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Post by graham on Jan 26, 2015 14:02:21 GMT
I used to go along to most of the drag meets here as it was only a 20 min ride from home. I don't recall them ever having top fuellers or funny cars here, not sure why. I only posted these on the old forum a week or so before it folded, so here they are again, they are all scanned photos, and all are from about 1978-80ish so quality isn't brilliant.  Wroughton16 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton15 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton14 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton13 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton12 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton11 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton10 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton9 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton8 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton7 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton6 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton5 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton4 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton3 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton2 by brownieboy27, on Flickr  Wroughton1 by brownieboy27, on Flickr |
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Post by chevvron on Jul 30, 2015 3:26:00 GMT
Bit before my drag racing career started. I did my 3 qualifying runs at Blackbushe in August '84, then raced at Long Marston, Santa Pod/Poddington, Bitteswell and North Weald over the following years as Blackbushe had been taken over by BCA and they wanted to avoid having to re-surface the runway.
My race number was GD18 and I ran a Honda CR250 powered ex-works Zip Kart Shadow; best time was at Long Marston with a 13.78 second run. Going through the top end at the ton with my bum only a couple of inches above the track was most exhilarating!!
Anybody got any piccies of me in action??
Having said all that, I was very friendly with an RAF nurse at the hospital at Wroughton and visited there frequently in the late '70s!!
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Post by billsamuels on Jul 30, 2015 5:42:08 GMT
Bit before my drag racing career started. I did my 3 qualifying runs at Blackbushe in August '84, then raced at Long Marston, Bitteswell and North Weald over the following years as Blackbushe had been taken over by BCA and they wanted to avoid having to re-surface the runway. My race number was GD18 and I ran a Honda CR250 powered ex-works Zip Kart Shadow; best time was at Long Marston with a 13.78 second run. Going through the top end at the ton with my bum only a couple of inches above the track was most exhilarating!! Anybody got any piccies of me in action?? Having said all that, I was very friendly with an RAF nurse at the hospital at Wroughton and visited there frequently in the late '70s!! Morning Chevvron, Now that's a side of you that we've never heard or thought of before... Tell us more.... I've been trying to get into Wroughton for years - managed to miss the open day last year!!! But before they nail the lid down I'd dearly like to see the stored Connie over there - it seems to be stuck in the Science Museum time capsule.... Anyway - more please!!! Especially about the nurse... LOL.... Cheers. Bill |
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 5:44:40 GMT
I drive past the museum store at Wroughton several times a week and always wonder what aeronautical treasures lay behind those hangar doors.
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Post by billsamuels on Jul 30, 2015 6:14:59 GMT
I drive past the museum store at Wroughton several times a week and always wonder what aeronautical treasures lay behind those hangar doors. Morning Graham, Well amongst other things; Lockheed L.749 Constellation DH.84 Dragon Dragon Rapide Nose of Comet 1A Comet 4B Piaggio P.166 Z-37 Cmelak Trident 3B Bede BD-58 DC-3A Boeing 247 DH. Devon (Dove) Gnat T.1 And several other bits and bobs.... So in anyone's language - it's worth getting in the gates... Cheers. Bill |
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Post by chevvron on Jul 30, 2015 6:15:15 GMT
I don't know the policy for visits to Wroughton nowadays. In about 1990, the Guild of Air Traffic Controllers (GATCO) managed to get a private visit and we were told we could fly in if we wished. The curator in those days was an excellent guy called Ross Sharp and he was keen on opening the collection every weekend.
There are several hangars where aircraft and other items are stored (you have to remember it's a Science Museum storage site not just aviation; apparently there are some very valuable cars and documents there too) and they are all air conditioned to retard any deterioration; they must have a tremendous energy bill.
Unfortunately Ross parted company with the Science Museum shortly afterwards (haven't a clue why, maybe he was too 'modern' for them) so his vision of having a functioning airfield with weekend openings to view the exhibits came to nothing, although the hangars were opened for the PFA Rallys in '91, 92 and 93 with me helping to control at the latter two; not sure about the other displays in that time period. They did have their own radio frequency and location indicator - when we parked the aircraft (flew down from Fairoaks) Ross met us saying 'welcome to echo golf delta tango', but they had no qualified radio operators and one reason Ross wanted GATCO to visit was to try and get some of us to man the radio on his weekend openings.
When we visited, the Connie (originally acquired to film a second series of 'Airline' which never happened) was off limits due to concerns about the serviceability of its undercarriage and the Trident 3, which starred in an episode of 'Casualty', hadn't been delivered, but there were many other exhibits apart from aircraft such as radar systems and even some railway material.
The nurse? Lovely girl from Trinidad; married someone else but I was still invited to the wedding at the church just down the hill from the airfield/hospital!!
Edit to add:
Hmm I seem to remember the Comet 4 as a 4c (ie with wing tanks) in Dan Air colours rather than a 4b with a 'clean' wing. We went on board that and marvelled at the generous seat pitch compared to modern airliners.
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Post by chevvron on Jul 30, 2015 6:40:00 GMT
Graham, in your original posting (too big to reproduce) most of the cars are Chevrolets or have Chevrolet engines; why is this? Obviously 'Mopar Miss' is not Chevrolet; can't see the engine on the milk float, just the supercharger or 'blower' as the yanks call them.
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 7:31:27 GMT
Morning Chevvron
I really don't know is the answer - as said earlier, there were never any Funny Cars or Top Fuellers as I recall at Wroughton and I believe the drag classes have changed a lot since I was a fan. I recall there were "Competition Altered" and "Pro-Stock" classes as well as the bikes and the smaller classes of cars. I distinctly remember a mini traveller with a V-12 Jaguar engine in it, essentially filled the entire space inside the car with the driver sitting onto of the engine. Maybe back then the Chevvy engine was the engine of choice for drag competitors?
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Post by billsamuels on Jul 30, 2015 9:30:39 GMT
Nice recollection Chevvron. Sounds like the nurse has captured a little soft spot inside your heart mate... Think most of us have had one, or two of them in our youth...
Anyway, according to Ken Ellis (W&R) the Comet 1A nose section is G-ANAV and the alleged 4B is one G-APYD of Dan Air (most recently), Olympic Airways (SX-DAL) and originally G-APYD belonging to BEA.... I actually saw it first with BEA at LAP on 18th October 1969 then as Olympic at some later date... I've also just checked the JP Airline Fleets for 1979 and it was in those days registered to Dan Air and listed as a 4B (c/n 6438).... So maybe they added them as some point - but I would definitely love to see it again...
I actually flew in three Comet's in the latter stages of their service; G-APDD (LGW-TCI), G-ARCP (PMI-LGW) and G-AYWX a 4C (TCI-LGW) - in those days I used to work for a tour operator called Blue Sky's and Blue Car's... Whenever we had empty seats at weekends we used to take off to places like Tenerife, Majorca, Ibiza, Costa Brava and spend the whole weekend doing things that 20 year olds did.... Most of which involved nurses, somewhere along the line...
My memory recalls a noisy old ride - every time!!!! But if I could do it again today - OH YEAH.....
Cheers.
Bill
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Post by filair on Jul 30, 2015 10:14:10 GMT
Years ago there was an annual open day (weekend?)
All sorts of things there,heavy horse ploughing,vintage vehicles,bus rides,most of the hangar's were open,fire fighting displays,and of course the
aviation exhibits,preserved lorries,farming machinery etc etc.
The collection of things at Wroughton is amazing,you name it,it is probably there.
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Post by chevvron on Jul 30, 2015 10:18:27 GMT
I did a couple of trips in XV814 out of Farnborough, the longest being 4.5 hours going backwards and forwards between the Alconbury TACAN and Ullapool. This was a 4c which had been (I think) GAPDA but I could be wrong, there was a small plaque in the cabin which gave its original civil reg; it's military reg used when going overseas was MPDXA.
Edi: Thinking back, maybe '814 was formerly GAPDD?
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Post by chevvron on Jul 30, 2015 10:25:23 GMT
Morning Chevvron I really don't know is the answer - as said earlier, there were never any Funny Cars or Top Fuellers as I recall at Wroughton and I believe the drag classes have changed a lot since I was a fan. I recall there were "Competition Altered" and "Pro-Stock" classes as well as the bikes and the smaller classes of cars. I distinctly remember a mini traveller with a V-12 Jaguar engine in it, essentially filled the entire space inside the car with the driver sitting onto of the engine. Maybe back then the Chevvy engine was the engine of choice for drag competitors? Nah, the engine of choice was the Chrysler/Dodge 426 cu. in. (7 litre) with hemispherical combustion chambers, colloquially known as 'the hemi'. This combustion chamber design lent itself to better cylinder filling and combustion than the 'bathtub' combustion chambers of the 427 cu.in. Chevrolet especially when combined with the GMC supercharger as seen in the milk float. |
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 10:31:07 GMT
Current dragster classes here, seems like Chrysler engines are the favoured lumps these days for the top fuellers and funny cars, at a maximum 500 inch cylinder capacity which equates to about 8.2 litres www.nhra.com/nhra101/classes.aspx |
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Post by captainbob on Jul 30, 2015 10:58:26 GMT
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Post by davebasing on Jul 30, 2015 11:25:14 GMT
Hi Bill - wandering a bit off topic but you mentioned you had flown in G-AYWX. It also rocketed me off Moscow's snowy runway on 2 January 1974. With no noise abatement in force then it was gas levers forward to top of climb, and yes they were noisy inside with the engines bedded in the wing root. In case you want a picture, I photographed her at Lasham in 1977 before she was broken up there in 1979. First saw her as 9K-ACA back in the sixties.  |
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Post by billsamuels on Jul 30, 2015 11:40:39 GMT
Cheers Dave,
That's the baby... I also saw her prior to her Dan Air days with Kuwait Airways along with 9K-ACE and 9K-ACI... A fine little collection... Just looking at my old records and I saw both Kuwait Airways Trident 1E's at LAP on 5th February 1971... Wonder if they were on delivery?
Anyway, do you have photo's of every aircraft ever flown!!!! Wouldn't mind betting it's a fair few....
Hope you are well mate.
Bill
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Post by davebasing on Jul 30, 2015 12:15:24 GMT
Very well thanks Bill hope you are too. Just back from a work trip to JFK & Montreal (my first 787 ride) after a hectic couple of weeks involving Yeovilton & Fairford shows and the annual pilgrimage to the Bastille Day flypast in Paris (86 fixed wing & helos in it this year). Gave up counting pictures at around 40,000 while I was digitalising them over a number of years. Must have been a very mis-spent youth but only one nurse that I can remember (she spoke very highly of you)!
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 12:15:31 GMT
My brother and I took a trip to the scrapyard at Lasham way back when we were in our very early teens courtesy of an Aunt who simply drove straight in. Pretty sure it would have been in 1970's school summer holidays. Would dearly love to find someone who could provide a log from those days.
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Post by davebasing on Jul 30, 2015 12:33:22 GMT
Graham - I first visited the old Airwork scrap yard at Lasham (which was in a field on the left side of the road as you went towards the glider site with the main airfield on your right) back in 1963 when it was full of Sea Hawks, Canadian CF100s & Sabres etc. Sadly long after Airwork Lasham had overhauled a large number of the former RAF Sabres then being delivered to Italy and Yugoslavia. I have a few logs from visits from then on (including pictures of me as a spotty youth in the cockpits of a Sea Hawk & a Sabre) plus some from the old Dan Air area where ATC is now and where the Comet picture was taken. A large percentage of the Comet 4 fleet ended their days in the Dan Air area as did other types. Any idea when you might have been there?
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Post by Jeff on Jul 30, 2015 13:10:45 GMT
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 13:28:07 GMT
Hi Dave
It was definitely during the school summer hols of 1970 as my brother and I spent the entire 6 weeks staying with my Aunt in Basingstoke so presumably between late July and early September of that year. She had a friend who owned a two seater glider at Lasham and we went up in it that same day. I remember seeing piles of Sea Fury wings and various bits of Meteors,Vampires and other marques there in the scrap yard. I did write them all down as I had just started spotting then but like many of my old logs, they have disappeared over the mists of time.
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Post by davebasing on Jul 30, 2015 15:46:28 GMT
Graham - I actually spent much of 1970 & 1971 detatched to the wilds of Manchester so visits to Lasham were rare. I can however tell you that in the summer of 1970 you would certainly have seen Dan Air's DC7 G-ATOB which was stored there from June 1969 until being broken up in situ in 1973 and also Comet 4 G-APDA which Dan Air acquired for spares from MSA arriving at Lasham in November 1969 and scrapped there having never entered service in September 1972, and also Ambassador G-ALZR which lingered from November 69 after a nose gear collapse while flying for BKS until broken up in 1972. Also Avro York G-ANTK was "preserved" there from April 1964 till it went to Duxford in May 1986. Just too early for preserved Ambassador G-ALZO which arrived in September 1971 before joining the York at Duxford in 1993 and for G-AMAE which arrived on 30 September 1970 and was scrapped in January 1972. As to the Staravia dump (which I inadvertantly called Airwork in an earlier post) I didn't visit it at all in 1970, but Canadian Air Force Sabres 19529 & 19764 had arrived from their Church Crookham yard in 1969 and were still to be seen in 1971. They arrived from C Crookham with Sea Fury WE825 '270' which was also still there in 1971. I do know however that in April 1970 Dakota G-APPO was in bits at Staravia as was Britannia G-A0VK but not sure how long they lasted. Most of the early Staravia stuff on the old WW2 dispersal in the field had been processed into little bits by 1970 and it was not until 1971 that cart loads of Jet Provosts began arriving from Shawbury. One other thing that I know which was at Lasham throughout the summer of 1970 was the former A&AEE Boscombe Down Bristol 170 XJ470 which sat for ages on the airfield then moved across to the Staravia yard where it could still be found in 1971, so it was either on the airfield or in the yard when you visited. Its engines were donated to the two Canadian registered Bristol Frighteners which were prepped at Lasham for their Atlantic crossing in 1969. Sadly I long ago dumped my old copies of Wrecks & Relics but someone may have some which might help or, if of a certain age, have things to add.
I have records of 35 Comets that ended their days at Lasham but these did not start arriving for parts until November 1970 although they were of course regular visitors before that for maintenance.
Hope this may help a bit.
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Post by graham on Jul 30, 2015 16:16:37 GMT
That's fantastic Dave, many thanks indeed. It was indeed, a long, long time ago.
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Post by chevvron on Jul 31, 2015 6:58:53 GMT
I actually flew in three Comet's in the latter stages of their service; G-APDD (LGW-TCI), G-ARCP (PMI-LGW) and G-AYWX a 4C (TCI-LGW) - in those days I used to work for a tour operator called Blue Sky's and Blue Car's... Whenever we had empty seats at weekends we used to take off to places like Tenerife, Majorca, Ibiza, Costa Brava and spend the whole weekend doing things that 20 year olds did.... Most of which involved nurses, somewhere along the line... My memory recalls a noisy old ride - every time!!!! But if I could do it again today - OH YEAH..... Cheers. Bill I remember 'Blue Sky' holidays; they did singles holidays called 'Batchelors Abroad' and I went to the Gambia with them in '84 and '85 after I got divorced. On the second one, there was this bloke in our group who I thought I recognised but just couldn't place him. He was very loud, gods gift etc. Turned out he was a TV actor who'd been in 'Z Cars' years before and was then appearing in (don't laugh) Coronation Street and NO I did not watch it!! He was apparently very friendly with someone called 'Ivy' and people kept asking him 'when are you gonna marry Ivy?' so presumably he was giving her the runaround. The name Ron Davis springs to mind? |
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Post by billsamuels on Jul 31, 2015 7:22:22 GMT
I actually flew in three Comet's in the latter stages of their service; G-APDD (LGW-TCI), G-ARCP (PMI-LGW) and G-AYWX a 4C (TCI-LGW) - in those days I used to work for a tour operator called Blue Sky's and Blue Car's... Whenever we had empty seats at weekends we used to take off to places like Tenerife, Majorca, Ibiza, Costa Brava and spend the whole weekend doing things that 20 year olds did.... Most of which involved nurses, somewhere along the line... My memory recalls a noisy old ride - every time!!!! But if I could do it again today - OH YEAH..... Cheers. Bill I remember 'Blue Sky' holidays; they did singles holidays called 'Batchelors Abroad' and I went to the Gambia with them in '84 and '85 after I got divorced. On the second one, there was this bloke in our group who I thought I recognised but just couldn't place him. He was very loud, gods gift etc. Turned out he was a TV actor who'd been in 'Z Cars' years before and was then appearing in (don't laugh) Coronation Street and NO I did not watch it!! He was apparently very friendly with someone called 'Ivy' and people kept asking him 'when are you gonna marry Ivy?' so presumably he was giving her the runaround. The name Ron Davis springs to mind? LOL... Sadly I was only with the 'Blue's' between 1970/71. In those days they were independent but mid-way through 1971 Caledonian Airways came in a bought the place. Subsequently the operation, which was based in Shaftesbury Avenue (next door to the theatre where 'HAIR' was playing at the time - and I could write a book about the stuff that went on) was re-located to East Grinstead - which was the reason for me leaving... Being a 16 year old at the time, East Grinstead seemed, at the time, to be a complete back-water to me... So anything that happened after that is not in my memory I'm afraid - but the Gambia was very definitely on Caledonian (or British Caledonian by those days) drawing board... The Travel Industry used to be fun in those days - sadly with the advancement of time, new techniques and technology plus a few challenges along the way, it's changed!!!! Hope the holiday went well - apart from Ron.... Bill |
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