Pleased that others are commenting on the scriptsize and lack of a background colour too.

I can recall research (likely in the early 1990s?) in British schools regarding which was best bright white, grey scale or pale colour paper to photo-copy on to. The results found there were a number of categories of pupil (I now forget exactly who, but various categories of special needs, slow readers, epileptics) but to the surprise of the researchers, also older spectacle wearing staff who showed benefits when reading using tinted paper! Grey tint found to be the worst of all options. As a result the school only purchased pale tinted (buff or palest peach) A4 paper for many years until it closed and I was retired (I usually write that the other way around:o). Many forum use alternate pale blue and pale yellow tinted background to posts – I suppose out of fashion now, but it certainly helped readability and page position when scrolling.

As regard script size, earlier today my wife asked why I was so hunched over the PC key board. I’ve since been aware that when I am on Key Forum, I do indeed hunch forward by around 8″ (12cms), into a position of poor posture. I now have, whenever I switch to Flypast Forum to first go to ‘tools’ cog-wheel logo to move to 125% screen. Makes no difference to the overall page presentation – but there is a lot less ‘white space’ on the page/screen and the script is much more comfortably readable. Mods, just try using the cog symbol on the top tool bar and see the difference in font size clarity when properly sat back relaxed in your PC table chair. Not yet checked to see what, if any effect 125% has on photographs/images.

Oh, I clearly have an opposite reaction to ‘Bruce’ – if the ‘like’ button makes it more like Facebook, then I think that is bad! Why is that the IT world blindly follow where Facebook lead? I maintain due to my perception of the demographics of the Flypast forums readership that a ‘Thank You’ button is politer (if that is a word) and more likely to be used that a hip American teens style ‘like’ button – after all if we did not ‘like’ why are spending our leisure time reading each post?

Why is that members get so upset when a forum’s format is changed? There were faults with the old format too, it is just that we became familiar with them.

One for consideration by admin/programmers: With a broad view of aviation, and a regular site visitor I always use ‘recent posts’ to view the activity across all forums, selecting the threads I wish to visit across the whole range of forum interests. While ‘latest activity’ is still available with an abbreviated version of a post, I like to have not only the latest post at the end of the thread page, but also the ability to look back at the context to that latest post – especially on ‘fast moving’ threads.

Also, although likely only a temporary ‘glitch’, when I log in (using the favourites bar) I now get the ‘Search’ page, not a site entry page. Solution could be in my hands to change the url on my favourites bar.

Beejay, you knew the two extremes of answer before you asked the question, so why get upset at the response to your question?

Both answers are correct, as indeed are a whole bunch of other potential responses: which becomes the actual correct answer only time and the actions of British and EC negotiators on deadline day will tell. No amount of forum discussion/prediction/comment will change the outcome however.

I’ve been away from my auto ‘log-in’ computer, so come to this a little late.

The early 1960s was right at the end of the big-piston airliners and the very start of the jet airliners used under contract to the US Government to carry servicemen and their dependents to/from overseas duty. Douglas DC-6, Douglas DC-7, Lockheed Constellations and Super Constellations were about to give way to Douglas DC-8s and Boeing 707s. Looking through lists for Burtonwood 1957/1958 before the MATS European transatlantic ‘air-head’ terminal was transferred to Mildenhall in February 1959, the likes of Seaboard & Western, Flying Tiger Line, Slick, Universal Airlines, Overseas National, Transocean Airlines, even Pan Am and TWA all appear. I also recall operators such as Capitol (or was it Capital? – both existed as airlines) and Riddle on US Government/military charter from the same period. Others like Zantop and World I think came along later.

No problem with her flying as a civilian on a chartered civilian aircraft on US armed forces ‘families and dependents’ flight. In 1962 more likely a big piston-engine airliner, as the new generation of jets had yet to ‘filter-down’ to charter operators. Meanwhile in the 1957/58 period the MATS used C-97 Stratofreighters, C-124 Globemaster and early C-133 Cargomasters for transatlantic crossings and C-119 packets and the early C-130 Hercules for European distribution from Burtonwood.

The 3-letter airline ticketing/flight code has me puzzled, as at the time (1960s) flight numbers all used the IATA 2-letter system, it would be in the late 70s/early 1980s that use of the ICAO 3-letter system became widespread.

As Admin of a Merseyside based aviation forum, nwan forum, picked up on this thread within a an hour of being posted. I provided the information and a link to our members, one of whom has been down to the Liverpool Pier Head today and posted a number of photos on:

http://derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/29247/helicopter-pier-head-july-2018

Included is a photo of a plate on the helicopter clearly identifying it as SP-TVA.

In my 2006 Bob Ogden’s Air Britain ‘Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe’, I find Mil Mi-2 SP-TVA 533443044 listed as being in a large private collection the ‘Wystawa Sprzetu Lotniczego I Wojskowego Muzeum’ near the city of Lodz. It is noted (2006) that the museum had closed and one of owners had recently died. There may be more on this helicopter out there on the internet now that there is an identity to use for a ‘Google’.

So some answers for ‘Scouse’ who I suspect knows both Brian Jones ‘Viscount’ and Ken Ledward ‘Airbus’.

There is another short thread on nwan taken on the same trip as looking for the helicopter, of non-aviation photos at Liverpool’s Pier Head that might interest those who know Liverpool’s maritime connections. http://derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/29261/celebrity-eclipse

Thought I knew where to locate the answer …. but it is not there!

https://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=4922

ASN is usually a very good source for accidents/incidents involving airliners and light aircraft. Could be that the aircraft was not badly damaged enough to be remembered when ASN lists were compiled for the net.

Was the appellation ‘Jet Clipper’ by Pan Am just for their Boeing 707 fleet, or where the Douglas DC-8 and Boeing 727s included within the term?

Generally I would say, although at aerodromes I know I don’t always follow my own advice: If you are in a public area eg viewing area, public car park, then photos over the fence (or now-a-days sometimes through a taller CAA regulations security fence) then any aircraft is ‘fair game’ for a photo. However if more ‘airside’, around and in hangars then permission should be sought from ATC, airfield management, flying club or hangar operator, as appropriate. In the UK often, but not always, obliging – having your own high-viz vest handy helps. Recently I was asked for photo ID, some airfields request signing a visitors book. If an aircraft owner is around, I’ll often check if photos are OK, and can lead to interesting conversations. A bit of a ‘golden rule’ is don’t slip through a high security key-code gate, even if it has been left open, your unannounced presence ‘airside’ could be taken badly. Aircraft that have met an accident are sometimes sensitive, but abandoned wrecks usually no issue – if in doubt ask. FBOs, particularly those with shiny, expensive biz-jets and VIP Customers around tend to be very anti-photo/visit/even dislike you being around outside the airfield boundary.

Common sense is a good guide. If outside your own country, written/e-mail requests for access are often viewed favourably. Some counties, including parts of the USA are extremely sensitive to visitors with cameras and noting ‘matriculations’ (aircraft serials) – although even within more ‘sensitive’ countries there are wide variations of welcome and understanding. There is no ‘one rule all airfields’, common sense and appreciation that airfields/aircraft are the property of people, some genuinely welcoming others private and obstructive. I suspect though from the detail in the question that you are already aware of that.