Ian Allan British Civil Aircraft Markings!

The BBC were a bit out on their dates, AFAIK the residual T2 balcony closed when Iraq was invaded (Mar2003?) (it had reopened after 9/11, surprisingly)so some 5 years before T2 closed

Myrtle Avenue, anyone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18817472

Yes, it certainly does.

Myrtle Avenue, anyone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18817472

Never discovered Myrtle Avenue until the late 70s as it was never necessary to go elsewhere when all the Roof Gardens and viewing terraces were open at Heathrow. Very sad how times have changed! 🙁

Probably before my spotting days, my parents used to take me on the 90B bus to LAP south side and we sat in the beer garden of the Green Man pub. That was a good vantage point to see arriving aircraft. Does the Green Man still exist?

Myrtle Avenue, anyone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18817472

hi
been dispatched up the loft this pm to sort the christmas decorations out,checked thru a couple of cardboard boxes as well for my copy of “Fate is the Hunter” to read again,and came across my ABC,s Civil Aircraft Recognition 1955 at 1/9d,and 1961 at 2/6d.
British Military Aircraft 1955 at 2/6d,US & Canadian Military Aircraft 3/6d,
RAF Aircraft of WWII,plus Enemy Aircraft of WWII (German and Italian)2/6d each.
Observers Book of Aircraft 1956.
Some of them still had the coupon,s on the cover to save for another book- 1/2-1 or 2 coupons collect 25= 2/6,50=5/-,and 100=11/-.
Then i seemed to settle on CAM,s ( 1954,then 1960 till 1999).Did a bit of Military but made my own list till the MAM,s appeared.and had them till 1999.
Remember Aviation News started out as a paper fortnightly,and Aircraft Illustrated did a 1/4ly.

Anyway with a ” how long does it take to get the decorations you,ve been up there nearly 2-1/2 hrs” memories,memories…

regards
jack…

Now there’s a coincidence! I remember sitting, facing the rear, as was customary on RAF transports, watching several rivets in the engine nacelle gently rotating as we passed over Lincolnshire.

Banupa: I note that you also flew in Valetta VW197 in 1960. I just beat you to it, taking it from Blackbushe-Ypenburg-Brussels on 17 July 1959 on an ATC “Overseas Visit”, with return on 10 August.
Here it is at Blackbushe on the way out.

Here’s how a proper spotter underlined etc. Featurning pages from the 1960 edition with loads of Prentices and the 1962 one, when they had mysteriously disappeared… Note tidy dating and location record. Next we have my “custom” cover for 1962. The Day-Glo doesn’t really scan that well, nor am I good enought to tweak it to bring the colours out, but you get the idea…
Did anyone mention the BOAC Junior Jet Club? Here’s my log book. Yes, I know there are no BOAC aircraft in it…

…….what pristine covers, precise underlining and neat annotations. In comparison to those, I haven’t the courage to show any more of my tatty teenage tomes!

Challenge taken up: covers of CAM 52, 53, 54, with log page of 1952 with my first record (G-AKKC). The red * indicates I flew in it!
Also the back cover of 1952 with advertisement for Silver City.

CAM 1954, 1955 and 1958

Started spotting in 1954, at Junior school under the 28L approach, logged a couple of El Al Commandos that year and recall seeing the Monsanto Catalina. The 1958 C.A.M has 2 BOAC luggage labels stuck to the front….probably from the Northside bins, a source of labels and timetables. The 1955 4X- page has the warning about listing military serials adjacent. The 1954 N- page has TWA Constellations N86522 and N86535 inked in which weren’t in the ‘bible’

But did you religiously transfer all of the spotted items to the following years books? Perhaps we need a thread to see if, and when spotters gave up on this time consuming practice and got a life, or female company as we call it. Expecting those who did go on the cycling trips/camping with, was it the well spoken Arthur? 😉

Like you, the first one I got was the 1960 edition and religously underlined each reg I spotted with date and location, faithfully transferring them to the following year’s editions as they came out. This lasted until the 1967 edition but I did not stop because I had discovered girls. I had discovered a 35mm camera and slide film in 1966 and found that if I photographed everything, I would have a record of the reggie and would no longer have to write it down. Hence photography replaced reggie-spotting. Furthermore I could now actually prove I had seen a particular aircraft!

Of dear. Do you often regret starting something…lol.

Refering to my 1960 edition I see that I underlined in light blue ballpoint, but some of the owners are underlined in red. I think I did that when Air Pic notified of a change of ownership… However, by the G-AM series, I had mainly switched to pencil, leading me to deduce that the biro had run out!
Next thing was the Where & When Seen column. In the 1960 edition I only recorded the where, not the when. Yet in the 1962 edition its red biro, with dates for 1960 & 61.
This leads logically (?) on to abbreviations for the locations. I wondered if these were universal, or just mine? I have a small selection on page 3…CN = Croydon, BN = Bagington, EL = Eastleigh, BB = Blackbushe, BH = Biggin Hill, FO = Fairoaks, SM = Science Museum, HL = Hamble, ET = Elstree, SF = Stapleford, SE = Southend, WW = White Waltham and LAP obviously London Airport… For some reason FB, SM, RH, DH, KN, GW, & SK weren’t included in the chart, but were listed in the RH column (that’s right hand, not Redhill). That only covered spottings up to G-AH**.

1967 would be my earliest British Civil Aircraft Markings, and for “The Observers”
I have a 1952 edition.

Hello

My first Civil Aircraft Markings was the 1983 edition with a Dan Air 146 on the front. I have bought a few more since then….

CAMs by IndiaEcho Photography, on Flickr

My collection has since been joined by the 2012 edition.

My copy of the 1983 edition was purchased from the spotters shop on the Queen’s Building at Heathrow on 31st March (so it must have only just been out then), and the first plane I saw was NLM Cityhopper F-28 PH-CHB parked on one of the Terminal Two stands outside.

Life was never the same after that first ‘spot’, and that book literally changed my life, giving me an interest that has taken me all over the world and given me many friends.

I no longer underline the books, now using a computer. If the truth be known, I probably only buy it now for nostalgic reasons and to keep the collection going, but new edition is eagerly awaited each year, not least to see what aircraft has the honour of the front cover photo.

I wonder how long it will continue to be published for before the internet claims another victim?

Another eagerly awaited publication each year was the now discontinued ‘Airport Timetables UK’ – how I enjoyed scanning through to see what interesting aircraft were visiting our shores and planning trips to see them.

Not mine, but a family heirloom. The 1948 First edition. Priceless

1957 and 1962:
Jim

Ah, is there not a brave man out there? As it seems not, now that I’ve had my supper and two glasses of wine, I’ll bare all – and post the cover and sample pages from my 1968 CAM. So now I’ve showed you mine, will you show me yours?

I should add that one of my bitterest regrets is that I did not enter the ‘where & when’ details of aircraft that I had ‘copped’, but just underlined their details – only to leave me, in later years, asking the question ‘now where did I see that, and when’!

1987 Military Aircraft Markings
1988 Civil Airraft Markings

Still have them!!