Nostalgia at BHX

[wolfheze]

Sounds like you can remember about the same as me. I have got it in my head that the light revolved and that you used to be able to see the beam from the upstairs of our old house which is around 5 miles away but by the time I was going to Elmdon on the bus it wasn't in use.
Took this today at the Midland Air Museum which is supposed to have come from Elmdon. If it is the same one they must have left the other 40 ft of pylon behind.

 

[Brummiegem]

I remember the beacon,and it was green.On very clear nights you could see the light transmitted by it in Chelmsley Wood.
I also believe it did transmit a short message in some sort of code,which You could pick up on an air band radio,unfortunately I can't remember the frequency.

 

[wolfheze]

I remember the beacon,and it was green.On very clear nights you could see the light transmitted by it in Chelmsley Wood.
I also believe it did transmit a short message in some sort of code,which You could pick up on an air band radio,unfortunately I can't remember the frequency.

So it did revolve? Can you remember when it stopped being used? Am fairly sure it stood there for many years after it was withdrawn from use and probably wasn't taken down until that hotel thing was built.

 

[wolfheze]

I remember it well, I too attempted to work out if there was any message being beeped

I think it was still flashing away up until fairly recently? Definitely throughout the 90's and possibly into the 00's?

Was it still being used that late? Perhaps I had got so used to seeing it I just stopped noticing it

 

[Ray Finkle]

I'm pretty sure that it was still flashing during to the 90's. I passed my driving test in '93 and can remember seeing it as I drove past.

I can't be sure about the 00's though.

 

[Brummiegem]

It seemed to work similar to a lighthouse beacon,rotating at a particular speed.
I am led to believe it could be seen at high level,and a radio transmitter would tell flights that this was BHX.
Computers talking to other computers and radio transmitters probably means that this technology is way out of date now,but it is a fascinating subject,and I would love to know how it all worked.

 

[Ray Finkle]

There doesn't seem to be much information out there about these 'ident beacons'. This is from 'elsewhere'.

...recall night flying in the 1960/1970s and Birmingham was one of the best which on a good night could be seen circa 30/40 miles away!

They come from times that predate modern navigation systems and the reliablity (!) of both airborne and ground communications, not to mention items such as SSR

 

[JENNYJET]

Forgive me folks for not trawling the entire thread but does anyone remember the Spantax CV990 Coronado? This was during the time when CP Air operated DC 10 and the occasional B747-200 to Toronto.

Living in a flat above a betting shop in Pretoria Road, Bordesley Green looking directly at R33 departures over the HobsMoat football fields, the noise from that 4 engine relic was magnificent as I never imagined anything other than Concorde could be noise than the BMA 707's or Cyprus B720's....
....I ask because I was looking at a INFLIGHT 500 model on eBay to add to my collection. It revived memories of those noisy and Smokey jets that cemented my love of aviation. So sad no such aircraft are flying anymore now VC10 and Vulcan have been grounded. The nearest military base to me is Brize Norton and it is Antonov 124's and visiting airforces that offer the oldtimers, recently the Indian Air Force IL78 and Soviet built SU27's on a joint exercise with NATO.

However, this the BHX forum and I lament the day TU134 and TU154 stopped flying into EU states and I miss DAN-AIR and their B727. The AER LINGUS B737-200 and BAC1-11 and the first Ryanair services using same aircraft got me walking along the golf course fence adjacent to the runway, it was glorious times.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Yes Jennjet, I well remember the CV-990 Coronados. They were one of my favourite aircraft and looked great in the Spantax livery. Their striking feature were the two large anti-shock bodies on the top of each wing known as 'Kuchermann Carrots', designed to reduce drag by a principle known as 'Area Rule'. I believe that the CV-990 was the fastest airliner after Concorde and the Tu-144.
I really miss the old airliners they were so distinctive and different from each other. The Tu-134's and Tu-135's again having large pods on the wings, in this case to house the undercarriage. A Tu-134 could easily be seen on approach at 15 miles, due to the black smudge of smoke trailing it. We used to call them 'coal burners'.
I recall the CPAir DC-8's (the CPAir colour scheme remains one of my all time favourites), but I never saw their DC-10's or B747's at Brum. I do recall Wardair using those types.
Sweet memories.

Kevin

 

[wolfheze]

I know that I should of but I never saw a Coranado, can only think it was because we tended to not go to the airport so often in the summer. CP Air DC8s were also frequent visitors around the same time, maybe a little later but I can only recall seeing a couple. In those days we had absolutely no idea what to expect until we looked at the arrivals board. Would I be right in thinking there would be around 15 to 20 arrivals and departures on an average day?
We did get to hear about the JAT 727 service before it began and were able to get there for the inaugural flight, I think they came in on a Sunday morning. After we had seen the fleet of about 5 aircraft I was satisfied to watch from my bedroom window where they could be seen about 3 miles out on approach to 33, loved the series 200 727 as it was quite a bit bigger than most other things and liked the pronounced tail down attitude it had on approach.

 

[wolfheze]

The tupolevs were Balkan Bulgarian?

 

[wolfheze]

Arden Cl

https://goo.gl/maps/GkWmqejA1L42
Where I used to sometimes spot. Bedroom window above the garage

 

[Kevin Farnell]

The Tu-154's were Balkan, but the Tu-134's were Aviogenex of Yugoslavia.
When I was around 14 years old, I had an interest in becoming an Air Traffic Controller, so my Dad arranges a visit to the control tower at BHX. I remember watching (from the control tower), a JAT B727-200 land followed immediately by a JAT B707-320.

Kevin

 

[wolfheze]

The Tu-154's were Balkan, but the Tu-134's were Aviogenex of Yugoslavia.
When I was around 14 years old, I had an interest in becoming an Air Traffic Controller, so my Dad arranges a visit to the control tower at BHX. I remember watching (from the control tower), a JAT B727-200 land followed immediately by a JAT B707-320.

Kevin

That must have been brilliant!

 

[Brummiegem]

I used to go to school in Sheldon,and I remember seeing aircraft on approach or departing.
I remember seeing the odd Spantax Coronado as well as CP Air DC8s,and the Tupplevs that have already been mentioned.
I also recall a series of charters by Aeroflot Tu134s,but cannot remember the year.
On one of my first visits to the golf course,accessed from Marston Green by the rail station,we got there just in time to see a CP Air DC10 roll off runway 15.It was the biggest plane I had ever seen up to that point so it will stick in my mind for a long time.
The airport staged an air show of some description in the 80s.I remember seeing the Red Arrows parked up with their support Hercules on the general aviation ramp which is now where T2 is.
If I remember right there was a Spantax aircraft doing the regular run to Palma on the Saturday,although I can't remember if it was a Coronado or a DC8.

On another topic,can anyone remember the reason for the visit of Royal Air Marocs' B747-200?

 

[Ray Finkle]

The airport staged an air show of some description in the 80s.

Would you happen to remember if the Sally B made an appearance that day? I remember being taken to see it and I'm sure that the Red Arrows, and possibly even Concorde, we're there on the same day, I just can't remember which day it was?

 

[Brummiegem]

I am afraid I can't remember.I think the Airshow if that what it was,was held over 2 days,Saturday and Sunday.
You may be right about Concorde,but it is all a distant blur.
I don't remember Sally B,although I was only there on the Saturday,and I think it rained for most of the day.It may have been there,but I don't recall seeing it.
Another thing I remember is,there was some sort of mulch or similar covering the soil around the pavement leading towards the spectator area from the terminal.It had a very distinctive smell that seemed to last for many months.Not an unpleasant smell,but not particularly nice either.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

I can remember going to an 'airshow' to mark the opening of the new terminal, which I'm sure was in May 1984. A large show was put on, with many visiting aircraft. The public were allowed access to the apron and just under the pier where what was Eurohub now stands.
It was a bitterly cold day and we were stood under the old pier. Concorde was parked on either stand 40 or 42 and the relief from the bitter cold when it started its engines was much appreciated.
I don't remember if Sally B was present, but I do remember a Tiger Moth making lots of flights (pleasure flights?) and having to return to it's home airfield several times to have it's metal tail skid replaced. I also remember several aircraft arriving on scheduled services doing low passes before landing (don't think that would be allowed now).

Not from the same day, I found these videos of the first day of operation (Credit - Midlands Today) -

Kevin

 

[Kevin Farnell]

That must have been brilliant!

Yes it was.
I think I was shocked, because at the time I wasn't aware that JAT used those aircraft into Birmingham. I'd seen their DC-9-30's and thought that was all they used.
I do seem to recall it being a Sunday, and around midday-ish.

Kevin

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Can anyone remember anything about the old beacon which was I recall somewhere near the Elmdon lane turning? I seem to remember it had a revolving top which sent out a beam of light perhaps alternating green then white or was it just green? Im sure I used to see it working in the early seventies but not sure if it was in use much after that.

Wolfheze, I've been scouring the internet this evening and have found the following photo -

Is that the beacon, in the background that you refer to?
It seems to be what I was thinking of.

Regards

Kevin