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Elmdon Airport Birmingham International Airport

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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oldMohawk said:
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.
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First flight was in a Dakota in 1959. Blackpool to the Isle of Man with Silver City Airways. I remember the uphill climb to our seats as we sat by the wing. Air hostess handed out barley sugar sweets and little packets of cotton wool for your ears. Realised why once the engines started. The noise was deafening.
 
Another photo of Valetta VW 197 in 1969. It was not the most elegant aircraft but it was a shame that in 1971 it was sold for scrap and cut into pieces for transport to a scrapyard. More info in posts#370 and 371.
 

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Whilst I was serving in the RAF we flew back from West Africa (Gold Coast) in 1951 in a Huntings Airways charter a/c, a Viking, hard to tell the difference between that and a Valetta, apart from the Viking does not come to a point at the fuselage rear. Never found out why the RAF used civilian charter instead of Transport Command who took us out there
 
Hi Eric, below is a short film of a Viking aircraft. It is an old Movietone News film with has one of those typical commentaries which remind me of the 1950s. It says the Viking only carried 24 passengers.
oldmohawk
 
The yellow DH82A Tigers were maybe from the Royal Navy (FAA) basic training unit that was based at Elmdon.

I thought it was difficult to tell the difference between a Varsity and a Valetta...
 
Hi badpenny,
The Varsity was similar but had a tricyle undercarriage. I posted about them and put a pic in the National Service thread
oldMohawk said:
Hi Smudger - The only one I can remember at the moment is the Vickers Varsity. The 'bump' had windows at the front and was used for training bomb aimers. We had Varsitys at RAF Topcliffe and if you had a friendly pilot he would let you lie in the 'bump' for a magnificent view of North Yorkshire.
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There is very little difference between a Viking , shown here and a Varsity cookie. Its just one is for the military. The RAF often gave a different name to there civilian counterpart. The only area that is slightly different is extra cockpit glazing at the top.
 
oldbrit said:
I remember the yellow Tiger moths flying around
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Do you recall seeing a Chipmunk on occasions doing aerobatics over where Hatchford Brook golf course is. Regular air traffic then was mainly Viscounts and Vanguards. Don't know if it was permitted then. Certainly wouldn't be allowed now!
 
oldMohawk & Eldom Boy, thanks for info, they must have been short range to, we had a refuel stop at Gao in the middle of Sahara desert (manned by Foreign Legion) then at Gibraltar were we stayed overnight then a final refuel at Bordeaux before landing at Black Bush, London, your modern jet would do that in one go, theres progress for you. So the Varsity, Viking and Valetta were almost identical ? Eric
 
The Vickers Viking was a tough old aircraft and survived a bomb explosion during a flight from Northolt to Paris in 1950. The bomb blew two large 8' x 4' holes on each side of the fuselage. There were 27 passengers and 4 crew on board. The flight attendant was severely injured and several passengers pulled her away from the gaping hole. The pilot managed to fly the aircraft back to Northolt and safely land on the second attempt.
There was a Newsreel report about it below ...
 
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cookie273uk said:
oldMohawk & Eldom Boy, thanks for info, they must have been short range to, we had a refuel stop at Gao in the middle of Sahara desert (manned by Foreign Legion) then at Gibraltar were we stayed overnight then a final refuel at Bordeaux before landing at Black Bush, London, your modern jet would do that in one go, theres progress for you. So the Varsity, Viking and Valetta were almost identical ? Eric
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There is a rumour going around that the old Elmdon terminal building has been the subject of a structural survey.

The word is that its days are numbered...
 
badpenny said:
There is a rumour going around that the old Elmdon terminal building has been the subject of a structural survey.

The word is that its days are numbered...
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It quite recently had a fresh coat of white paint to its front exterior, and I noticed the clock was displaying the right time, or was that just by chance being the right time twice a day. Photo taken two weeks ago.
It is still used as offices, but the old control tower on the top is in a bad way with water coming in from the ceiling. It is also a listed building, for whatever protection that gives it. So who knows.
 
That's bad news badpenny, such an iconic building. It would be a travesty if it was demolished. Business has no sense of history, but then money talks. Seems a shame that listed status can be so easily overturned.
 
Apparently they are considering building another terminal on that side of the airfield, the infrastructure is still in place.

Not quite sure where the cargo flights would be handled though.

Its part of some master plan which has yet to be formally unveiled to the wider world.

Seems a pity they couldn't utilise the existing frontage though as they do in other building projects...
 
I took a few flying lessons with Warwick Aero Centre in a Piper Tomohawk, they were based by the old terminal, forgot exactly where, was over 2o years ago. Eric
 
If i remember correctly there were two companies offering flight training, Mid-fly and Warwickshire Aero club.
 
Just to bring those interested an update on the Elmdon terminal building.

A frozen boiler has led to extensive flood damage and the building has been formally vacated and is now padlocked
pending a decision on its future, which at this moment doesn't look good.
 
What a shame, my father worked for Bryants who built the airport 1934 t0 1939, all the workers were invited to the opening, my Dad took me, cannot remember much about it though, I was only 9, seem to remember it was a dull wet day and I think (not sure !) a Dragon Rapide was the 1st a/c. Eric
 
badpenny said:
Just to bring those interested an update on the Elmdon terminal building.

A frozen boiler has led to extensive flood damage and the building has been formally vacated and is now padlocked
pending a decision on its future, which at this moment doesn't look good.
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How many times in 80 years of operation has the boiler frozen?

Case of neglect and then justify demolition because its not economical to repair?
 
mbenne said:
How many times in 80 years of operation has the boiler frozen?

Case of neglect and then justify demolition because its not economical to repair?
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What a travesty if this turns out to be true. There is no sense of history. What an iconic and beautiful building, do you members agree with me, or am I biased.
If it happens I would feel a part of me and my youth has gone with it. I would certainly shed a tear.
Oh please let it not happen.
 
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