Posted January 8, 2009 2:47 PM
By Alud Davies
You Know, Sometimes I Think we Forget How Lucky we are.
As a child I grew up next to Blackbushe airport. It’s not the biggest airport in the world; more of an aerodrome, but it has an illustrious history going back as far as the Second World War and was once London’s second airport.
As a child I remember Dan Air flying a Comet into the airport for storage and eventual scrapping. The rear end of the aircraft would be sticking out from the main ramp, and myself and my friends would frequently visit to see if we could touch the tail. Later in life I remember hearing the noise from a landing Business jet and dashing to my bedroom window, telescope in hand desperate to see a new aircraft.
My father, having grown up very close to Heathrow, always had a keen interest in aviation and will still to this day tell me tales of spotting trips to the States in the 60's. Tales of Idlewild, as it was then, being full of Connies and DC-8’s from Europe, and Convair’s and Martin 4-0-4's from the US carriers. But 2 generations had passed me by before I got a chance to 'spot' at an American airport, and my fond memories are of 727's and the occasional DC-8 / 707, although several visits to Cockroach Corner in Miami invoked images of a non to distant past.
You probably picked up on the bit where I said I 'spot', and maybe I should come clean here, although you might have to indulge me a little here as this ground was covered here more than ably in recent weeks by James Mellon.
When I was 13 my father bought me a copy of Civil Aircraft Markings, a book popular in the UK as it lists the registrations of all of the aircraft with G- markings, and has a section in the back detailing the registrations of all of the foreign airlines who are likely to visit the UK.
So I quickly found myself 'underlining' all of the aircraft that I had seen. Soon I dropped the lighter aircraft and concentrated on the Airliners and more later on Business Jets and I remember fondly being excited on one visit to Heathrow and only 'needing' 1 British Airways 757 (G-BIKJ if I recall correctly)
Since then I've taken every opportunity to travel and spot as much as possible. I've had a gun pointed at me by the police in San Francisco, been mugged walking from an airport in the middle of nowhere to a town centre to get a train in Argentina (note to self: make sure you get the taxi driver to wait next time). I've been questioned by the police in Dubai, and taken a flight from Seoul's Gimpo airport to Pusan for 45 minutes because the aircraft I went to see at Gimpo wasn't visible so I presumed that once through security I'd get a great view of the airport and be able to see it.
But I still didn't see it.
These days I don't even have to make a special trip to Heathrow to see a new aircraft, if it arrives during working hours then I just have to look out of the office window, and if it arrives when I'm at home: well I've set my Airnav RadarBox to send an email alert to my BlackBerry when an aircraft I need is close, so all I have to do is look out of my bedroom window.
But I really miss that thrill of going to an airport and not knowing what I'm going to see, or what will be there. There's so much information available to me, that the days of turning up to an airport in the UK, Europe and even the Americas and not having a really good idea of what will be seen are long gone.
Which is why I prefer to ignore the Pet Shop Boys advice and go East instead. My first arrival point in Asia was Seoul, and the sea of blue at Incheon has had me hooked ever since. From the superb viewing decks all over Japans airports, to the somewhat frustrating, from a spotting point of view, Changi, something about Asian Airports is still exciting.
It takes me back to those trips to Heathrow as a child. I remember getting more and more excited as the bus got closer and closer, craning my neck as an aircraft flew over the top and most of all that wonderful hint of kerosene in the air as we finally arrived.
So next on my wish list is Manila to try and track down an old LearJet 25 frame, and then Jakarta for a preserved Lockheed Jetstar, but next time you're passing Heathrow and you have the time, maybe you can drop by the office. We can push our noses up against the window and stare in wonder at a selection of widebodies from around the world land right in front of us and try and rekindle that passion that put us here in the first place.
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