I remember going into the Beverley, climbing up the steps and over the rudimentary barrier into the tailboom passenger compartment, at the point where I was near the back, there seemed to be a definate shift in the centre of gravity, it started creaking, so I got out quickly, and I’m still only a skinny git.
I have a full set of colour slides taken of the aircraft that day which may have been 1975 or 76, it was my first visit to Southend and it’s pier, which by coincidence burnt down the next day, I’m sure I threw my fag ends into the sea though.
I remember the Sea Fury inside was dripping oil everywhere and the Casa 111 was full of birds nests, similarly the Lincoln was covered in bird droppings, I’ve probably got the programme somewhere amongst my multitude of stuff.

I was at the 1967 Kings Cup Air Race at Tollerton, at the west end of the runway on my brothers Raliegh Blue Streak racing bike, must have been around the time that it was smashed to pieces in a collision with a Lamberetta, I landed in a hedge and survived intact. For some reason I didn’t have my camera with me that day, which was unusual for me, I must have been out on a bike ride and come across the air race by chance, nice to see pictures of the P-51 after all this time. I always thought that Sheila Scott won that event.
I saw the Blue Angels at Hucknall in 1973, they were flying low over the M1, which must have caused a few near accidents, I remember that the Red Arrows were pretty sensational that day as well, unfortunately the brand new Zenit-E, which I bought the day before the event decided to jam so I was unable to take any pictures, it must have been the built in Russian factor.
I have previously published some 60’s airshow shots on other threads, however I am trying to get my hands on my brothers collection which I hope to publish on here when I see him.

A good day out was had, Mildenhall was dead, we saw one movement in and out (both KC135s). You can’t get to Mickey’s tea bar any longer, it is all barricaded off with grunts and HumVees in the way, it used to be opposite the old main gate. I introduced my son to the delights of Little Chef instead….

LH was better, 2 ship went off at 13:30 on the spot, as predicted, and returned 20 mins later, one doing a missed approach and circuit.
Then nothing…..I just decided to give it 10 more minutes then I started to hear noise…lots of it, then 16 Eagles taxied out!
They obviously have an external check done at the holding point which takes a few minutes (never seen that before?), and then they went out 2 x 6 ship and then a 4 ship departure.
Unfortunately son then got tired so I had to leave before they all returned….

Did they all do the vertical climb at the end of the runway.
Never knew about Mickeys, but can anyone remember the amazing model/American comic shop in Mildenhall. I presume that the American comics found their way in from the US personel, I used to have difficulty in dragging my son away from there, have still got a load of Marvel comics in polythene bags, this has inspired me to dig them out for the next generation of young Truman appreciators.The model shop had a fantastic collection of transfers, I used to spend hours going through them all. They also had a link with the control tower at Mildenhall which was constantly being broadcast in the shop. One evening we were going through the transfers when the tower anounced that F-117’s were about to take off from Lakenheath, the first time they had been deployed outside the US, fortunately I had my camcorder with me and we shot over there to witness 3 off them being launched. I recall a van load of builders arriving and being very jealous that I was videoing the event.
Memorable moment was an F-117 flying across the sunset to the strains of the Stars and Stripes being played over the Lakenheath PA.
Must have been about 12 years ago.
What happened to the shop.

The aircraft is in one of the hangers on the west side of the airfield, one of the ones that the aircraft tails stick out the back of. Apparently there was so many people there last Friday that the police were moving people along from the back roads and threatning to book people. I went Wednesday in the vain hope of seeing her but alas failed, infact the only thing that I did see other than the tanker doing circuits was a 2 seat F16 that arrived from somewere ( had SP on the fin if that helps ). Working tommorow so I guess my chance has gone. 🙁

SP will be Spang…..heim….. whatever, in Germany, one of those hangars on the west side had the doors wide open yesterday and was empty, maybe it was off somewhere and came back while I was at Lakenheath, have to say that there were very few people about around Mildenhall yesterday, I had to smile when I parked up next to a camper van near the caravan site and a very smart typical top exec company car stopped next to me and the flash occupant wearing the typical Armani type suit got out and started scanning the area with a very expensive looking pair of bins, it takes all sorts.
I would imagine that the area will be saturated with spotters today so the police will be kept busy, I think I will work on the kitchen instead.

Yep i believe they removed the narrow gauge track at Duxford. Was it ever used anyway? Would have been nice for them to use the WW1 loco’s, especially the armoured Simplex, up and down the line, could have given rides for money as well

They did up untill about 10 years ago, we used to take the kids on it during the airshows, never stopped running even during the flying displays, was a fantastic way of getting up close to taxying aircraft. At the end of the line was a trench system which the train looped round, this brought you to the end of the runway which got quite exciting when things were landing or doing low and fast flyby’s, have some good video footage from the early 90’s taken from the train of all this, presumably health and safety waved their wands and put a stop to it.
Incidentally, the WW1 wreck is off Brancaster Beach and miles from Weybourne, we once rowed out to it in a flotilla of inflatables at low tide, most impressive wreck, especially the engine, too dangerous to get inside though. I believe it was a collier from the North East that put itself close inshore during a U-boat warning and ran aground, I don’t think that there were any fatalities, but someone may know more about it, over to you.
Incidentally, I disagree that rebuilt BoB’s were ugly, I think they were quite powerful looking beasts, my great possesion is a boxed, mint, 3-rail, Hornby Dublo version of it, needs a new bearing for the Ringfield motor though. The last unrebuilt version in service was a West Country, Blackmore Vale, which I photo’d at Eastleigh in 1967, I know that this has survived into preservation and may be the most original, apart from Winston Churchill, as most of the Barry recoveries have been newly clad.

Back in my short spell on Wessex in the late ’80s, the minimum height for fixed wing in a Low Flying Area was 250′, so we tended to transit at 1500′, then drop to 100′, unless we were on Pre-Ireland training where we operated at 50′ (scary, expecially doing formation!).
We used to listen out keenly for radio calls of fixed wing entering & leaving the LFA. Jags, Tornados & Harriers, didn’t concern us too much, we would keep a general eye out, what scared us was A10s and Herks.
If we heard ‘Alpha one zero’ in an american accent we immediately went to high alert and flew a zig-zag pattern with me hanging out the door watching the rear.

The Herks didn’t bother rising to follow contours & obstacles so much as they should have done, they just ploughed on regardless, but we tended to see them sooner, and they were a little slower….

I once saw 12 Hercs travelling in line astern near Bovingdon in Dorset so low that they kept disapearing behind the trees, I assumed that the idea was for the poor troops inside to step on to the ground rather than risk their parachutes.
One year I decided to go for a quiet farm caravan holiday near Lampeter in Wales.
Unfortunately, well, not really, the caravan was situated at the junction of 2 valleys, the USAF tended to fly east to west and the RAF north to south, I got the impression that communication between them was not all it should have been, particularly when a Tornado shot across the tail of an F111 at about 100ft, that was the only time that I saw the F-5 Agressors in action by the way.
It didn’t surprise me when a few years later it was reported that a Harrier? had collided with a light aircraft near the same spot, I recall that the Cessna? disintegrated but can’t remember what happened to the RAF crew.