Gastines Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 A bit of a long shot but are there any members who worked at Brooklands Northampton from 50's onwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I thought for a moment there when I saw Brooklands that you meant Brooklands at Weybridge in Surrey. Home of Vickers who built Concorde's tail end and where her prototype Bravo Golf resides now.Me? I am dedicated Concorde fan, mostly because my Grandad worked on the prototype in Weybridge so she remains a lasting memorial to him, but I have a few pictures and a beautiful model of that fabulous machine which are going to have pride of place once we have done our upstairs conversion works. My Concorde Gallery as it were.I still miss her at 11.05 every morning when she used to leave Heathrow and power off into the distance. Shame she is grounded. [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I'm with you on Concorde Framboise, the most beautiful aircraft in the World - after the Spitfire and the Hawker Hunter ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 and the Mustang.................................[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Pity is that I never got to fly in Concorde before she got grounded, however I have been to Brooklands where they have their prototype on open display so I have been inside and got the photos to prove it. As yet she has not got her lovely new hangar and personal museum but thats in the pipeline for her.Anyone visiting UK around the area should make a point of visiting Brooklands Museum, not just for Concorde, because they have bits of the old Track banking, old cars and bikes plus loads of old planes. Also its the home of McClaren & Mercedes World. Plenty to amuse petrolheads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 There is another Concorde at Duxford that you can walk around and inside. I was amazed how small it is inside. Did they have especially petite cabin crew?Amazing machine though, I always liked Terry Pratchet's description 'It looks like it's moving fast even when it's standing still'Oh yeah, There's one at the entrance to Charles de Gaul airport too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 Back to Brooklands Aviation at Buttocks Booth and Sywell Aerodrome... My father was works manager for a number of years, We lived in a house next to the Horseshoe Pub, virtually a few hundred yards from the end of the runway. When working in the garden I used to involuntarily duck as the Varsity and Valetta planes came in. They used to do wing re-builds there,convert to Radar trainers and to work on Tiger-moths and other bi-planes for various flying clubs. It was also the home of the Dolphin Cabin cruiser, made out of marine ply etc. They did have a base at Weybridge as Sywell was a grass strip and the jets went to Weybridge,from memory.Regarding Concorde, my wife's father was foreman of the paint shop at Hurn Bournemouth airport, did spray work on the first Concorde at ? . Going back a few years for the aircraft buffs, my father was with Armstrong Siddley.Airspeeds and an engineer on the Imperial Airways Flying Boats based at Hythe. Those days the interior was like a lounge and it was a few days trip down the coast of Africa with some amusing methods of re-fueling. I did have the pleasure of seeing and feeling, the Vulcan Bomber land at Hurn twice. We used to have a house on a hill about 3 miles from the runway and the whole house used to vibrate when it took off,Concorde also flew in twice. We had notice of their arrivals/departures as freinds would turn up for tea/bacon sandwiches served while they had a view.Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Yes there are a number of Concordes dotted about the world but it was a battle to get Bravo Golf back to Brooklands where her rear end was built. They were going to give her to some arab state as a "present" to decorate their airport yet such was the uproar locally that finally it was agreed she could come Home, If they paid for the transport. Henceforward was a long drawn out campaign to bring her home to Weybridge which unceremoniously she did, chopped in manageable pieces and shipped in on trucks then reassembled by retired engineers who had worked on her in the first place. Unfortunately my grandad never lived to see her come home or he would have been there with his rivet gun in hand!My grandad had joined Vickers when he moved South from Sheffield working on small planes and trams. When war broke out he was placed as reserved occupation and built all sorts of planes for the War Effort then in the 60's it was Concorde of course. He was always delighted when she flew across as he weeded his garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 [quote user="Bugbear"]and the Mustang.................................[:)][/quote]A nice enough aeroplane once it got a decent engine (Merlin from RR), but its not really in the same league.I failed to mention the Avro Vulcan which, in B Mk 2 form was certainly a contender. The Mk 1 planform just didn't look "right".It was the ideal testbed for the Concorde engines though.The last time I saw a Vulcan take off was a 4 ship scramble (with ripple rapid start) at Finningley, a looooong time ago (HM Queen silver jubilee)(ex Vulcan Engineer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 Framboise. I forgot Vickers Armstrong in my list. I think my father was with them at Christchurch airfield, now a trading estate. I remember he was a rate fixer there,nicknamed Ratcatchers I believe. I went there once to see a Lancaster bomber,probably about 1950-52.Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Brooklands is virtually all built on now. Most of the track plus the original factories have vanished under an enormous trading estate, housing and a giant Tesco / M&S, yet the museum is going strong, especially as they have their Concorde back home!I don't remember seeing any of the planes being built there but the museum has lots of examples of their work and is a fascinating place for a visit. And my Mum has a huge print of Concorde autographed by the designers, the engineers plus the Test Pilot Brian Trubshaw and his crew. Its very precious to her naturally - maybe it should go into my Concorde Gallery instead??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Precious isnt the word, irreplaceable. I hope its insured.I have/had a large print of a Vulcan painting, presented to me by Avro, it was certificated and everything. During a house move the glass was broken and the print very badly damaged. I was heartbroken because that also was irreplaceable, hence my insurance comment above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Knowing my Mum it probably isn't, so I'd better get to work on her so that it joins the rest of my collection asap! [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 After years of working at Heathrow .....and seeing Concorde.... and having my hearing damaged by and breathing in the muck from her smelly engines every day.....Did I get to fly on it ?......No.....only reminder I have apart from going deaf is a tie ....perhaps I should offer it for sale here ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Be fair, the RR Olympus 593s fitted to Concorde were no smellier than any other turbojet.edit. They were a developement of the Olympus 3000 fitted to the Vulcan bomber and I experienced many more Vulcan operations than Concorde did and it didn't make me deaf.....did you say something???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Concorde is still beautiful to look at on the ground or in the air - something to be proud of, along with being the proof on Anglo-French relations of course.Here we get the jets from Heathrow, usually the Transatlantics, and by heck you certainly hear some of them coming, in fact sometimes you can almost see the Captain waving as he leaves a skidmark on the chimney pot. Thats what happens when you leave the landing lights on of course! [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 I trust you Aero buffs noted that the Vulcan Bomber returned to the skies today? Story in Daily Mail, sorry, I do read it.Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 I saw this on our local news, Gastines and I kept my eye open in case it flew this way. Now if it had been a Vampire I'd have made the effort and actually gone to Bruntingthorpe.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 [quote user="Gastines"]I trust you Aero buffs noted that the Vulcan Bomber returned to the skies today? Story in Daily Mail, sorry, I do read it.Regards.[/quote]Can you post the link please, I am 4000+ miles away from the daily mail.Got it via google. What a fabulous photo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 Powerdesal. Sorry not clever enough to post a link to anything but surely you can get Daily Mail on your computer? Be quick as they do tend to change the stories.I presume from nom -de-plume you are in the desalination business? I got as far as Qatar and was offered some sites in UAE but all the trouble with my old pal Sadam put paid to it. How come the satellite spy in the sky system didn't spot the Iraqi army on the Kuwait border? A blind spot, or an opportunity?Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 If you have broadband Powerdesal you should be able to watch it on the BBC News.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 [quote user="Gastines"]Powerdesal. Sorry not clever enough to post a link to anything but surely you can get Daily Mail on your computer? Be quick as they do tend to change the stories.I presume from nom -de-plume you are in the desalination business? I got as far as Qatar and was offered some sites in UAE but all the trouble with my old pal Sadam put paid to it. How come the satellite spy in the sky system didn't spot the Iraqi army on the Kuwait border? A blind spot, or an opportunity?Regards[/quote]See my edited post, got the Vulcan on a google search "Vulcan, daily mail" super photos. As an Ex Waddington, Vulcan Eng Officer I was really happy to see 558 airborne again.Yes, I'm in the desal business. 6 yrs Dubai, 16 yrs Sharjah. I guess they thought it was "allowable" sabre rattling until it happened. I was in UK at the time, but a colleague got picked up as one of the hostages, he was not impressed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Here are a couple of pictures I took at Brooklands Concorde exhibit. Its difficult to get all of her in, thats why they are a bit "arty", but what a beautiful old gal she is.Recent news is that British Airports Authority have donated the scale model of Concorde that graced the Heathrow roundabout to Brooklands Museum, so this will be joining its Big Sister in March 08.[IMG]http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t285/moya011/IMG_0372_5_1_1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t285/moya011/IMG_0374_3_1_1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t285/moya011/IMG_0376_6_1_1.jpg[/IMG] Am I turning into a plane spotter or what?? Worrying..............................[geek] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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