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Elmdon Airport

This Viscount aircraft G-AZLR flew in from Leeds/Bradford on the 19 January 1973 with only 3 crew on board when the undercarriage collapsed on landing. No one was injured.
BMfromLeeds.jpg
 
Doing some searches reference the crash of the Seafire aircraft mentioned in post#348 I came across some information (not about the crash on the farm) that Elmdon with Hockley Heath was the No 14 Elementary Flying Training School used by the RNVR. The photo below shows the servicemen attending Course No 40 in 1942.
Elmdon_Course_40.jpg
 
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14 Elementary Reserve Flying Training School (ERFTS) was established at Castle Bromwich. On 9th September 1939 it became 14 EFTS and moved to Elmdon making way for Spitfire and Lancaster test flight operations at the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory. The pic below shows Tiger Moths of 14 EFTS at Elmdon early 1940, the DH89 Rapide G-AEXO in the pic had been impressed into the RAF as X8507 on 31st March 1940.
The Tiger Moth N-5490 on the right (not clearly visible) soldiered on in the RAF until 1952 when it was flown to 20 MU storage at Ashton Down, Gloucester, and then sold in auction. It went to a flying club in France, then in the 1970s to the USA, spent time in Alaska to later end up in California in the 1980s ... it's a long story !
Tiger Moth N-5454 in the pic crashed in 1940 near Lichfield !

Tiger Moths of 14 EFTS at Elmdon, early 1940.
14 EFTS Elmdon 1940.JPG
 
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oldMohawk, Dragon Rapide G-AFEZ was sold in Laos in 1956. So to be nit picky could not have been in front of the Elmdon control tower as shown because of the later add on control tower of 1960s, also the number 1 hanger in background has the addition frontage as of 1990s. This hanger has now been demolished. If you want to be accurate you could change the registration too G-AGSH as this Rapide is still around and flying in that scheme. Old BEA colours. Can you do that?
Don't you just hate these sad old nit pickers.
Like the idea though, real aeroplanes.
Like your photo of the Rapides and Tigers and additional info. Just to add to this the Rapide G-AERZ crashed on a golf course in Craivavad, Co Down, N Ireland on 1-4-46
 
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Hi Elmdon Boy, the DH Rapide G-AFEZ in front of the old terminal in my post#360 was taxied there by me in my FSX flight sim. I put it there inspired by Stitcher's pic in his post#358. Unfortunately my FSX only has the upgraded tower but it has got some other colour schemes for Rapides.

Although the pic in post#365 is quoted on various websites as being at Elmdon there is nothing in the pic to confirm it. I suppose the only certain fact is 14 EFTS was at Elmdon in the 1940s and there would have been scenes like in the pic. My thoughts about the pic is that it was 'staged' with ten trainee pilots running all in one direction to Tiger Moths but no ground crew standing by ready to swing the props.

By the way don't worry about 'nit picking' ... I've done my share in a few posts on the forum!
oldmohawk
 
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I have the pics below in another thread here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...being-transported-in.33243/page-5#post-551660
They were taken at Elmdon (BHX) and first pic date 1970, second pic 1971.
(linked forum pics only visible in this thread if logged in)
RAF Valleta VW197 ... intact
index.php

The aircraft being broken up for scrap
index.php
 
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oldMohawk, that photo in your post No 365 is in a book I have stating its at Elmdon 1939 or 1940.
Also the Tiger Moth N5454 was based at Elmdon with 14 ERFTS. So I think pretty conclusive its taken at Elmdon.
By the way the Valletta was flown into Elmdon for the Air Scouts at Packington Hall, just down the road. The idea was that they would build an airstrip there so that it could be flown into there from Elmdon. Obviously this did not happen for whatever reason, so the aircraft had to be scrapped as the airport didn't want it there
 
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Thanks for the confirmation. With regard to Valleta aircraft, the one in post#45 in the other thread has puzzled me since 2011.
 
I don’t think there has been a mention of the Apps available for IPhone and I assume other mobiles such as...

“Take Plane Finder with you on your mobile device and watch live air traffic from anywhere in the world.

Also...Plane Finder 3D builds on the reliability of our existing flight tracking network by adding a new dimension to our data. Track world air traffic in real-time. Span the globe with the flick of a finger, or zoom into your favourite airports for ground level action....lets you visualise air traffic in a whole new way. View aircraft crossing the Atlantic from space, or zoom down to airports to investigate holding patterns and flightpaths in full 3D.”
 
brenda barr said:
Stitcher, my mother had the same thoughts as you about flying, she would say"if the lord had wanted us to fly he would have given us wings", well the first time mom and dad flew to Texas to visit me in 1963 she said there is no other way to go....can'nt say dad felt the same way though....Brenda
Click to expand...

Or, preferably, "If the Lord had meant us to fly he wouldn't have given us railways".
 
637C24C7-2EEA-4D19-A123-F2A3EE41A016.jpeg A4C75EBD-46E0-4206-BC6D-90656FF29386.jpeg 1BE5879F-D652-42DB-86A9-B1E367DBEF94.jpeg D83A3158-7A73-4B1A-8CF7-B6B4B891B05B.jpeg 62C1CDC7-06D7-4914-A27A-6381C79ACB59.jpeg
An example of the Plane Finder 3D for a plane coming into Heathrow this morning. Don’t know if my internet was playing up but Elmdon planes disappeared about 3000 ft!

Pedrocut said:
I don’t think there has been a mention of the Apps available for IPhone and I assume other mobiles such as...

“Take Plane Finder with you on your mobile device and watch live air traffic from anywhere in the world.

Also...Plane Finder 3D builds on the reliability of our existing flight tracking network by adding a new dimension to our data. Track world air traffic in real-time. Span the globe with the flick of a finger, or zoom into your favourite airports for ground level action....lets you visualise air traffic in a whole new way. View aircraft crossing the Atlantic from space, or zoom down to airports to investigate holding patterns and flightpaths in full 3D.”
Click to expand...
 
oldMohawk said:
In the 1960s when travelling along the Coventry Road past Elmdon Airport I use to see a beacon light (green and white) rotating a strong beam and vaguely remember seeing when I was on a flight coming into Elmdon. The beacon was known as a 'Chance Light' made in the Lighthouse Department of Chance Brothers Ltd. After removal it was for some time stored at the Midland Air Museum at Coventry. Some searching about Chance Bros led me to F. W. Cooper’s description of the firm of Chance Brothers and of himself.
Click to expand...
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I visited the Midland Air Museum at Baginton airport the other month and can confirm the Chance light that used to be at Elmdon giving out that green and white light is still there and on display, though its a bit tatty. Photo of it is shown.
 
I remember i used to watch that beacon as a child, it was viewable from our kitchen window.

Nice to know that it still exists at the Midland Air Museum.
 
It was probably Castle Bromwich as that was Birminghams airport at that time.
Elmdon did not come into existence until 1939 taking over as Birminghams airport.
 
There was at the time of this protest another counter action group, ABBA , A Better Birmingham Airport
which was of course successful.
In all fairness, and I can appreciate perhaps these protesters concerns and fears, but can you imagine how the old airport would have faired with its inadequate facilities, serving the UK's 2nd largest city.
It would certainly hampered business growth and jobs for the area.
Even so as an aviation eenthusiast I miss the charm and quaintness of the old ELMDON airport.
 
I have flown out of Birmingham Airport three times this year. There is absolutely no way that Elmdon could have coped. One time at 5.00am we were on the first floor of Terminal 1 snaking up and down 7 rows of people then in the next area up and down 5 rows all waiting to get into security. I wanted to fly out of Birmingham again next month but the flights and the costs did not work out so I am flying out of Gatwick and saving enough to cover the train fares.
 
Passengers just alighted from a British Midland Dakota reg G-ANTD in the mid 1960s. If your seat was at the front in a Dakota there was an 'uphill' climb to get to it. Those passengers may not have known that the aircraft they had just flown in was built in 1944 for the United States Army Air Force, and saw some service in the Royal Air Force until the early 1950s.
elmdondc3mid60s.jpg
 
In 1985 a flight, which I was on, had to land in Birmingham due to a severe snowstorm in southern England. The flight was from Palma, Mallorca and was destined for Bristol. Alternative airfields in the south, such as Exeter, Bournemouth, Cardiff and one other (memory does not recall its name) but Birmingham was the most southerly we could land at - although there had been snow there as well but cleared off the runways. It is the only time I was there but had seen the place from nearby roads back in 1952/53.
Noting some of the older aircraft pictures here reminds me of some the flights from Defford and later Pershore.
 
In the early 80s I worked for a local business that had a bulk mailing contract with Royal Mail. We received a PR visit one afternoon, I dont recall what went on in the meeting but they were obviously there to promote their services. When the meeting ended they handed over two complementary tickets for a race event at Silverstone the following Sunday in which two sponsored Datapost cars were participating. A Datapost aircraft was used to fly their guests out from Elmdon (Birmingham airport). I only recall about 10 people going, including my wife. The aircraft was fitted out with seats for the event or maybe they were standard and was allowed to land in the middle of Silverstone race track. Rest of the day was spent in a celebrity box watching the car racing being plied with food and wine. There was lots of food left over which we ended up taking home. Had been chatting with the pilot (ex RAF) who allowed me to occupy the co-pilots seat for the return trip. It was a low level flight probably not much more than about 300 or 4000 feet max with the pilot making constant visual checks for other aircraft. The organiser wasn't too happy as he wanted to sit up front! But then if you don't ask you don't get!

I thought there used to be 2 Datapost Shorts that flew in and out of Birmingham but searching the web I can only find reference to G-RMSS which belonged to Air Ecosse and Manx Airways. Was this the only Short in Datapost service at that time and was this service replaced by Parcelforce?
 

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