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1st Aeroplane Flight

oldMohawk

oldMohawk

gone but not forgotten
I was looking at a large 777 approaching B'ham the other day and thought about my 1st flight. It was in a DH Rapide from Prestwick in the 50's, cost 10 shillings for half an hour, it was marvelous. I saw the one below at Duxford a few years ago and thought how fragile it looked, such little props, could have had a flight for £25, but thought I wouldn't tempt fate, I had my 1st flight in it, maybe a flight in it that day could be my last !
My 1st flight from B'ham (Elmdon) old terminal, was in a Viscount. Only a few on the plane and Captain wanted us all to sit near the wings for balance. Collar and ties were preferred dress then. What a difference today - aisle seat - can't be bothered to look out the windows - and some flight fares only cost a £1 !
Dehavilland_Rapide.jpg
 
oldMohawk,

My first flight was also in the 50's also in a De Havilland Dragon Rapide like the one you flew in costing 10/-, but my flight was from Elmdon, Birmingham Airport. I have also flown in and out of Elmdon to Brussels in near empty Vickers Viscounts, just 3 of us on the plane and being asked not to sit together.:D

Now I live in Belgium and still keep the old flag flying by driving around in 1960's MG's, but for some reason those Vickers Viscounts still keep buzzing me.:D

Graham.
 
A subject close to my heart!

The same as thousands way back when, my first flight was in a Don Everall DH Dragon Rapide from Elmdom. A beautiful aeroplane if ever there was one, but I wouldn't have wanted to fly too long in her...

When my job started to take me round the world the 'adventure' usually began with a Viscount flight from Brum to Heathrow. The Viscount flew at pretty low level, and as a result got well-buffeted. Once at Heathrow you were treated royally back then, especially if you were going intercontinental - everyone wore a suit and tie, and the women were done out in their very best. I flew Boeing 707's to the USA and back on many occasions, and it didn't matter what the airline was, you were well looked after by the cabin-crew.

Best flight memories for me are a pleasure trip around Lake Erie in a Sandusky Airlines Ford Tri-Motor (about 1930 vintage) which vibrated so much it loosened all the screws in my glasses. Then a flight from JFK New York City, to Bethlehem PA on a Short Skyvan - 5 or 6 passengers and a pilot who asked us all if we had time for a flight across Manhattan at night. Unforgettable!

These days you get stuffed into a RyanAir flight where you have to dislocate your knees to fit into the seat - no drinkies, no grub, no romance, no nothing.

Big Gee
 
Hi Phill, My first trip up in wild blue yonder, was in the 50s also in a D.H .RAPIDE only mine was from Old Elmdon cost the same price as your ride.
My Dad took my Mom my Brother & my self up for a 30 min trip over BIRMINGHAM .
We could not hear for about 1 hour after due to the change in air pressure & those air pockets we would drop about about what seemed like 50 feet at at times.
How far we have come, in air transport from those days.
THE BARON (ASTON)
 
Hi,
Don Everall a name from the past, did they use to run coaches ?
My 1st flight on a Jumbo went over the Pole to Alaska on the way to Japan, only problem was an engine blew up 2000 miles from Anchorage. Scary but it gave us a 1 day stopover there. I used to like the BA111 flights out of Brum. Had one to Glasgow once when the cabin wouldn't pressurise, but the Captain still got us there flying at 6000ft - good views of the Lake District.
Cheers
Phil
oldmohawk
 
oldMohawk said:
Hi Cadeau
Looking at your picture, how did you do that ?
Click to expand...

Well I really wanted to keep everyone guessing on this one but I'll tell you that this is a dance tent not far from where I live, on the road from Ghent to Bruges, and this old British Reg Viscount is there to attract the attention of passers by. It is held up with supports and I parked my car underneath, took some photos and with my computer erased the supports, easy.

Also not far from me there is a place that goes one better, using a Boeing 707. I have some photos of that too will have to sort them out.

BG my flight was with Don Everall and I loved every sec! The canvas would blow up and go down with the air pockets and the wires holding the thing together would go twanggggg when they braced for the next drop in air pressure; it was heaven to me.:)

Graham.
 
Hi Keith,
It's amazing how many had their 1st flights in the DH Rapide. Only one pilot, but it did have two wings ! I remember seeing one gliding over the Beeches Estate to make a forced landing in Perry Barr park.

Cheers
Phil
 
oldMohawk said:
Hi Keith,
It's amazing how many had their 1st flights in the DH Rapide. Only one pilot, but it did have two wings ! I remember seeing one gliding over the Beeches Estate to make a forced landing in Perry Barr park.

Cheers
Phil
Click to expand...

Hi OM,

Don Everall had a coach-depot in West Brom, if memory serves me correct.

That Rapide landing in Perry Barr Park - I remember that! Any idea of what the year was (just to depress me)?

Big Gee
 
I'm aviation 'mad' too; in 1958 at 14 used to cycle from Spakbrook to Heathrow to do a bit of plane spotting only took me 5 hours on the bike!:)
 
Being a lifelong aviation nut myself, when we lived in the USA I decided to take flying lessons. No real problem, except that when it came to landing I seemed to lose all my coordination. After 8 hours I made the correct decision and gave up.

However, during those 8 hours I got to fly a Piper J3 Cub, a Cessna 172 (of course), a Beech Bonanza and an Erco Ercoupe.

It used to amaze me how the Americans used light aircraft as we'd use a car - several times I went on business-trips with the owner of the Bonanza (a colleague) who'd fly out of Cleveland Hopkins airport and just follow the freeways to wherever we needed to go and land at some local little airstrip and call a taxi. No fuss, no bother. I wonder sometimes if it's like that now.

Big Gee
 
Don Everall ran a coach business from Horseley Field (a road!), Wolverhampton - it's the Bilston road, next to the railway bridge. He took over lots of other coach companies in the area, and kept some of the depots going - and sometimes the old names too.
Don Everall Airways began, so I was told, when Don found a crashed DH Rapide in a field in France, had it shipped back to the UK, and had it rebuilt and recertificated. I don't think the airways business lasted long, I imagine it operated from the now-closed Pendeford Airfield, like the Piper Cherokee in this photo wich made it as far as the canal just past the runway.
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Don-Everall-Aviation/Piper-PA-28-160-Cherokee/0919559/M/
 
Don Everall Aviation's DH Rapide was G-AGDP, they also had Douglas Dakota G-ANEG and flew from Baginton, Coventry as well. As this leaflet states, they used the Birmingham Air Terminal by Baskerville House and Elmdon Airport but probably just for connecting coach services to Baginton and Pendeford.
 
From most of the messages posted it seems that the men love to go flying in small planes. My husband certainly does and he said that he just loves the experience. Last year's Christmas present was a trip on the Mail Run to the islands off the B. C. Coast. This year it's going over the Coastal Mountains behind Vancouver for a look at the glaciers and lakes!. Hey, I should be posting about my first plane trip.
Two of my female Brummie school mates are pilots. One lives in the US and the other in Canada.
I had travelled to Canada via a liner in 1963 and when I went for my first trip back to Brum from Toronto in 1965 to spend Christmas. I booked with Air Canada to London Heathrow.
Took me almost a year to save up for the fare and also for the outfit that
I bought to wear. Must scan that photo! I was seated by a fellow who flew to London at least twice a month and he gave me the window seat..Nice one.
Then he popped a couple of pills into his mouth and off to sleep he went.
He stayed that way until we had almost arrived. I decided I liked flying
with all the nice food and special attention which isn't in existence these days as has been noted.
 
Hi Big Gee,
The Rapide which force landed in Perry Barr park passed over a field we were playing in, the M6 runs there now. I remember the sound of the air rushing through the wires etc. It might have been the late 40's early 50's. I only found out about the landing in next day's Bham Mail. I'm not sure whether it is possible to access their old archives.
In 49, I was at Handsworth Tech and used to go into Handsworth Park in the lunch hour, and one day we watched a Mosquito (aircraft) doing really low level stunts for sometime.
He was probably showing off to his girl friend which apparently still happens occasionally in the RAF.

oldmohawk
 
Hi Norma S

I can believe what you say about small aircraft use in the US. During my one day stay in Alaska, I was in a taxi cab and a Cessna came slowly past us on the other side of the road. We were amazed, our cab driver wasn't.

All the best
oldmohawk
 
This is the first plane I flew on, BMA Viscount From Brum to Jersey.
Bit disconcerting when the pilot comes out and starts shaking the propellers:(
 
An Avro Anson in January 1955 from Shawbury, Shropshire. I sat beside the Polish sergeant pilot and we did "circuits and bumps" at a nearby satellite airfield, possibly Peplow. Noisy and rattly but a great experience. One of the few bits of evidence I have that the RAF had the slightest interest in motivating its stream of tiresome and bolshie National Servicemen.

The second was a few months later in the back seat of a Meteor T7 in a flight of three, practising formation aerobatics over Lincolnshire - "The Strubby Three". I wasn't sick.......

Chris
 
Sorry about this rash of posts from us aviation nuts.
I used to work for GKN, and in the 80's they were rich enough (or daft enough) to have a small fleet of planes at Elmdom old terminal. I once flew in a Kingair twin prop to Sweden, and it was quite interesting discussing the route and weather with the uniformed pilot before we boarded.
It was -26 degrees in Sweden when we landed. Looking in the aircraft log (being nosey) I noticed quite a few flights to Jersey and I'm sure GKN didn't have a factory there.
In 1948 I once watched a low level race between 3 fighter jets at an Elmdon air show (account posted in the Castle Bromwich bit on the forum). Also I saw an American Sabre Jet break the sound barrier over the Chester Road going towards the city centre.
How things have changed

oldmohawk
 
hi.my first fright.i mean flight was in a cesna,it cost £100 for a trip around the Llyn,i was sitting next to the pilot.and off we went wizzin along the runway.bouncing about,it was like being in a mgb gt.then up we went,i was terrified.when we was airborn it was ok,untill the plane dropped about.what seemed like 10ft.after flying around it was time to land,ho! god the ground come to meet us.and i thought this is it,"code brown":redface:but 2 bumps and we was on terrafirma never again.
 
Yes Phill, I was Don Everall that flew the RAPIDE out of Elmdon on the flights over Birmingham, you jogged another memory cell thanks.
 
Frothblower said:
This is the first plane I flew on, BMA Viscount From Brum to Jersey.
Bit disconcerting when the pilot comes out and starts shaking the propellers:(
Click to expand...

Frothy you may have noticed that the BMA Viscount in your photo is the same one that is now flying over my MGB in Belgium! Look at the reg N°.



Looks like the pilot had good reason to shake the prop as there is one missing now.

Graham.
 
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My first was from Castle Bromwich during one of the post war air shows. Someone had shown a bit of enterprise and bought a surplus, somewhat heavily pre used, Dakota, fitted it with a variety of seats, put up a board on a stick for a que to form and took the money for flights over Birmingham.
 
Still on about aviation.
I was a National Service Instrument fitter in the RAF and to make sure you had done a proper job they use to randomly pick someone to go up on the 1st flight after a service. This got me flights in a Handley Page Marathon, a 4 engine high wing plane which no airline wanted so the RAF had to use them, and later in a Provost trainer which flew every move in the book somewhere over East Anglia.
I use to fly Heathrow to Brum in a Short 360, a high wing box like plane which pilots use to call flying sheds. One evening it failed its MOT, and BEA put on a Trident jet which I timed runway to runway at 20 mins, I know it was fast because the cabin crew had to run down the aisle with our Gin and Tonics, and we had to gulp them down - not a problem !
Interesting to see where that BMA Viscount ended up - does the restaurant serve meals in it ?

oldmohawk
 
Cadeau said:
Frothy you may have noticed that the BMA Viscount in your photo is the same one that is now flying over my MGB in Belgium! Look at the reg N°.



Looks like the pilot had good reason to shake the prop as there is one missing now.

Graham.
Click to expand...
Well Spotted:)
 
oldMohawk said:
Interesting to see where that BMA Viscount ended up - does the restaurant serve meals in it ?
Click to expand...

OM, even more interesting for me to find out where that Viscount came from as when I pass it often wonder if was one that flew in and out of Elmdon; now I know it did.:thumbsup: It's not a restaurant only a dance hall for young folk.

Froth, the first thing I look at on a car or aircraft is its reg N°; I'm not into trains or busses.

Graham.
 
Cadeau said:
OM, even more interesting for me to find out where that Viscount came from as when I pass it often wonder if was one that flew in and out of Elmdon; now I know it did.:thumbsup: It's not a restaurant only a dance hall for young folk.

Froth, the first thing I look at on a car or aircraft is its reg N°; I'm not into trains or busses.

Graham.
Click to expand...

I think I may have misled you Graham. I said "This is the first plane I flew on" Meaning it's the same plane, not that actual one.Sorry mate:rolleyes:
 
Frothblower said:
I think I may have misled you Graham. I said "This is the first plane I flew on" Meaning it's the same plane, not that actual one.Sorry mate:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Not at all Froth, I realized that it was only an illustration of a Viscount but seeing your photo shows G-AZNA was at one time in BMA livery so I'm sure that it must have flown in and out of Elmdon at some time.

Graham.
 
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