F. Kay of St.Helens.

[buryspotter]

"the use of the English language is delightful"

Yes, we seem to have lost the art of writing articles such as this - I guess all those on the trip wore jackets, shirts and ties as well.

Alan