Earliest Aviation Memory

Many thanks to all who responded to my original post and best wishes to all fellow aeronuts. Some really fascinating reminiscences there.

If anyone is interested in the incident that started off this thread then try going to:

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk

Regards

Wicked Willip :diablo:

The Kings Cup Competitors from my garden in North London.
Being taken to Farnborough the year the Vulcan made it first display there ( can still hear it).
Cycling out to R.A.F.North Weald open day to see the Black Arrows display.

still life in the Old doG.

1968. Aged 4, standing at the back window of the house with my father as a swelling roar fills the air, and three Mosquitos sweep overhead, on a wide circuit of Bovingdon. They were filming ‘Mosquito Squadron’.

‘ You’ll never see that sight again!’ he said. He was right.

My first aviation memories were from the early-mid 1960s.

I was born in Reno, Nevada in 1962, and we lived north-west of there in a little community called (variously) Bordertown or Glider Valley. [1/2 mile from the California border and located beside a dry lake-bed used as a glider landing/recovery field]

Just a few miles away was Stead Air Force Base (used mainly for survival training)… which was closed in 1966 and became the site of the Reno Air Races.

No, I don’t remember any of those (we moved away in Nov. 1967), but my oldest brother attended the elementary school on the base. My dad was a railroad policeman, not asssociated with aviation in any way.

I remember the bangs we would hear periodically, and my parents telling us about what made “sonic booms”… and I wondered what it was like to fly faster than sound travelled.

I also remember seeing lots of single-engined high-wing planes, and lots of gliders… both flying overhead and landing/taking off from the dry lake… often a plane with a glider in tow.

As a side note, many of the glider altitude/speed/duration records set in the US were set in the Reno area… the Sierra Nevada mountains to the west cause the westerly prevailing winds to rise, and the hot air from the desert east of the mountains pushes the winds even higher for many miles past the mountains.

This, of course, is why nearly every dry lake in the area saw glider traffic… you often lost your thermals while too far from Reno to return to your airfield of origin.

Hmmm… my oldest brother lives in Reno… maybe I’ll visit him this September? :diablo:

Paul F and Ringway

I was on ATC there and still remember Yorks on long finals westbound straight and level over Stockport miles away. It was the only way to land them. From Local Control we could see Jodrell Bank clearly.

earliest aviation memory?

At the age of about 6 or 7 (1945?) walking along a road by RAF Templeton, Pembs. and seeing a silver Percival Proctor on dispersal about 30 yds away. From then I can trace my fascination/obsession with all things connected with aviation ,running out to see jets flying above our house on a low flying route,DH Rapides from Cambrian Aviation flying to Ireland . The last five Fireflies low level eastbound from Brawdy heading for the scrapyard . Brawdy air days and so on ,so on.

Flying Review

Another thing has come to me overnight, buying the Observers series on planes, I-Spy books and subscribing to Flying Review International. I think I still have the first issue that came through the letterbox – in 1966. Amazing feat of an F111 flying non-stop with no IFR to the Paris Airshow. Was to be a few more years before they came to UH. Recall reading about their arrival on the headlines of the newspaper I used to deliver ‘The Cron n Eck’ on my Saturday evening paper round, my first ‘proper’ job. Then building a Revell kit which was either the Navy blunt nose F111A or F111B lange nase version – or was it t’other way round?

I vagely remember the mid 80’s at duxford with russavia (about the age of 4), and flying with mike in his tigermoth, definatly remember the rapide crash, 20 years ago. But there is photographs of me and aviation prior to all this!

😀 Heathrow Airport 1955 – low wire fences; Stratocruisers, Connies, Ambassadors, Vikings, DC7C, etc.
And 5 shilling (25 pence) joy rides in Dragon Rapides (up over the reservoirs and back down).

Ace Freighters Connie on left base for 08 at Luton probably positioning in from Coventry?

Tiger Moth’s on tugging duty from Dunstable and then my first visit to Luton in July 1969.

My earliest memory is of the BBMF using my house as a holding point for the Blackpool Airshow circa 1980 and driving my mum nuts constantly running through the house to look at the Lanc, then the following year my dad taking me to the Finningley Airshow

Martin

Mine is similar to one a few up. Mid 80s on a BAC 111 to Jersey on a really bad day, we ended up at LHR then bus to Gatwick for transfer onto Jersey when the weather cleared.

To many to recount, V-1’s & V-2’s, Fw-190’s maybe. See my “brats” story at http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rushenfamily/brat/Brat.htm

airshows and Heathrow

This is a frustrating thing to answer. As senility creeps in I am set to pondering when I first saw a plane up close or fly over etc.

I used to make model planes as a kid, draw them and go to airshows nearby – Henlow, Cranfield, Upper Heyford etc.

My mum constantly reminds me of my indifference to a day out at Heathrow and how come I am so interested in planes now.

I didn’t actually get aloft until the early 80s with a flight in a Dragon Rapide at Sywell.

As a kid I recall seeing flights of Lightnings and Hunters over our school in Towcester, Voodoos etc from UH plus the C97 tanker towing a couple of jets over our house.

A RAF rescue Whirlwind at Wolverton Carnaval…

If anything else comes to mind I will return.

😎 In 1936/1937 I was aged 7 and I was on my Uncles Farm in Winwick in Cambridgeshire and picking blackberries with my brother and uncle and it was early evening with a cloudless and lovely blue sky with the sun just going down when flying low over the farm was a very large biplane (which we now think was an Hadley Page HP42) it was so low that we could see some of the passengers. It was extermely graceful and it was the first time we had really noticed aeroplanes.
It made such an impression on us both they we could not sleep as we were talking about it most of the night and for days after.
What a nice slow , peaceful era that was!!! it will remain with us forever.

dakota

What some wonderful memories and descriptions on this thread, especially from those that were alive in the 1930s. Alas, I was born 20 years later, but would have loved to have seen an HP42 and done my spotting at Croydon.
I think the ’30s were really the ‘golden era’ of aviation. Did you go to to any of the Hendon Air Pageants?

Outside of immediate family (dad was on the Bulwark for a couple of years, step dad was on th Ark & Eagle) I was crab fishing (crabbing?) off a breakwater at Walton on Naze when I was 8years old & some bloke started talking to me about what I’d caught etc. Mum started talking with him & it turned out to be Guy Hamilton having a day off from making BoB at Dx.

What started it all!!

The first ‘live’ aircraft I saw close up was either a Hurricane or Battle parked at the entrance of Churchers College, Petersfield in 1947/8. I rember it’s 3 blade prop, and Merlin type exhausts. No wings, and painted in camouflage green and brown. My vague recollection was more perspex behind the front screen than usual, so I have to lean towards a Battle or Fulmer.
It was removed soon after, and I have never been able to find anyone who can positively identify its type.
Anyone out there who could solve the puzzle ?

Ealiest Aviation Memory

😎 In 1936/1937 I was aged 7 and I was on my Uncles Farm in Winwick in Cambridgeshire and picking blackberries with my brother and uncle and it was early evening with a cloudless and lovely blue sky with the sun just going down when flying low over the farm was a very large biplane (which we now think was an Hadley Page HP42) it was so low that we could see some of the passengers. It was extermely graceful and it was the first time we had really noticed aeroplanes.
It made such an impression on us both they we could not sleep as we were talking about it most of the night and for days after.
What a nice slow , peaceful era that was!!! it will remain with us forever.

dakota

Flying to Guernsey on a BEA Viscount from Brum. Very exciting as a 4 or 5 year old. I remember we banked over Guernsey and the sun relected off loads of the greenhouses. Looked like a jewel. That image will stay with me forever. We also had some turbulence and I asked the steward if he was the driver and could he go back to the front and do it again please! So sad not to see the Viscount at Cossie anymore. It used to bring back great memories every time i saw it. 🙁

in the Early 80’s just before the Falklands, I went to work with my Dad was at Wittering at the time, on 1 Sqn I think. I watched in awe a Vulcan doing rollers.

It’s not only my first Aviation memory but also my first memory!

Magic.