In the ’50s and 60s there were very few people with top quality cameras shooting top quality photos of aircraft for publication etc. In the mid-60s, one of these was Brian Stainer who started Aviation Photo News. He published lists of photos and slides and had many published. I joined him and this association got me started publishing material, but I knew it had to be exclusive and top quality. I could see that there was very little money to be made in this business and that you have to have ‘ a day job’ as your main source of ‘bread and butter’. Others have tried to make a go of it and find it VERY difficult to make it their main source of income. One person is Brian Pickering of Military Aircraft Photographs, who has an enormous b/w and colour library and works VERY hard at it, but it must be an awful struggle at times and I do admire him for his enormous effort. Now digital photography has come along, anyone can take top quality photos and they all think they could make money at this! Alas, EVERYONE wants to and so there is now fierce competition and it is no longer ‘the few’ that are capable of top quality photos. Unless you are contracted by a newspaper or magazine, you will find a hard job to make this your one-and-one income source!

My Dad also! He was in the RAF during the war, then joined the Royal Observer Corps in the late ’50s. Used to do all the recognition quizes in his Joint Recognition Journals. He started building Airfix kits and then came Farnborough 1958 – wow, 22 Black Arrows looping and white Vulcans scrambling…I was seriously impressed! Picnics at Thruxton in the summer, climbing over derelict Mossies and my first visit to Heathrow – that was IT – pure addiction for the rest of my life! (Beats smoking any day!) 😎

Purple FD.2

Yes indeed it is at Farnborough in September 1958 in this scheme, but colour photos are pretty rare. Here is a colour slide in my collection, which I assure you is the same scheme but looks paler, due to the age of the original slide.

OK Chaps thanks for all your input. You have all helped persuade the owner of XL577 to such an extent that she will appear in Blue Diamonds livery in time for next years display season.

Next question? Does anyone have any detailed line drawings of the Blue Diamonds scheme that they could copy for us?

No detailed line drawings, but plenty of photos. I can bring them over or scan them, Glen? Just to prove there were TWO Blue Diamonds T.7s, here they are at Farnborough in September 1962. Nearest is XL571/V with XL605/T behind. As XL577 is closest to XL571, suggest it is coded ‘V’ ? :rolleyes:

congrads sandy

Thought you had left after 2000 posts??? :dev2:

WELL DONE DELTA JETS 😀

My personal favourite colour scheme is silver with a yellow band, having said that I think the Blue Diamonds scheme would complement XV318 very well. You could have XV318 ( Black Arrows ), XL577 ( Blue Diamonds ), Gnat XS101 ( Yellow Jacks ) all in formation with perhaps G-PSST to show how its done know. I’m sure that would get a few bookings for next year, could even repaint there other Gnat in Red Arrows colours.

..don’t forget the Jet Provost T.4 in ‘Red Pelicans’ scheme that also appears to live at Kemble. By the way, the ‘Yellowjacks’ Gnat is really XS102.

Surely it has to be the C-47?

The Greek Air Force still operate a C-47 that was in the Korean War and has been in continuous use!

What about Institute of Aviation Medicine Colours 🙂

Naah! That makes me sick!