Plymouth City Airport – C130 2.2.2000

Re: Baz’s post 10 – Hercules at Plymouth, February 2000.

Baz, it was interesting reading your account of the actual cause of the broken engine on the ‘Belgian’ aircraft that resulted in the appearance of the Hercules with a replacement. A very embarrassing set of circumstances for the pilot.

It’s now clear to me that on that February evening, after watching the Hercules arrive, the airport worker who told me that the engine damage was caused by a collision, was slightly ‘off beam’. I just hope that he was right regarding its nationality!

Thanks for the clarification. Regards……Paul

Re: Baz’s post 10 – Hercules at Plymouth, February 2000.

Baz, it was interesting reading your account of the actual cause of the broken engine on the ‘Belgian’ aircraft that resulted in the appearance of the Hercules with a replacement. A very embarrassing set of circumstances for the pilot.

It’s now clear to me that on that February evening, after watching the Hercules arrive, the airport worker who told me that the engine damage was caused by a collision, was slightly ‘off beam’. I just hope that he was right regarding its nationality!

Thanks for the clarification. Regards……Paul

Gone I’m afraid.

Plymouth is without an Airport. Shut 24.12.2011

Hi
Sad day then,a lot of history was there, If it is getting re developed maybe they will find the rumoured buried ww2 stuff, even in the 70’s stuff was being dumped in/by the old ww2 dispersal area.
cheers
Jerry

Thankyou Paul

Yes that does ring a bell!

I think it was a light twin jet passenger aircraft the pilot accidently left a bunch of keys in the forward locker. On take-off they were sucked into the port intake, writing off the engine. He did a single engined circuit and landed back at Plymouth……….he was very upset when he realised what he had done……

Baz

Re: Post 1 – Hercules at Plymouth February 2000

Baz, on that dark winters’ evening I was parking my car in the airport car park when I noticed bright lights in the eastern sky which looked a bit different from the landing lights of Plymouth’s familiar Dash 8’s. A few minutes later I watched as the aircraft taxied in from the runway and onto the floodlit apron, just a few yards in front of me. I was very surprised to see that it was a military Hercules.

On entering the terminal I asked a member of staff about the unusual visitor. He advised that it was a Belgian Air Force Hercules bringing in a spare engine for a much smaller visiting Belgian aircraft that had earlier disgraced itself by colliding with another aircraft, or one of the airport buildings. Fortunately no one was injured.

I cannot, of course, verify this, but the explanation did seem logical at the time. It also reminded me of the day many decades before when a huge Blackburn Beverley aircraft of RAF Transport Command arrived for an air show on the then grass only airfield. Such a shame that its all now come to an end.

Regards……Paul

Really Sad, after 85 years!

Good luck with the films Baz, I will look out for them

Bill

I will put together at least 10 small films before uploading them, all of which I took there since 1999.

I will use ‘spitfireman’ as part of search engine, the clips are unique and show various aircraft and people with lots of R/T and the odd emergency.

Baz

It sounds like the RNFTF (Britannia Flight?), apparently they had a mixed bag of types before standardising on Chipmunks, Lee Howard would know for sure though.

A bit on WN517 and the sad loss of its pilots in Feb 1956 here, http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8732-W-C-F-M-N-Watts-OBE-Colerne-5.5.56 Note it didn’t crash at Roborough, but was making for it.

Would love to see your Sea Balliol photo.

Could it have been part of the Royal Naval FlyingTraining Flight that was based there?
Also an RAF Balliol T.2 crashed while trying to perform an emergency landing at Roborough, c 1956.

Thanks. I have a photo of a Sea Balliol taken circa 1957 at Roborough. I can’t read the serial #, but it definitely has a hook. it was kept in a small hangar on the east side of the airfield that was used by the RN. At one time there was an Oxford (also with Royal Navy markings) and a couple of Prentices based there. These seemed to have been replaced by Tiger Moths ?? and later still by Chipmunks. By then I think this unit was attached to RNEC Mannadon. I think the facility was used much later by Royal Marine helicopters.

I don’t remember hearing of a Balliol crashing at Roborough though. A Devon went through the hedge on the North side in the late 50’s though.

Regards

Bill

Could it have been part of the Royal Naval FlyingTraining Flight that was based there?
Also an RAF Balliol T.2 crashed while trying to perform an emergency landing at Roborough, c 1956.

Gone I’m afraid.

Plymouth is without an Airport. Shut 24.12.2011

Really Sad, after 85 years!
I took my first ever flight from an all grass Roborough in Anson VM 341 on June 3rd 1956 as an Air cadet. My last flight from Roborough, 1999, in a Brymon dash 8, and so many happy memories in between.
Does anyone remember the Sea Balliol that flew out of there in the late 50’s? Not sure what it was doing there but what a thrill!

Good luck with the films Baz, I will look out for them

Bill

Gone I’m afraid.

Plymouth is without an Airport. Shut 24.12.2011

Hi
What roborough has closed ? did they make a new airport ?
I still can hear the roar of the F-4 low fly over at the airshow about ’71
cheers
Jerry