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Elmdon Airport

Terenceskipp said:
Does any one remember a later air display, in either 1952 or 53???? I have vague recollections of RCAF F86 sabres; A formation of RAF Canberra's; Seafire FR47's from 1833 Sq RNAS Bramcote etc. but cannot pinpoint the year, yet alone either the exact date or purpose. Was it anything to do with the Coronation?
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There is mention of a 1953 Whit Monday air display and F86 Sabre Jets etc on the aviation web site in the link below - its a pdf file so you might need Adobe Reader to see it.
https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1953/1953 - 0712.html
 
my father was based at elmdon with the RAF in thewar and just after.his squadron leader was wing-commander cork.. they flew new planes to various bases. the wing- commander is buried in elmdon church as he was killed in an accident i believe. dad named me for him, i was born 1942
 
Thanks for these photographs of DH108. (Mod comment: post #108, appropriately) I didn't get to the air show on that day, but lived in Garretts Green and saw the 108 race over the estate rooftops. I had never seen anything like it neither before or since, but have always remembered the moment. Used to be taken up to Elmdon by my grand dad before A45 was dualled probably 1945. Trolley bus to the Arden Oak and then walk. Some thirty years later my family lived opposite the airfield on the Coventry Road, the house had 3inch double glazing and a good foot of roof insulation to keep out the noise of overhead planes as they came into land.
 
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Hi devonjim, we are probably the only members of the forum who have seen a DH 108 !

Elmdon always brings back memories to me of finding out my best suit or smart casual and a collar and tie because I was going on an aeroplane flight, no jeans, t-shirts, and trainers in those days. The old terminal with a few check-in desks where you handed over your luggage with no checks other than weighing it, and then to the small bar to wait a call to board via passport check and then a short walk out to the Viscount or BAC 111 airliner. On the aircraft comfortably settled in a seat with a gin and tonic and a nice meal, and later if the Captain was in a good mood, you could ask to go up to the flight deck and l look at him flying the plane.

Then they built a new terminal and named it Birmingham International and flying gradually became a chore as the airlines started to treat passengers as 'Self-Loading-Freight'.

oldmohawk

Sent from my iPad
 
There was a time when we went to airports for a day of fun. Below is a pic of an airshow at Elmdon in 1950 and because I went to many air displays around that time I might even have been somewhere in that crowd.
It was great to stand behind those Vampire jets when they started up, lovely smell of burning kerosene and as they pulled away the spectators in the front row would have felt the blast, notice the slight burn marks on the grass behind the jets.
Later in the RAF in 1958 I worked on Vampire trainers, a nice little aircraft and like the Dehavilland Mosquito some of it made from wood. See the couple sitting on top of their car for a better view and three Dehavilland Rapides parked among the crowd on the right. I had my first ever flight in a Dehavilland Rapide.
Elmdon_1950s.jpg
 
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Hi All,

When the new terminal opened the first floor consisted of a large balcony with the restaurant etc You could look down from the balcony to the departure hall below. The Israeli airline El Al were interested in starting regular flights to Israel from Birmingham.Before making a final decision they sent a party to view the airport including security. They took one look
at the open balcony and said that anyone on the balcony could fire on or throw bombs at the queues waiting to book in They decided not to proceed and the airport lost what would have been a good client. Later it was decided to do away with the balcony and the first floor is complete covering the whole area.
El Al, however, no longer seem interested.

Old Boy
 
I saw a similar situation back in 1978 when Brussels Airport was much smaller than it is now. We were sitting in the departure lounge and looked up and saw people landside on the balcony looking down on us.
 
As a nipper one of my favorite things, growing up in Yardley was to walk over to Eldom and watch the planes take off and land. I remember the yellow tiger moths, great times. Later as I grew up? Went to the pub near the airport and chased 'birds' I also in March 1957 left for America via Shannon Ireland from the then, Eldom Airport.
 
Ar Elmdon Airport, that’s what me ol’ man always called it, even after it became Birmingham International Airport. Actually looks like they dropped the ‘international’ back in 2010, and so it’s now called just Birmingham Airport – must’ve been napping as I missed that! Ah well, ne’er mind, it’ll always be ‘Elmdon’ to this expat Brummie!!
 
we moved from Aston to Sheldon in 1935 (I was 5) when my Dad's firm, Bryant's began building Elmdon Airport, it was completed in 1939 just before the war. All employee's were allowed to take their families on 'opening' day', cannot remember much about it (it was 77 years ago !!), saw my first aircraft, Dragon Rapide I think. Old Brit #162, my first flight was in a Tiger Moth, I was at 'summer camp' at RAF Ternhill for 2 weeks with the ATC (Air Training Cadets), we also had flights in the RAF trainer Avro Anson. Eric
 
oldbrit said:
As a nipper one of my favorite things, growing up in Yardley was to walk over to Eldom and watch the planes take off and land. I remember the yellow tiger moths, great times. Later as I grew up? Went to the pub near the airport and chased 'birds' I also in March 1957 left for America via Shannon Ireland from the then, Eldom Airport.
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Old brit. sounds like you took the same route as l did....in June of 1958, l left for the USA via Elmdom ...never flown before and l was terrified...Brenda
 
oldMohawk said:
Thanks Eric for that interesting link. I used to fly with GKN's 'airline', which was based at Elmdon.
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Just been looking through this old thread, colleagues of mine from Hardy Spicer used to fly on the GKN plane from Elmdon to Urlay Nook maybe around 1970's. Later one of the aircrew came to work with us, a Scots guy, Sandy,so I guess Andrew, I can't recall his surname.
 
brenda barr said:
Old brit. sounds like you took the same route as l did....in June of 1958, l left for the USA via Elmdom ...never flown before and l was terrified...Brenda
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The only flights you could get to the States left from Shannon in Ireland. No flights from England direct at all. Now we fly direct from New York to Brum I will never forget the flight over o KLM a Constellation plane that took I think 16 hours, The constant drum drum of the engines. Got to N/Y in March 1957 and it was freezing cold. Almost got back on the plane!!! I don't thinkI was scared but very apprehensive about what to expect in the USA
 
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I remember setting off from Elmdon in 1973, destination Japan, but did not immediately get there and was stuck in Anchorage Alaska for two days. It was my first visit to the USA (no visa) and they had to let us in because our 747 airplane was broken.
 
In the summer of 1943 I was a member of B. Company 39th Battalion Warwickshire Home Guard. We were stationed in the girls school in Finnimore Rd. Bordesley Green. We did over night manoeuvres near Elmdon Airport, we finished about 5 a.m. Our platoon Sgt. said lets see what the defences are like at the airport. We climbed over the fences with ease and approached the main buildings, we did not meet a soul. The Fleet Air Arm were there, no sentries on duty, everyone in bed. The runway was in the shape of the deck of an Aircraft Carrier. Out in the open were various types of aircraft, petrol Bowsers, vehicles and all the paraphernalia of an air station at war. There were requests from the senior officers not to tell any one. Our Sgt. did the right thing and reported it. We heard nothing more about the incident. What away to run a war. Geff
 
These two photographs were taken by me at Elmdon Airport in 1958. I used to go plane spotting there but never actually took a flight from Elmdon. Dave. P1020594 (2).JPG P1020591 (2).JPG
 
farmerdave said:
These two photographs were taken by me at Elmdon Airport in 1958. I used to go plane spotting there but never actually took a flight from Elmdon. Dave. View attachment 105586 View attachment 105587
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Nice photos from the days when flying was fun ... looks like a DC3 with nice large doors of the type which could be opened in flight! I had quite a few flights from the old terminal when British Airways used Elmdon ...
 
Slightly of topic. We had a DC3 on our Lancaster squadron (82PR) which was used for transporting freight from one place to another while on aerial survey duties in Africa 1949/51, it was supposed to have a payload limit of 5,000lbs but often this was exceeded by up to 2,ooo lbs, and it still flew, a wonderful old aircraft which I flew on many times as a wireless operator
 
If the airport is no longer Birmingham International, shouldn't they change the name of the railway station to the more logical Birmingham Airport/NEC?
 
oldbrit said:
The only flights you could get to the States left from Shannon in Ireland. No flights from England direct at all. Now we fly direct from New York to Brum I will never forget the flight over o KLM a Constellation plane that took I think 16 hours, The constant drum drum of the engines. Got to N/Y in March 1957 and it was freezing cold. Almost got back on the plane!!! I don't thinkI was scared but very apprehensive about what to expect in the USA
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Old Brit, l flew on a DC3 to Glasgow,then had a taxi to Prestwick, in fact the plane was waiting for me on the runway it was aBOAC so different to the DC3 landed in New York next morning and when l saw policemen with guns strapped to their side l really wondered what l got myself into...Brenda
 
Does anyone remember the Warwick club at the airport. I mean the club near the old entrance, not the Aero which was down a lane off the Coventry road.
 
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