Biggin ’69- I remember my grandfather telling me about it.

Dude, you must be like, really old!

If you think Robbies so old, perhaps your great great grandfather told you about my first airshow at Newton in 1956!

I would desperately have liked to have got ‘Stoned in Hyde Park’ in 1969, however I was working at Butlins, Minehead at the time and couldn’t make it, although some people dissapeared for a few days to see Bob Dylan at the IOW Festival.

Best airshows were definately early 60’s, Hucknall, Syerston, Cottesmore and Waddington were my local venues.
Highlights were the 3 minute warning Vulcan scrambles that were pretty awesome, the scenarios used to be like the BoB with the Vulcan aircrews lounging around in deckchairs in front of the crowdline then sprinting for their a/c when a flare was fired off from the tower. Lets see, what else, good variety of US aircraft including B-47’s and Douglas Destroyers, and they used to do some interesting mixed formations in those days. 111 Squadron with their Hunters performing in all weather conditions used to be a bit hairy as crowd overflying was not an issue then. The first Lightnings were cool as no-one had seen such a fast, noisy, piece of kit as this before, and, they tended to come in low and fast from behind the crowd line.
Most of the participants in those days tended to be RAF, USAF and RCAAF, I don’t recall many other air forces taking part, but still, the variety of a/c was incredible.
Memorable moment was Douglas Bader flying into Cottesmore, parking right in front of me and being greeted by ‘Johnnie’ Johnstone, who was station commander at the time.
Another memorable moment was during the mid 70’s at the Hall when the first F-15 arrived here. We heard the communication over the PA when the pilot took off from somewhere near NY at lunchtime, then he arrived at about 17:00 over the airfield, I recall he was desperate to go to the bog and just did a flyby and landing.
Wow, Famillies Day, Alconbury 1991, how I got in, I don’t know, I phoned them up and they let me in, amazing, all the a/c had been in the Gulf War and I was invited into the cockpits of everything, even the F-111 whatever, the electronics thing.
I remember sitting in the pilots seat of a Starlifter when Ray Hannah flew in with MH434 and the whole crew abandoned the plane to watch his sensational arrival.
Best bit was lying in the tail of a KC-135 and being taught how to work the refuelling probe by a tasty US female operative.
Happy days.