Snapper Snaps Clicker Clique

…but then I am also so sad that I spot squadron codes in vehicle number plates…someone please tell me I am not the only person who does this…

Nurse!

Given my signature, it’s funny that my house number should be ‘109’

Geoff.

Becka,
Thanks very much for restoring this thread the clean part of it allows us to remember a good friend.

Thanks Becka.

Thanks Becka

Thanks Becka. Much appreciated.

Ok, I have restored and cleaned up this thread so that Steve’s contributions to it can be viewed again. Those who took issue with the thread before, would you please respect my decision to do this. It has not been done to point score, it has been done so that the words of a friend to many here can still be seen.

Thank you
Becka

Thanks Rob, just found it by accident. PC crashed so when I rebooted I cleared the cache and then really deleted it. I may have worked out the Microsoft logic but I’m not convinced so thanks for the tip.

Great pics of AR501 Rob.

Good place to stand, even if you were in Moondance’s way. 🙂

BTW, anybody any idea why the thumbnails disappear?

Hey Robbo … thought I recognised those legs!!

Did I click a cliquer clicking?

Next time I’m in Canberra I’ll see if I can find a Wyton. Wonder what a Westland Wyton would look like? VH-WOT?

But the only Can left at Wyton is one on the gate… or have some new ones arrived??

Damien, there’s bits of another three in 4 Hangar inculding a T.22 cockpit now owned by a RAF guy there and being worked on, and a T.17 cockpit still available. Rest of the stuff is mostly parts of the T.17 and a TT.18 (or two . . maybe, three :rolleyes: )

But as far as “public” cranberries go, there’s WT519 on the fire dump (mentioned previously) and PR.9 XH170, the Gate Guard.

Hope this helps.

And no, they won’t be at Leg Ends next year.

Legends weekend – the Young family view

Driving home tonight, I had all good intentions of starting a new thread about my family’s Legends weekend, and asking Ian to post the airfield photos on it afterwards. It seemed like a good plan.

However, as I was once taught at Sandhurst – No plan survives contact with the enemy. 🙂

So instead, I’ll just tag our weekend on to this thread, and hope that the right people read it and take it for what it is.

For some months now, I’ve had a plan in my head that I was going to take some veterans flying. The reason for this was that last year at Legends, when two old boys – former 609 Squadron Typhoon pilot Jimmy Stewart, and Snapper’s neighbour former Armourer George Ford – made such an impression on me, that I felt compelled to give something back. But what? All I do is manage projects (booooring) and sometimes fly (nowt special, but less boring than project management, I’m sure you’ll agree). So the germ of an idea was born – I’d offer to take George and some of the 609 boys up for a fly around their old stamping ground, for old times sake.

Unfortunately, as the months rolled on, it became clear that none of the 609 boys were coming to Legends this year. But George still was… So Snapper and I hatched a plan that we would get George over to Cambridge airfield on the Saturday morning and fly him, as our way of saying thankyou to a man who gave six years of his life to fighting for the freedom we all enjoy today.

So of course, in the true spirit of British aviation, Saturday dawned grey and ‘orrible. 🙁 George, Snapper, EN830, Snappers dad, Snappers mate James, my missis, and Haydn, all sat at Cambridge. And waited. Cloudbase at 450 feet, visibility 4000 metres… it wasn’t VFR, and we couldn’t go. So reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, we had to call it off and head off to Duxford. And wouldn’t you know it? Within an hour, the skies were blue and the sun was shining…

So we wandered, photographed aeroplanes, sat, wandered again, bought things, watched aeroplanes, shouted out silly comments to distract our distinguished lensmen… generally had a fabulous day. And at the end of it, we met up with friends new and old for a meal and a pint at the Red Lion.

When the flight had been binned on Saturday morning, I took the liberty of booking the first slot on the Sunday, hoping that we could try again. Sadly, it turned out that George could not make Sunday as he had travelled home on the Saturday night, but EN830, Snapper, and Haydn were all available, and up for it. So off we went. I’ve already given some of the details, so won’t regurgitate the route. Suffice to say we’d pre-warned Julie that we’d be overhead at a certain time, circled overhead and watched her wave enthusiastically, before we set off northwards, waggling our wings as we departed for Conington.

Ian kindly bought the coffees at Conington while G-JASE was being fuelled, and the three grown-ups took the opportunity to wind Haydn up a bit.

“You’re flying it back Haydn” said Snapper.

“No I’m not – Dad is!”

“No, your Dad’s staying here – you’ve got to fly us back” says EN830.

“Okay then. It’s not THAT hard…” says Haydn.

That’ll be a joke backfiring then.

Anyway, time came to depart, as the guys had day two of Legends to get back for, and so off we went. A particularly slick bit of queue jumping while doing power checks (caused by three other aeroplanes – a student, a solo and a Frenchman – all getting in each others way) saw us smartly off and heading back to Cambridge, where I managed to deliver everyone back to earth safe and sound. All three of them are still talking to me, so it can’t have been TOO bad… 😉

Quote of the day was from Ian. Straight after landing and climbing out of the aeroplane. “Anyone seen where I put my sunglasses?” Hmmm

Photos:
1 – Lancaster at legends
2 – Ground stuff and Lancaster
I then let Haydn have my camera (oh god)
3 – Grumman cats
4 – Mustangs
5 – Ansons
6 – Mitchell and Dragon Rapide
7 – a self portrait
He’s very arty, you see… :rolleyes:
And then from the Sunday…
8 – EN830 and me up front, Snapper pointing his long thing at my son
9 – EN830 wondering where the hell he’s put his shades 😀
10 – The boys and the aeroplane.

Right, final comment from me about Legends weekend is the thankyous.
* Thankyou to the guys at Mid Anglia School of Flying, who happily accommodated a) a large group of us sitting around and drinking their coffee on Saturday morning while we waited in vain for the cloud to lift, and b) me, in that they made an aeroplane available for me on the Sunday morning too. Thanks guys. 🙂
* Thankyou to Snapper for getting his Dad to drive Julie and Haydn in to Duxford on his car pass, thereby saving us a bit of the entrance fee. 😉
* Thankyou to George for being such good company yet again, although I’m very sorry I couldn’t fly you this time. We’ll organise it again, I promise.
* Thankyou to Kev for the B17 model that you brought with you for Haydn, it now occupies pride of place on his bedroom shelf. (and I’m sorry that me and Snapper stitched you up with the phone call… but my god it was funny…)
* Thankyou to the guys manning the BBMF stall who gave Haydn a couple of Spitfire posters – they now grace his bedroom wall
* Likewise, thankyou to the SAAB B17 guys, who also donated a couple of pictures, which also grace said bedroom wall
* Thankyou to Mrs dhfan and Mummy dhfan, for putting up with Haydn. Sorry… 😮
* Thankyou to TFC for organising the whole day, and enabling us to have such a great weekend. and finally…
* Thankyou to Snapper and EN830, for making Sunday’s flight hugely enjoyable. It was a pleasure to fly you. 🙂

Right. That’s enough of the Oscar winning crap. It’s now ten to two in the morning, I’ve got work tomorrow, I’m knackered, and I’m going to bed. G’night all.

Yeah, sounds like a plan. 🙂

Maybe bump into you there one day, I was at 5000 feet at 10.00 so slightly ahead of you, lovely and cool at that height. Maybe a forum fly in should be organised one day… Just a thought…

What height were you at over Connington and at what time Steve? I passed by there on my way to Bruntingthorpe.

We landed there for fuel at 1025, departed again for Cambridge at 1110. Came in from 1500 feet passing west abeam Alconbury, departed on 10 right hand turn out and routed direct Cambridge. That’s my third trip to Conington in two months – we are now being asked by the club to drop in there for fuel these days. Personally I don’t mind, as Conington are a great bunch, Gavin Forrest (the CFI) is one of my old instructors from years back (and a bloody good bloke to boot), and it’s always fun to land away, but it gives the club a hell of a headache as they have to talk people into going there when the aeroplanes are on tabs or less. Why don’t we fuel up back at base? Long story, don’t get me started… 🙁

Okay, to answer points from page two…

Julie (Steves bird and her rear – worth extra special mention)

Indeed it is. But before you ask, NO, I am NOT posting *that* photo. I like my legs in an un-broken state thankyouverymuch. 😀 She did say on Saturday night that she might use it as her avatar should she ever join the forum, but she was a little bit tiddly at that point, and in the cold light of morning I think she had second thoughts… 😉

Ashley / Moggy / Mark12 – it seems there’s obviously been some shenanigans going on in this thread while I was out this evening. Thank you all very much for your efforts in getting it cleaned up and back on track so that I could tie up the loose ends in the story. 🙂

Ashley – check PM’s.

Right, I think that’s covered the backlog. I’m now going to post some of MY photos…

What height were you at over Connington and at what time Steve? I passed by there on my way to Bruntingthorpe.

Okay, sorry for rejoining the thread at such a late hour, been kart racing tonight and only just got home… bear with me…. I’ll answer the points raised on page three first…

Damien – spot on with the airfield identification. Our flight on Sunday morning took us in a straight line from Cambridge to Little Paxton (just north of St Neots, where Ian took the shot on page one of this thread of Julie walking across the green outside the house.), and then we turned north to head up to Conington. So, first two shots are Bourn, third is Gransden Lodge, fourth is Graveley, fifth Alconbury. And the sixth is indeed Wyton, which Ian snapped as we headed straight back to Cambridge after fuelling up at Conington.

Camberras at Wyton – there are two. One on the gate, and one hulk on the fire dump, I don’t think we got it in shot, would have been just off to the left of the frame. It’s possible to see it from the road (A141), and if anyone’s taking part in the St Ives 10k race this Sunday, the route takes you onto RAF Wyton and past the wreck. But yes, it is still there, trust me. 🙂

S.

Im at Henlow In two weeks, Chances are we will be flying from Wyton at somestage. Will try smuggle a camera on board with me.
Kz