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Post by lesterpk on Oct 29, 2011 12:46:06 GMT 12
HI guys, I'm off to Aberdeen for 3 weeks for work. Any aviation related things I should try and see while in the area? Any general WW2 stuff?
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Post by nuuumannn on Nov 2, 2011 15:27:53 GMT 12
Hi Lester,
Aberdeen Airport is former RAF Dyce, from where Supermarine Spitfires of 612 Sqn flew in WW2. Take a camera, lots of big helos flying out to oil platforms. All along that Fifeshire coast are former airfields, including Crail, a former FAA base, which is well preserved, so much so that it is one of (only) two airfields in Scotland that are listed as 'Ancient and Historic Monuments'.
Not far further north on the Moray coast is RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss. I'm not sure if its still there, but there was a guy in Elgin, not far from Lossie who had a Buccaneer sitting outside his service station. Lossie has a Bucc gate guard and Kinloss is getting one of the Nimrods that used to operate there. There used to be a hippy commune right at the end of Kinloss' runway! Former RAF bases around the area include Banff, where 489 (NZ) Sqn Beaus and Mossies flew anti-shipping sorties.
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Post by lesterpk on Nov 2, 2011 23:24:00 GMT 12
Cool, I have a rental car for the 3 weeks so will be sure to get around and have a look in the weekends.
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Post by JDK on Nov 3, 2011 1:01:03 GMT 12
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Post by nuuumannn on Nov 3, 2011 3:16:11 GMT 12
Also, just down the coast a bit is RAF Leuchars near St Andrews, which is a lovely town with one of the most famous golf courses in the world. Leuchars is home to Typhoons, formerly Tornado F.3s. There's a Phantom on the gate, but its inside the base, so you might not get to see it unless you ask at the guardhouse.
To add to JDK's post, Scotland's national aviation collection is at East Fortune; the Museum of Flight - worth a look. If you've got time, there are lots of old airfields around East Lothian, east of Edinburgh, but in all honesty, you are looking at a few hour's drive from Aberdeen to get that way. If you are interested, I wrote an article on the area in an issue of NZ Aviation News sometime last year; I can forward a copy if you wish, but as I said, it's a bit of a haul from Aberdeen.
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Post by kiwitone on Nov 5, 2011 2:01:34 GMT 12
lesterpk, you would be welcome here at my house 3/4hr south of aberdeen; there is britains first RAFtraining centre here in montrose. also there's east fortune 30 minutes south of edinburgh.
I have been there before and its really interesting.
just message me and Ill help.
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Post by kiwitone on Nov 18, 2011 10:37:39 GMT 12
I take that as a "no "then lesterpk
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Post by nuuumannn on Nov 18, 2011 12:21:44 GMT 12
I take that as a "no "then lesterpk He can't hear you, he's in Aberdeen! ;D |
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Post by lesterpk on Nov 18, 2011 12:31:22 GMT 12
You could I guess. Got here on Sunday after 36 hours travel, straight into work Monday and so on. Plan on looking around Aberdeen Saturday and then driving to Loch Ness Sunday, then next weekend I will likely visit Edinburgh and thats about all my free time used up. I'll probably do a drive by of Lossiemouth and anything else that takes my fancy aviation related but I dont really have the time on this trip, hopefully I'll be up this way every couple of years so maybe next time. Thanks for the offer, I do appreciate it.
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Post by Kereru on Nov 18, 2011 17:55:56 GMT 12
What you doin there Lester? Gary Watt works at Aberdeen airport might be a good contact if you bump into him. Be getting a bit cool there now?
Colin
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Post by lesterpk on Nov 18, 2011 23:51:40 GMT 12
Since 1 Sep I work for Bristow Helicopters Australia based in Perth. At the company main maintenance base in Aberdeen getting signed out on the specific company gear. Not too cool yet, low cloud and overcast has been keeping it around 10-12 degrees, apparently once it fines up that means it'll snow.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 19, 2011 14:32:35 GMT 12
That's summer in Scotland isn't it?
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Post by lesterpk on Nov 20, 2011 6:41:14 GMT 12
May as well have been today Dave, it was around 15 degrees. If it wasnt for it getting dark around 4pm I'd have been sunbathing ;-) On an aviation theme, have found a museum near Edinburgh I'll visit next weekeknd, has a Concorde. www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/museum_of_flight.aspx |
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Post by JDK on Nov 20, 2011 22:20:26 GMT 12
Gee, that looks just like a museum nuuumannn and I mentioned in posts three and four. Jetlag, eh?
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Post by kiwitone on Nov 21, 2011 3:08:25 GMT 12
yes it isJDK East Fortune 30 miles s/e of edinburgh....they also have a cutaway Merlin engine. and and Vulcan out side too. I met Mark Hannah there with P-51 Old Crow, got a pic of him listening to a ww11 bomber pilot while the old boy sat in Mark's aircraft.
LESTERPK sonds like you have your hands full mannie, maybe ill meet you in the future. all good here , did a wedding in Aberdeen on Friday..17c...very mild for this time o year.....but it definitely wont last!
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Post by JDK on Nov 21, 2011 12:00:13 GMT 12
yes it isJDK East Fortune 30 miles s/e of edinburgh... Um, I know, I've been there when the Spitfire was being restored. My post was a slightly tongue in cheek response to lesterpk posting he'd just 'found' the same museum he'd had recommended twice already. Nevermind. |
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Post by lesterpk on Nov 22, 2011 5:50:09 GMT 12
Yeah well, some times I can be a bit slow on the uptake, just ask the Mrs. Anyway, yesterday involved a drive from Aberdeen to Inverness and on to Loch Ness. I did do a drive by of RAF Kinloss and Lossiemouth but saw no gate guardians from the road that I could easily photograph. Lossie did have a Tornado behind the gate but the guards didnt look particularly friendly so gave it a miss. Did find the Buccaneer at the service station and a memorial on the side of Loch Ness to a Wellington bomber found in the lake while scanning for Nessie. All survived except the tail gunner. Some more info here www.lochnesswater.co.uk/crashed_ww2_bombers.htmand forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=7560and www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk/wellington_loch-ness.htm      |
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Post by nuuumannn on Nov 22, 2011 20:17:12 GMT 12
I met Mark Hannah there with P-51 Old Crow, got a pic of him listening to a ww11 bomber pilot while the old boy sat in Mark's aircraft. I remember that weekend very well, in fact. Sadly it was only a week or so before Mark died from his injuries in the Buchon crash in Spain. Very sad; he was such a nice bloke. At the time, Derek MacPhail was doing up LA198 in the restoration hangar and Mark thought I was him because of my Antipodean accent! |
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Post by nuuumannn on Nov 22, 2011 20:23:15 GMT 12
That'll be the Loch Ness Wellington at Brooklands then! There was a tale I was told once apon a time about the guys from Heriot Watt Uni offering it to the Royal Museum, later NMS, for display at East Fortune, but the offer was turned down for lack of manpower for any sort of restoration. The museum has a big 9 foot chunk of geodetic structure that I was told was from the Loch Ness Welli, but I saw an old photo taken at Strathallan with the chunk in it, so I suspect EF inherited it from there, rather than off the Heriot guys.
The Bucc could do with a repaint or at the very least, a clean! Love the plough next to it!
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Post by lesterpk on Mar 14, 2012 1:39:17 GMT 12
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