Nostalgia Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

The passengers on-board the Vickers Viscount were very lucky!

Some years ago I posted a separate thread re this crash (see below link). The thread contains unedited film from Pathe of the aftermath. It was remarkable that there was no loss of life.

Incidentally, when I researched this incident in 2012 I discovered that two people, one a cabin crew member, were seriously injured and not slightly injured as this week's newspaper article suggests.

http://www.forums4airports.com/threads/2239/

 

[andrewgreen]

interesting piece ! the Tri jet is a Trident so cant be Dan Air they only operated B.727s but im afarid im not quite old enough to work out which airline it is !

 

[superking]

Must agree about a plaque for les Wilson,a nice blue one like they attach to houses. Either way lets hope they do put something up or name something in his memory.He deserves it.

 

[andrewgreen]

I agree to he deserves some recognition naming the main approach road would be my choice

 

[Kevin Farnell]

interesting piece ! the Tri jet is a Trident so cant be Dan Air they only operated B.727s but im afarid im not quite old enough to work out which airline it is !

It's Channel Airways, as TheLocalYokel stated. (The upper part of the tail was painted gold and incorporated the words 'Continental Golden Jet'. Below that, was a black stripe with 'Channel Airways' written in it).

Along with Autair BAC One-Eleven and Britannia B737-200.
Screenshot taken from the Bristol Post video.
I can't make out the airline name on the DC-3, but it seems to break down into two short words followed a longer word. the only fit that I can think of, would be 'Dan Air London'. This photo (from Airliners.net Credit Dave Jones), taken in 1969 -

Would appear to be a good fit.

Regards

Kevin

 

[Seasider]

I visited Bristol Airport for the first time in September 1979 and remember seeing this Trans Europa Caravelle on the apron. Was their a viewing area on top of the Terminal? I can't remember.

View attachment 6578

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes, there was an outside viewing area on the first floor of the old terminal available to everyone whether travelling or not. The old terminal is about a quarter of a mile from the current one. The old terminal is currently used for admin and is likely to be demolished soon to provide more aircraft parking spaces.

Thank you for sharing that superb photo.

 

[andrewgreen]

Thanks for sharing that , i remember them well along with Aviaco Dc-9 s ,Dan air comets,Aer lingus BAC 1-11 s and Britsh Airways Viscounts .
I spent mnay hours on that viewing terrace , it was a large area to start with but got progressively smaller as the cafe got extended and eventually dissapeared inside !

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I liked being able to shout to friends/relatives from the viewing area as they walked to or walked from (on return) the aircraft. It always reminded me of what I thought Croydon Airport must have been like pre-war. Whether it was is another matter.

The outside terrace above the current terminal is certainly worthwhile but it only has that restricted view of the runway at touchdown or climb out at the eastern end of the airfield.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

https://wringtonsomerset.org.uk/archive/1960guide.html

Link to an interesting Official Guide to Wrington published in the early 1960s. Wrington is the nearest large village to the airport which actually sits in the parish of Wrington. In the early 1960s Wrington was a much smaller village than it is today.

Halfway down the page under the heading The Parish of Wrington is a small piece about Bristol Airport that had opened 3-4 years beforehand. The tone of the article is far more supportive than it would be today amongst some residents of the village.

Besides standing in the broad, eponymous Wrington Vale, the village has a few claims to modest celebrity. The handsome tower of the Church of All Saints is the model for the Victoria Tower in the Houses of Parliament.

John Locke, the 17th Century theorist and philosopher was born in the village, and Hannah Moore, the 18th/19th Century playwright, moralist and philanthropist is buried in All Saints' church yard.

Sadly, Wrington's Church of All Saints is also where a number of victims of the 1973 Basel air disaster are buried. An Invicta International Airlines Vickers Vanguard had taken off from Bristol Airport bound for Basel on a day trip. The aircraft crashed into a snow-covered mountainside on approach leading to the loss of 108 lives, a high proportion of whom were women from Wrington and other nearby villages who had flown out intent on a day's shopping.

I knew some of the deceased, although not closely, and I well remember turning on the local radio for the lunchtime news and hearing the first reports of the tragedy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invicta_International_Airlines_Flight_435

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f54e40f0b613460005c1/11-1975_G-AXOP.pdf

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I borrowed a newish library book this week about Bristol country buses through the previous century when they were operated by Bristol Omnibus Company and its predecessor Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company (and smaller companies).

The book is lavishly illustrated and several airport-related things caught my eye.

There was a colour picture of a green Bristol L5G half-cab single-decker parked outside a pristine-looking terminal at Lulsgate in the late 50s/early 60s operating a city-airport-city route for Cambrian Airways. A similar vehicle was pictured in the city centre operating a route to 'Bristol Airport' for Aer Lingus, obviously taken in the 1950s but not made clear whether that Bristol Airport was Whitchurch or Lulsgate.

A colour picture from the early 1980s was of a blue/grey Leyland Olympian double decker completely given over to advertising Bristol Airport. A prominent white notice bearing the legend, 'Fly From Bristol- It's So Easy', was painted along the side between the decks with stylised pictures of aircraft with condensation trails 'flying' up the side of the bus. The bus was on the Bristol-Clevedon route at the time the photograph was taken.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Swiss Air Disaster 10 April 1973

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the above tragedy when an Invicta International Vickers Vanguard aircraft on a charter flight from Bristol to Basel crashed into a mountainside on its approach to Basel killing 108 of the 145 people on board. Most of the passengers were women from villages in the vicinity of Bristol Airport who were going on a day trip to Basel for shopping.

The local tv news channels have covered the day sensitively and poignantly featuring interviews with survivors and relatives, and old film of the aftermath both at the crash site and subsequently in the villages from where most of the deceased originated.

Bristol Corporation's purchase of the former RAF Lulsgate Bottom which became Bristol Airport

Given the ongoing debate about BRS's future which is inevitably linked to past decisions regarding the airport, I've had a look at some contemporary local newspaper reports.

Bristol's first airport was at Whitchurch on the southern edge of the city. It was the only sigificant UK land airport throughout World War 2 with regular scheduled flights to the neutral countries of Portugal and the Republic of Ireland. The Portuguese route (to Lisbon) was particularly busy and carried the great and the good from senior diplomats, senior military officers, business leaders to major film stars of the day such as Bob Hope (who actually lived in both Bristol and Weston-super-Mare as a young child before moving to the USA where the rest is history), Bing Crosby and Leslie Howard (who was killed when a KLM DC3 on the British register with the authority of the Dutch Government In Exile in London operating Lisbon-Bristol Whitchurch was short down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay in June 1943). Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the US President, was another who used the Lisbon-Whitchurch link. Of course, none of this was made public until after the war ended.

Bristol Corporation's (the city council) airport at Whitchurch had opened in 1930 but after the war ended it was quickly recognised that the site and runway were too small for new generations of aircraft (does that sound familiar?).

The Bristol Evening Post was reporting in the summer of 1955 that ten years of negotiation between the city and successive ministers of transport had brought an offer from the government for the city council to lease or buy the former RAF Lulsgate Bottom site. The city's airport committee chairman was in favour of a purchase rather than a lease and a price of £55,000 was agreed - I make that around £14 million at today's values. The chairman was hoping for some measure of financial assistance from the government but was to be disappointed.

At the time it was thought that Lulsgate's 1,300 yard runway (275 yards longer than Whitchurch's) and two secondary 1,100 yard runways would be a significant improvement. The Post also reported that "Lulsgate is on a plateau on the Mendip ridge (and) has open approaches for miles around". Whitchurch was already beginning to be hemmed in by housing estates. There was no mention of the capricious Lulsgate weather nor any thought to what we now know as 'nimbyism'.

The Post thought there would be runway extensions, "to give even the biggest airliners a safety margin". There was a runway extension in the 1960s but we know it was never long enough for the 'biggest airliners'. Lulsgate opened as Bristol's airport in 1957 and at the same time Whitchurch was closed.

Although my research was not exhaustive I found no contemporary reports to suggest that Filton had been a serious option. That's not to say it wasn't and persistent rumours in later years, both in the local press and amongst the local aviation community, point to Filton being in the frame.

 

[superking]

That was when winters lasne got movrd to where it is today. A yhought why cant they leave ILS where it is now and just extend runway to its max with out going on the common. Its only the aircraft take off that has problems not landing . What if any restrictions would there be for landing aircraft.
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The current master plan has five runway extension options, including the 'do nothing' one which is what they went for. They all involve relocation of the ILS localiser and approach lighting to a degree with either occupation or alterations to Felton Common also a factor, depending on the option chosen.

One of the five options though is a starter strip that would add 389 metres to the 27 take off run, but only about 150 metres to the 09 take off run. The need to encroach on Felton Common would be avoided. I believe that a 150-metre tunnel along the A38 would still be needed for the starter strip option.

 

[alphagolf]

The current master plan has five runway extension options, including the 'do nothing' one which is what they went for. They all involve relocation of the ILS localiser and approach lighting to a degree with either occupation or alterations to Felton Common also a factor, depending on the option chosen.

One of the five options though is a starter strip that would add 389 metres to the 27 take off run, but only about 150 metres to the 09 take off run. The need to encroach on Felton Common would be avoided. I believe that a 150-metre tunnel along the A38 would still be needed for the starter strip option.

I think the starter strip would be the least contentious when it comes to any local nimby's, any encroachment onto Felton Common would be a real bun fight. I would of thought the 150 metres on 09 and the 389 metres to 27 (the prevailing wind runway) would surely lesson if not eliminate the need for fuel stops enroute when weather conditions are less favourable. I am not that technically informed on the aircraft performance, I am sure someone could help on that question.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I think the starter strip would be the least contentious when it comes to any local nimby's, any encroachment onto Felton Common would be a real bun fight. I would of thought the 150 metres on 09 and the 389 metres to 27 (the prevailing wind runway) would surely lesson if not eliminate the need for fuel stops enroute when weather conditions are less favourable. I am not that technically informed on the aircraft performance, I am sure someone could help on that question.

I have no technical qualifications in the subject either, but broadly adding 389 metres to 27 would give an overall runway length of 2,400 metres, and 150 metres added to 09 would result in an overall length of around 2161 metres.

The TORA (take off run available) would be respectively 2327 metres and 2128 metres. A runway length of 2,400 metres would make a significant difference so far as 27 is concerned (for example, CWL's runway is marginally shorter than this) but 2161 metres on 09 might be of little practical advantage in terms of larger aircraft. Obviously airlines could not roster larger aircraft on the basis of 27 being available because it wouldn't always be. There is also the not inconsiderable cost of the 150-metre long tunnel for the A38 which appears necessary, albeit the current master plan is not absolutely clear on this point when it comes to a starter strip.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Ryanair

I meant to post this last week but forgot.

It is 21 years this month since Ryanair began operating out of BRS. The DUB service began on Thursday 1 May 1997 with Boeing 737-200 aircraft operating a 2 x daily service (1 x daily on Saturdays). At the time Aer Lingus was operating a 3 x daily weekday DUB service, fewer at weekends, using mainly Fokker F50 aircraft but one of the weekday rotations was a Bae146.

Ryanair has been at BRS ever since, opening a base in the autumn of 2007. Aer Lingus has come and gone more than once in the years since then but now seems settled using Stobart against Ryanair on the DUB route.

 

[BristolPistol]

Loved reading through this thread, brought back a lot of memories as a youngster!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Loved reading through this thread, brought back a lot of memories as a youngster!

Welcome to F4A, Bristol Pistol. Hope to read more posts from you. Any particular memories of the airport in days past?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I had a look at BRS in peak summer 1998. Below is the list of Friday arrivals. There are 48 arrivals, scheduled and charter combined, with Britannia to Heraklion and Kos operating a fortnightly schedule on alternate weeks. Most weekdays are similar as far as the scheduled programme is concerned although the BA Guernsey/Jersey flight operated to Plymouth and Cork on Tuesdays and Thursday instead, and there was no Isles of Scilly flight on Wednesdays.

The charter programme varied from day to day with a total of 75 in the week which takes into account those routes that operated fortnightly. Thursday was the busiest charter day with 14 rotations.

1998 saw a total of 1.814 million passengers. 2018 will see around 8.6 million. Today (Friday) there were 107 arrivals which demonstrates how much larger the majority of aircraft operating from BRS are these days compared with 20 years ago.

Looking at the scheduled flights KLM Cityhopper hasn’t changed much with its timings, neither has Sabena and its successors albeit there were four daily rotations compared with 2018’s three. There are still two arrivals from Dublin around 8 in the morning, one Ryanair the other Aer Lingus, as is the case now. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow had six daily rotations each weekday.

0230 Lanzarote Airworld A 320 AWD419

0530 Heraklion Britannia B757 BY032B (fortnightly)

0530 Kos Britannia B757 BY011B Kos (fortnightly)

0705 Plymouth British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4020

0755 Dalaman Air 2000 A320 AMM817

0825 Dublin Aer Lingus F50 EI282

0825 Dublin Ryanair B737-200 FR502

0830 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4031

0830 Belfast City Jersey European F27 JY841

0830 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4017

0855 Amsterdam KLM Cityhopper F50 KL1047

0905 Newcastle British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4051

1010 Brussels Sabena DH-8-300 SN703

1045 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4033

1055 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4021

1105 Paris CDG British Airways (Brymon) DH-3-800 BA4083

1120 Amsterdam KLM Cityhopper F50 KL1049

1300 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4035

1310 Isles of Scilly Scilly Skybus DH-6 FW400

1330 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4023

1330 Naples Britannia B757 BY383B

1420 Aberdeen/Newcastle British Airways (Brymon) BA4053

1430 Palma Aer Europa B757 or B737-300 AEA246 (inbound via CWL)

1435 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4037

1440 Belfast City/Isle of Man Jersey European F27 JY845

1455 Malaga Air 2000 A320 AM819

1505 Brussels Sabena DH-8-300 SN705

1540 Paris CDG British Airways (Brymon) DH-3-800 BA4085

1615 Guernsey/Jersey British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4070

1650 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4025

1655 Paris CDG/Jersey British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4040

1655 Amsterdam KLM Cityhopper F70 KL1053 (outbound via CWL)

1725 Menorca Airtours A320 AIH702

1815 Menorca Airworld A320 AWD407

1900 Dublin Aer Lingus F50 EI288

1905 Belfast City Jersey European JY849

1910 London Gatwick/Plymouth British Airways (Brymon) BA4011

1910 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4039

1920 Brussels Sabena DH-8-300 SN707

1930 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4027

2000 Amsterdam KLM Cityhopper F50 KL1057

2015 Dublin Ryanair B737-200 FR504

2040 Aberdeen/Newcastle British Airways (Brymon) BA4057

2040 Paris CDG British Airways (Brymon) DH-3-800 BA4087

2050 Glasgow British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4029

2055 Edinburgh British Airways (Brymon) DH-8-300 BA4041

2110 Ibiza Britannia B757 BY117B

2225 Malaga Air 2000 A320 AMM flight number ?

2230 Brussels Sabena DH-8-300 SN709