Heathrow Airport Nostalgia

[37Sunshine]

Hi. We are trying to identify a filming location used in the TV series 'The Professionals' back in 1979. We are told it was Heathrow but wondered if anyone recognises it from these screengrabs, and if so, which part of the airport it was? Any help would be much appreciated, thank you............

 

[Seasider]

From the last 2 shots of the taxi, I would say it was outside the Old terminal at Stansted.

 

[37Sunshine]

Thank you for your reply Seasider and apologies for delayed response to your suggestion.

I have been checking Stansted and have found the building they used for filming. It was what is now the Harrods Aviation Business Lounge, formerly The Business Aviation Terminal (Old Terminal building). Although extensively modified in 1992, it is still recognisable from the exterior......

Huge thanks again for your help :good:

 

[Aviador]

Heathrow Terminal 1 - Iconic Memorabilia Auction 21st April by Daniel Gray posted Mar 28, 2018 at 2:15 PM

@Daniel Gray uploaded this earlier. Your chance to own a part of history.

 

[rollo]

I well remember terminal 1 opening in my plane spotting days as a teenager I flew down on a day trip from BHX (yes there were flights to London Airport as it was known then) once on a Viscount and once on a Vanguard courtesy of my dad's wallet and BEA, whatever happened to them? The roof garden on the Queens Building were fantastic with live commentary on arrivals and departures.

Very happy days where does time go?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

In November 1976 my mother flew from LHR to visit one of her brothers who had emigrated to Australia in the early 1950s - one of those £10 assisted passages at a time when Australia was almost desperate to attract British immigrants.

On my visit to LHR in 1976 I took some cine film of her departure (on a Qantas B747) and of the LHR scene generally.

LHR seemed enormously busy to me then but a check with CAA stats shows that in that year it handled 'just' 23.243 million passengers.

To put it in context the next 21 busiest UK airports in 1976 passenger-wise were these - in millions or part million:

Gatwick 5.714
Manchester 2.760
Glasgow 1.976
Luton 1.807
Birmingham 1.113
Belfast* 1.082
Edinburgh 0.991
Aberdeen 0.823
Newcastle 0.646
East Midlands 0.482
Prestwick 0.398
Liverpool 0.355
Isle of Man** 0.345
Leeds-Bradford 0.287
Southampton 0.283
Stansted 0.268
Sumburgh 0.243
Southend 0.218
Bristol 0.205
Teesside*** 0.201
Cardiff**** 0.192

* Aldergrove, BHD not open as an airport in 1976
** not strictly UK but I've included it as it was in the CAA list
*** Durham Tees Valley Airport these days
**** Shown as Glamorgan Airport in the CAA list

Fortunes have certainly changed for some airports since those days.

 

[pomplemoose]

Oh how I remember ,many happy days spotting from the queens building , travelling down from the midlands .
seeing as Fred Olsen Electra LN-FOG before being asked to leave at losing time

 

[Deleted member 8862]

We used to call LHR, LAP, in those early days when there were plenty of proper aircraft coming and going.

Used to love seeing the Air France Breguet machines which i presume were on freight services.

Was there to witness the arrival of the first B747 (jumbo) services, and i suspect the last such LHR

747 services won't be too far away either after fifty years or thereabouts.

 

[Tom Whitelegge]

I remember my first overnight coach trips with Norwag, and Starliner, in 1976 aged 14.
We used to stop at Luton, then Heathrow and finally Gatwick.
Heathrow was full of Pan-Am TWA, Iran Air, with the B747SP. Gatwick had the more exotic traffic
Braniff, Flying Tigers, Air Florida, etc. Beautiful memories.

 

[Silvercity]

I well remember terminal 1 opening in my plane spotting days as a teenager I flew down on a day trip from BHX (yes there were flights to London Airport as it was known then) once on a Viscount and once on a Vanguard courtesy of my dad's wallet and BEA, whatever happened to them? The roof garden on the Queens Building were fantastic with live commentary on arrivals and departures.

Very happy days where does time go?

I remember the "Queens Building" , I went there a few times as a kid, loved it, remember waiting for nan and granddad to come home from Tunisia arriving on a Tunisair 727.

 

[paully]

I can still remember my first journey by air, as a young lad emigrating to South Africa with my parents. We flew from the newly opened Oceanic Terminal, later called T3 on a new South African Airways B707 via Paris LeBourget, Rome,Brazzaville (Belgian Congo) and Salisbury (Rhodesia) to Johannesburg..took about 24hours as I recall. Funny what you can remember so long later, but we did get a roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings, served after we departed Rome at about midnight.

Next time back into LHR was some years later on a BOAC VC10 via Nairobi and Rome and even then it had changed beyond recognition.Its a place that has always evolved and changed and I guess it always will be.

 

[Silvercity]

I can still remember my first journey by air, as a young lad emigrating to South Africa with my parents. We flew from the newly opened Oceanic Terminal, later called T3 on a new South African Airways B707 via Paris LeBourget, Rome,Brazzaville (Belgian Congo) and Salisbury (Rhodesia) to Johannesburg..took about 24hours as I recall. Funny what you can remember so long later, but we did get a roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings, served after we departed Rome at about midnight.

Next time back into LHR was some years later on a BOAC VC10 via Nairobi and Rome and even then it had changed beyond recognition.Its a place that has always evolved and changed and I guess it always will be.

VC10 what a great plane.

 

[paully]

VC10 what a great plane.

Certainly was..I remember before taking off from Johannesburg, the Captain warning that it had a very steep angle of climb and for passengers not to be alarmed.He wasn`t joking, little this side of a fighter, compared with the VC 10 take off..preceded by the Conway crescendo.Fast forward many decades later and one of my sons, a ground engineer in the RAF had the pleasure of many hours in a `10` all over the world.He was just as impressed as his dad

 

[Silvercity]

Certainly was..I remember before taking off from Johannesburg, the Captain warning that it had a very steep angle of climb and for passengers not to be alarmed.He wasn`t joking, little this side of a fighter, compared with the VC 10 take off..preceded by the Conway crescendo.Fast forward many decades later and one of my sons, a ground engineer in the RAF had the pleasure of many hours in a `10` all over the world.He was just as impressed as his dad

Im not sure if I ever saw one operating , maybe I did at LHR as a lad, has seen the one at Duxford.

 

[Deleted member 8862]

There used to be a saying in the spotters/enthusiasts world.

Heathrow for quantity, Gatwick for quality...

 

[Aviador]

Heathrow archive goes on display in West London

‘Heathrow: The Journey’ focussing on the long history of the UK’ s busiest airport, opens today at University of West London’s (UWL) campus in St Mary’s Road, Ealing. The first ever Heathrow exhibition will feature a wealth of never-before-seen items, specially selected from the airport’s archive, which have been permanently donated for the public to view for free.

Artefacts dating back to the 1940s tell the story of Heathrow via an exciting mix of media including motion-detection audio, memorable photos of Beatlemania, Princess Diana and other famous passengers including movie star and glamour queen Sophia Loren. Enticing travel brochures from the golden age of air travel, a selection of airline pennants and postcards, historic images and videos of the first concorde, maps and technical drawings all feature.

Last night a launch event to mark the occasion was hosted by Professor Peter John, Vice-Chancellor of UWL and attended by Heathrow's Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye, and a number of local business and community figures.

Heathrow’s Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye said:

“Heathrow has witnessed major historical events, and hosted many remarkable people throughout its long history. We are proud to be Britain’s front door and hope the students, aviation enthusiasts and local people that see this exhibition can feel the same. We were especially pleased to partner with the University of West London to ensure this exhibition resides permanently on their campus, so that generations to come can be inspired to seek a career at Heathrow and form part of our history.”

University of West London Vice Chancellor Professor Peter John said:

"People can discover and appreciate an extremely rich heritage at 'Heathrow: The Journey' and we are delighted to host this exhibition which charts its development into one of the world’s leading airports. Heathrow is located inside the University’s catchment area and we enjoy a close business partnership which delivers excellent opportunities for our students – the next generation of talent. Thanks to this relationship, many of our graduates go on to enjoy successful careers connected to Heathrow Airport and we look forward to this continuing long into the future."

‘Heathrow: The Journey’ has been made possible by donations from Heathrow and the Heritage Lottery Fund donating £100,000 and £79,400 respectively. These donations enable the archive to be preserved for generations to come at UWL, as well as funding this exhibition which charts an important part of Great Britain’s aviation history. Housed at the heart of the university, it will be open daily to the public and free-to-enter.

Heathrow Airport

 

[Aviador]

Never-before-seen: Heathrow unveils archive images to help celebrate 100 years of the RAF

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, Heathrow has released never seen before images of hangars, aircraft and engineers at what was formerly known as 'Heath Row Aerodrome'.

The release celebrates what was a historic day for the Royal Air Force as the service’s 100th anniversary celebrations came to a head across greater London. Up to 100 aircraft created a once-in-a-lifetime display across the skies of London and Heathrow, before exiting their formations and returning to base. The event was particularly special for Heathrow as the airport originated in 1929 as a small airfield, Great West Aerodrome, on land south-east of the hamlet of Heath Row from which the airport takes its name.

Development of Heathrow began in 1944 as a long-distance military aircraft base for the RAF, holding aircraft bound for the Far East. By the time the airfield was nearing completion, World War II had ended and the airport was no longer required as a defence base. Beginning with RAF roots, the government continued to develop Heathrow as a civil airport opening as London Airport in 1946 and was renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966.

Publisher St James’s House is also hosting a book presentation for the commemorative album that it has produced in association with the RAF100 Appeal, entitled 100 Years of the RAF. Heathrow has a double page in the book, sharing the rich history of Europe’s largest international airport, its connections to the royal family and the hubs vision for the future.

Tens of thousands of spectators filled the Royal Parks and the Mall as 100 RAF aircraft from the past century came together in a flypast over Buckingham Palace. Heathrow worked closely with the RAF teams as many of the aircraft flew directly over the airport, a nod to the origins of the UK’s only hub airport.

This was the first time since the Second World War victory celebrations of 1946 that such a vast number of aircraft have gathered over London, and the event, which was broadcast live on the BBC, was the highlight of the RAF100 celebrations. Heathrow’s operations were paused for 20 minutes to manage the fly past.

Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye, said:

“Heathrow was proud to be part of this historic British event, and it paused to pay our respects and reflect on our own RAF roots. The first aircraft to take off from Heathrow was a concerted Lancaster bomber called Starlight that flew to Buenos Aires, and thanks to RAF’s establishment, Heathrow is now a gateway to the world.”

Speaking about the event, Richard Freed, St James’s House CEO, said:

“For the past six months, the RAF’s centenary celebrations have been in the public consciousness and building up to this momentous occasion. London which came to a standstill for the flypast, and it was an honour for St James’s House to have worked on the RAF100 Appeal’s commemorative album to mark this occasion.”

The full collection of photographs from 'Heath Row Aerodrome' will go on display at Heathrow's archive - 'Heathrow: The Journey' - hosted by the University of West London.

 

[Silvercity]

I can still remember my first journey by air, as a young lad emigrating to South Africa with my parents. We flew from the newly opened Oceanic Terminal, later called T3 on a new South African Airways B707 via Paris LeBourget, Rome,Brazzaville (Belgian Congo) and Salisbury (Rhodesia) to Johannesburg..took about 24hours as I recall. Funny what you can remember so long later, but we did get a roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings, served after we departed Rome at about midnight.

Next time back into LHR was some years later on a BOAC VC10 via Nairobi and Rome and even then it had changed beyond recognition.Its a place that has always evolved and changed and I guess it always will be.

My first flight from LHR was on JAT to Split, then Yugoslavia, we went out on a Caravelle (still one one of my favourite planes) I remember the big triangular windows and back on a 727, which were so common place once !

 

[Aviador]

I was never a big fan of the 727 if I'm honest. They always liked they were under powered on take off.

 

[Silvercity]

I don't know for sure but Trident 3B may have had more power, but it didn't do well commercially.