So, my little grey cells were correct then!

Thanks JDK – at my age the grey cells start to fail, I was 99.99% sure it was Fboro, (the old radar scanner on the tower behind the trees was the giveaway – it was knocked down a couple of years ago as part of the airfield redvelopment 🙁 ), but I wasn’t sure of the year.

I knew it had to be an “even”, so probably ’84 or ’86, but didn’t get chance to check my own slide collection last night.

Cheers

Paul F

SR71 at Farnborough Show(s)

1974 was the year the SR71 set a transatlantic speed record, when the SR71 “overshot” the UK, and ended up over France, from whence it had to be quickly fished out of French airspace via a rapid hookup with a KC135 – or so rumour had it at the time IIRC?

I am sure a Blackbird also visited a Farnboro’ show in the mid/late 80’s, will check my records – I remember it parked on the “live side” on one of the public days, hooked up to an APU, and I remember hoping against hope that it would actually fly in the display. Unfortunately it didn’t 🙁 . (Or maybe I’m thinking of an IAT of same era :confused: .)

MOTF- my first visit to Farnsbarns was 1972 (C5A in static, L1011 Tristar in PSA Colours with a smiley face IIRC, Concorde G-BSST etc), been every show since, though the last few have always prompted me to think “Never again..”.

Oops, sorry, getting a bit off-thread now.

Paul F

SR-71 Photo

Could possibly be taken at Farnborough, one flew in for one of the shows in the 80’s, but can’t confirm which year without checkign my own slide collection at home ….

Paul F

My Shoreham pics to follow later

Nice photos all, will post some of mine in due course – yet to download them off the XD cards 😮 .

Went as planned on Saturday and weather was scorching (as were most of the flying displays)

Paul F

Where’s she going….

Anyone know where is she going after this afternoon’s flight is over – is she to be retired to a museum or is she destined for the scrapman?

I sincerely hope it’s the former…..

Not many of the old girls left now – In 1977 I was on ATC camp in Malta, and we visited 9 Sqdn (IIRC) who still had operational Canberras there then, alongside 203 Sqdn Nimrods at RAF Luqa, I never thought any Canberras would still be operational with the RAF 18 years later…..even if the number is dwindling further still after today.

I was also lucky enough to see a four ship (IIRC) of Canberras as they overflew RAF West Raynham the day they closed the base or finally retired the Bllodhound missiles, sorry grey cells failing me… (back in about 1991 or 92?).

Paul F