Whats your view on aviation?

Control Tower…….that’s cheating a bit in the spirit of the thread LoL

My company has just leased some houses for personnel, but look at their proximity to the runway (LBV – FOOL, short final to rwy 16). I was standing on the balcony. This plane is probably at 300 feet as it is just about 1 nm from touchdown. Most of the heavies from Europe land between 5 – 8 pm. I’ll try get a shot of one of them. And there are no noise restrictions here. 😮

I took the picture from these coordinates: 0°28’58.86″N 9°23’59.81″E note that the houses weren’t built at the time of the Google Earth picture.

Thanks for the posts guys.

Nice pics Yakrider… just love the diversity of types that NW has operating there.

I live under the approaches to 27L and 27R at Heathrow, so plenty to see on a daily basis. Life’s still not the same without Concorde three times a day though…

Lived close to St Mawgan from about 1967, Father was aircrew on 42sqn & flew on the Shacks then Nimrods.

As a scaley brat I had pretty good access to the base & got to see all types of visiting Aircraft as well.

Just wish I took more photographs back then:o Can remember watching the Shacks fly over our quarter & using my dads *fool proof guide to shack reignition™* to identify them.

*Tip tanks= MK3

*no tip tanks=MK2

*greenhouse like front end= MK1 (T4, but hey, I was only 5:o )

Always kept an eye out in case a greenhouse like front ended, with tip tanks shack flew over….:D

Here are a few from my ‘office’ window taken on a normal working day. A large part of my job is manning the tower at North Weald, but we don’t always get time to take pics!

As Dave Curnock said…I have worked with aircraft all my life but most places officially definitely not allowed to use a camera :rolleyes: 🙂

Thanks for those James. What you wouldn’t give to see those there again. 😉

I’m sure someone must have some photos of them wending their way along the A303.

They seem as scarce as those showing Gannets making their way from Hayes to Northolt and White Waltham!

I used to live under the St Mawgan circuit, so right under low military aircraft with everything dangling and plenty of noise, Nimrods were the main trade, but anything could show up. Always remember a German Atlantique over the house very low and seeing the orange suited crewman in the nose waving!

I took these when I was younger, using a beaten up Yashica and 400mm lens, thankfully I and the equipment have improved slightly.

These days all I get to see from my house is the odd Chinook or Lynx heading to Sennybridge and airliners reaching altitude for Brecon after climbing out of Cardiff.

maybe an appeal to readers of the Chard and Ilminster or the other local rags might throw up something, be interesting to see if anything could be found.

Thanks for that inkworm.

Yes the majority of Wyverns were first flown from Merryfield, as the grass runway at Yeovil was considered rather tight following the fatal loss of the 2nd TF.2 prototype VP113, when Mike Graves crashed into some council housing following engine failure.
As your father recalls they were towed to Merryfield on their own undercart.
I’m sure someone must have some photos of them wending their way along the A303.

Wyvernfan

Just been talking to my dad about the Wyvern and whilst he doesn’t recall seeing them at Merryfield he does remember a Wyvern stopping the traffic!

It was sometime in the mid 1950s that on the old A303 in Ilminster where West Street meets the High Street one had to pull over and let the traffic behind past.

It was being towed by some tractor unit with the wings folded, I asked if it was on a transport and it transpires that the Wyvern was towed from Westlands to Merryfield on it’s own undercarriage!

Now that is a sight I would have loved to have seen and sadly he didn’t have a camera on him.

I live at these coordinates. N0 26.975 E9 24.791 Paste them into Google Earth. There are no noise abatement procedures here and no aircraft are restricted due to noise. No pictures on hand, but I can post the seismograph readings if you like…:D

Not sure if it was before your time but Wyverns were test flown from there during the 1950’s, so any pics of these would be appreciated!

By the time I was really aware of what was in the air it was rotary only but I’ll ask if anyone has some photos.

Unfortunately, lots of aircraft enthusiasts have missed many great opportunities to commit their everyday aviation experiences to the camera for posterity. In some cases, we were (officially) not allowed to have a camera with us (or could not afford one!), in those bygone photo opportunities that existed in our living and working environments.

I lived in accommodation that overlooked the eastern end of the runway at Gibraltar for over 2 years: no camera – so missed many potentially exciting shots of Shackletons doing roller landings and lots of crosswind approaches by the ‘Tangiers Bomber’ (Gibair DC3).

Similarly, I worked at the end of the runway in Kuching for a year, where I had a front row view of approaches & landings carried out by Single & Twin Pins, DC3, F27, Auster AOPs, Hastings, Argosy, Beverley, Hunter, Javelin and many others – these I duly consigned to 8mm cine film, all of which was subsequently damaged beyond repair :(. If only! This one was taken from just outside our office (tent) at Masirah, early 1959:

I have Chinook tyre marks on my roof….

I live just off Junction 7 of the M-3, right on the flight line from Salisbury Plain to Odiham. We get the odd Puma and Merlin these days as well, but Chinooks every day and sometimes VERY low.

We get some Middle Wallop activity as well (AH-64’s now) and sometimes a Boscombe Down visitor. The SBAC show makes life interesting as well as we sometimes seem to sit under a holding pattern.

My office is a stone’s throw away from Edinburgh airport, so all kinds of commercial airliners come floating in across the road.

Nothing too interesting (for me), though…

Thanks guys.

Inkworm when were you living near Merryfield? Not sure if it was before your time but Wyverns were test flown from there during the 1950’s, so any pics of these would be appreciated!

Living near the M1 we do get some stuff heading in to East Midlands and if really lucky a Lynx or Puma following the M1 but that is sadly it. Had a great view of Merryfield (Yeovilton satellite) when growing up and still plenty of very low flying stuff when home for a visit.

Growing up in Hornsea was always brightened up by the now closed RAF Cowden being just down the road. All sorts of NATO hardware would use the range for bombing and gunnery practice, all of which was visible from my bedroom window! I clearly remember Tornado, Phantom, F15, F111, Harrier, Jaguar etc visiting. But most clearly I remember seeing and hearing the A10’s loosing off their gatling guns! Happy days.