Another wish off my Bucket List today. A seventy minute flight in a DH Dragon Rapide from Duxford.When I was likkle I was fortunate to have four British European Airways commercial flights ( including from London Airport Croydon ) when Rapides were the standard for domestic routes.
Just bringing back the memories from when air travel was both exotic and exciting.
These were the days when passengers were escorted from the terminal to “gate” 4, which was a real wooden gate in the 3 ft apron picket fence bearing an enamelled plate with the number four. They still call boarding jetty tunnels “gates”. I remember Heathrow, a field 30 miles outside London, a wooden control tower with rows of marquee’s and a long line of telephone boxes. Traffic lights to drive across the runway.
Flight over London today. O2 Arena
Ideal flying weather. Olympic Stadium
Eventually the Rapides were replaced by Vickers Viscount’s, which then seemed like pressurised-hull space ships with huge oval windows. Comfortable, but somehow the magic of air adventure was already starting to fade.
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Topic: Other hobbies and interests (Read 2881 times)