Trident

My Grandfather got us into a Hatfield open day and Factory tour in the early ’70s thanks to Channel’s custom, I was about 3 or 4 at the time, I can remember everything looking big, and all the Tridents were either green or in CAAC colours

One of the Tridents actually made it to the Science Museum at Wroughton. I was really hoping that it would be restored to its delivery colours, after all there weren’t that many non BA British Trident operators. But instead it was scrapped & replaced by a 3B model, which a museum employee told me was felt to be more representative of the type!:rolleyes:
Anyway let’s not go there again!!:mad:
I remember there always seemed to be a Channel Trident parked up when we visited Stansted in the early 70’s, I don’t remember seeing one fly, only the Comets & Viscounts.

The Scottish Flyer Viscount service with G-AVHE/HK and IW which seemed to stop at every airfield from Aberdeen southwards.

That’s what my 1969 ticket was for. I flew Glasgow to Leeds and back to visit my cousin. Glasgow-Edinburgh on a BEA Viscount, then the Scottish Flyer from Edinburgh to Leeds/Bradford (HS748 G-ATEI) stopping at Newcastle and Teesside. On the way home a few days later G-ATEI again, taking off on the old runway 28 at LBA and using the full length before rotating, a brief visit to Teesside and this time I came off at Newcastle to catch my first ever flight on a jet – a BUA BAC-111 from Newcastle to Glasgow as part of the AMS-NCL-GLA route, which had all the seats facing backwards (may have been used on a military contract). In later years I moved away from the Glasgow area and did my PPL at Carlisle where I had to fly solo into both Newcastle and Teesside as part of my qualifying cross-country flight.

Now that is a real interesting photo. I have a Channel Airways flight ticket from 1969 and the cover shows an illustration of a Trident in their colours. I remember they had ordered a few Tridents but I didn’t realise that they had ever actually taken delivery of any Tridents. This must be a real rarity and couldn’t have operated in that colour scheme for long.

AS I remember it and I may have got it wrong over the years but they used to fly to Spain/Ibiza but due to the length of the 31/13 runway at Edinburgh in those days, and the fully laden take off length needed, the Tridents used to have route through Newcastle to fill up with fuel after leaving Edinburgh.

Them were the days. The Scottish Flyer Viscount service with G-AVHE/HK and IW which seemed to stop at every airfield from Aberdeen southwards.

It depends on how you define “bit the dust” really.

Introduction of Kodak Instamatic film – 1963
Cessation of Kodak 127 production – 1995
Final cessation of production by specialist film stock producers – not yet.

So, about 40 years ago, 10 years ago or not yet, depending on how you look at it!!

And yes, that’s a great Trident shot! I do like the soft colour wash that 60s colour film tends to give.

Uuuhh:eek: absolutely stunned that it lasted THAT long !!!!!!!

Many thanks for the interesting info W.P.:cool:

Have to agree with you about the richness of colour that ’60’s film gives.

Would love to ‘go back in time’ & step into that time-warp H.S. Trident for a

flight or two.

Don’t miss the (seriously) dodgy hairstyles of the time though – that’s one

thing we can live without !

Channel Airways’ Dove and Heron

Nice to see a photo of a Mk1 Heron as you don’t see them on here that often.Not that we see many photos of Herons and Doves on here at all.

It’s a shame that their Austers were not painted in that colour!

Anybody agree or am I nuts?

You’re quite correct!

It’s nice to know I’m not nuts!
It never hurts to have occasional confirmation for another party.

At first glance I thought the photo showed an aircraft from the American Continental Airlines…but I knew they had 727s and not Tridents.

Thanks for providing the “before and after” photos.

Nice Pics!

Now that is a real interesting photo. I have a Channel Airways flight ticket from 1969 and the cover shows an illustration of a Trident in their colours. I remember they had ordered a few Tridents but I didn’t realise that they had ever actually taken delivery of any Tridents. This must be a real rarity and couldn’t have operated in that colour scheme for long.

You’re quite correct! When Channel bought up a lot of Continental’s Viscounts in the mid-60s, they changed very little of the livery apart from the titles and registrations. They even kept the same ‘Continental Golden Viscount’ on the fin(of course ‘Continental’ now related to the Continent!).
A very economical and shrewd move and they liked the scheme so much, it continued on to their HS748s, Tridents and BAC 1-11s. Even a Dove and Heron ended up in this smart scheme.

Channel Airways’ Dove and Heron

B.T.W. anyone know what year 127 films ‘bit the dust’,so to speak ????

It depends on how you define “bit the dust” really.

Introduction of Kodak Instamatic film – 1963
Cessation of Kodak 127 production – 1995
Final cessation of production by specialist film stock producers – not yet.

So, about 40 years ago, 10 years ago or not yet, depending on how you look at it!!

And yes, that’s a great Trident shot! I do like the soft colour wash that 60s colour film tends to give.

According to their 25th anniversary Brochure (1971) the next step was transatlantic, and there is a picture of a 707 in the Black and Gold Livery, and there was a painting behind Jack Jones’ desk showing Concorde in Channel Black & Gold Livery……what might have been…;)

The 4 Comets that they bought from Olympic were retained predominately in their Olympic colours, but you are correct with the Viscounts & Jets

As far a I recall, the original green colour scheme on the old piston fleet were copied from West African Airways following the purchase of the Bristol Freighters. The colour sceme then changed following the purchase of the DC4 which came with a flash on the fin. This flash was then applied to all the piston engined aircraft in the fleet.

Incidentally Channel went into liquidation in early 1972.

B.T.W. anyone know what year 127 films ‘bit the dust’,so to speak ????

To misquote most of the cast of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

“It’s not dead yet!”

Goodness only knows where you’d develop it (the one roll I’ve ever shot I did myself), but B&W 127 can still be obtained – being made in Croatia.

http://www.retrophotographic.com/adoxfilms.htm

I presume it’s survival is due more to Rolleiflex making “baby” 4×4 TLRs that took it than people using 127 Brownies (or, in my case, a Purma Special) though!

Adrian
(anally retentive photography tangent *off*)

The 4 Comets that they bought from Olympic were retained predominately in their Olympic colours, but you are correct with the Viscounts & Jets

The paint scheme looks like the 1960s scheme for the U.S. carrier Continental Airlines..aka “The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail”.

Anybody agree or am I nuts?

You’re quite correct! When Channel bought up a lot of Continental’s Viscounts in the mid-60s, they changed very little of the livery apart from the titles and registrations. They even kept the same ‘Continental Golden Viscount’ on the fin(of course ‘Continental’ now related to the Continent!).
A very economical and shrewd move and they liked the scheme so much, it continued on to their HS748s, Tridents and BAC 1-11s. Even a Dove and Heron ended up in this smart scheme.

It does say that… “Continental Golden Jet”… on the tail…

The paint scheme looks like the 1960s scheme for the U.S. carrier Continental Airlines..aka “The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail”.

Anybody agree or am I nuts?

H.S. Trident

z.h.r – not a crappy pic, just an interesting shot of an ‘old-dear’ in a ‘time-warp’ colour scheme.

Thanks for sharing.

Better than my efforts of that time (as a eleven-year-old !) armed with a 127 Box-Brownie.

B.T.W. anyone know what year 127 films ‘bit the dust’,so to speak ????