I think it is a fantastic building, any design that can house a Valiant, Vulcan, Victor, Dakota, York, Hastings, Belfast, Canberra, plus many other fighter & trainer types around them, and all viewable over three storeys in a light and airey ambiance deserves some recognition.
I’ve heard some great comments about the place and the way the aircraft are displayed from ‘non enthusiast’ veterans and public.

Have to agree with last, I also have other suspicions.
The main two are hugely respected, in and outside of this community.

Very sad news.

I had the very great pleasure of meeting and having a good conversation with Sir Patrick Moore at Wadebridge when he was giving a lecture about Halley’s Comet.
I knew he was an ex BC navigator and I asked him about his career, I was pleasantly surprised in the interest he showed back to me.
He mentioned that it was the use of sextant and astrodomes which certainly perpetuated his interest in astromony.
From memory (as unreliable as that is) I’m sure he said that he was on Wellingtons and 7 squadron Stirlings for a spell.
Apart from rising to Flt Lt RAF, he was also a voluntary Air Training Corps Sqn Ldr.
He also met Orville Wright when aircrew training in Canada.

I’ve always admired his character, and to me represents exactly what television should be about, education delivered in a non sensationalist manner, I believe Sky At Night is the longest running programme in TV history, and that Patrick was the longest presenter of a programme.

Possibly his most outstanding gift to aviation was his mapping of the moon which NASA partly used for the Apollo programme.

RIP

Just done some asking around on the airfield forum where someone has a list of various published runway headings, Ballykelly did indeed have a runway 03/21 for a period.

Amazing what historical data you can draw from an apparently simple cartoon!

Seriously though, Andy has been banned before and was quietly let back in. Do you guys remember?

Do you remember the high profile campaign here led, and supported by fellow forumites to repeal the ban and get Andy reinstated to the forum?

I suspect that is partly what was behind this thread, started by a forumite to inform the rest of us and hopefully gain some support on the way.

240 with Shack MR.1s became 203 with MR.3s, at Ballykelly. One of the shorter runways there was 02/20, but with the heading changes by 1 degree at other airfields at the time I’m thinking could it be possible that the runway was 03/21, and that the mountain is the infamous ‘Ben Twitch’?
Lovely ‘toon, thanks for posting.

Again, only my understanding, but Methanol isn’t there as part of the power boost, but purely to prevent the water freezing in the tanks and lines.
The Harrier doesn’t use it as the tank is just behind the engine and nice and warm anyway.