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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 11:42:48 GMT 1
Whilst I normally drive through farnborough yesterday I went through on my bike with my daughter, coming from the gloster end towards the aviator on the right in a dip I came across a small formal pond, stone slabs around the outside so had def been built and was not natural, this was outside of todays fence boundary but in years past i assume would have been on the airfield.... Im curious if anyone knows why its there ?? Going again today my daughter tells me so will try and get a photo
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 21:53:44 GMT 1
as promised
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2013 22:34:22 GMT 1
Looks fishy!
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Post by chevvron on Sept 2, 2013 22:47:19 GMT 1
There used to be a fishpond in the grounds of the RAE Mess but this one appears to be a bit further west than that, and in any case the one I remember was square not round. This pond is certainly within the old boundary of RAE, the old 'South Gate' being just out of shot to the left.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 13:59:18 GMT 1
There always used to be a small ornamental garden with a pond on the right hand side just after you went in through South Gate as shown below (taken 26-Jul-86). Looks to be in roughly the same place as the pond you're asking about. The trees just behind the pond in your photo were those on the roundabout just inside South Gate.
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 15:27:07 GMT 1
Would that be next to the old medical centre Roger?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 15:34:09 GMT 1
It looks roughly the same place, however in that photo it looks rectangular in shape, the one there now is round !!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 17:00:09 GMT 1
Chevvron This is the Medical Centre. Jeff The pond is round in my original picture, it's just the way it's been pixelated when I scanned it from a slide. Roger Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 17:50:40 GMT 1
Hi Roger, Looking at it on the laptop instead of phone has helped..lol....yes thats the one :-) clearly visible on google maps as well ! I wonder why they left an ornimental pond and those fir trees when the area was redeveloped ? Im guessing some for of rare critter was found in the pond !! lol, tell me Roger, did you work at the RAE ?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 18:59:20 GMT 1
Jeff
Yes, did work for RAE - and still do after 35 years. (Alright I know RAE doesn't actually exist any more but its offspring does).
Roger
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 19:24:18 GMT 1
Roger, I heard yesterday about some long forgotten tunnels (size not known !) that went from the airfield to North Camp...have you any knowledge of these??
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 19:53:21 GMT 1
Jeff, news to me, if they did exist
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 20:35:52 GMT 1
Well it was a rumour, unsubstantiated I may say, although if they do/did exist then I would take a wild guess at a munitians tunnel, something along the lines of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Post_Office_Railway although it probably didnt exist at all....lol
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 20:57:19 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 21:42:35 GMT 1
When I flew over Pyestock yesterday it looked like almost a completely flat site, nearly all the buildings having been demolished !!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 21:44:20 GMT 1
I suppose demolishion has begun for the logistics warehouses
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 21:52:41 GMT 1
I remember reading an article in a UFO magazine about 14 years ago where the author went to the airshow and claimed he could hear noises from underground, and theorised it was from the tunnels where they kept and tested the captured spacecraft. Maybe this was the origin of your rumour Jeff. Well I worked there on the airfield for 34 years (meeting Roger several times at the Aero Club) and I never heard anything. In any case, the water table is so high, any tunnels would have to have a massive pumping system to keep them from flooding.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 21:53:41 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 21:57:05 GMT 1
Something went wrong above but the middle photo should have said "As I understood it some of the urgency or the warehouse development had gone away since Tesco built this depot near the M4 at Reading".
The lower photo should have said "This is how Pyestock looked in May-2009" and the upper photo should have said "This is Pyestock seen 23-Jul this year".
And the photo order got shuffled as well, must try harder next time!!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 21:59:13 GMT 1
(meeting Roger several times at the Aero Club) . You obviously weren't using the name Chevvron then, I think I would have remembered that !!!
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 22:04:52 GMT 1
I worked in ATC and was a member of the Aero Club. I remember your Nord.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 22:13:26 GMT 1
What, this one ? It's still here at Farnborough but looks like this now.
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 22:20:57 GMT 1
It was like that last time I saw it in 'M' Shed before that got demolished; late '90s maybe? Certainly after EFD/EFW departed. Incidentally, a lot of people don't realise the Dak in the background is now the one operated by BBMF.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 22:29:25 GMT 1
It last flew Oct-91, and has now become a bit of a "retirement project" - one day I'll get round to it......
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 22:32:29 GMT 1
Incidentally, a lot of people don't realise the Dak in the background is now the one operated by BBMF. Was up at Waddington last year with work and had an afternoon off so went over to Coningsby for a tour of the BBMF. The tour guide took great delight in telling the story that "the RAE had been operating her with the wrong serial (KG661), but that when the RAF got it back they realised the error and re-serialled it as ZA947". He was a trifle deflated when I pointed out that the RAE operated her as ZA947 for many years !!!! Wonderful memories of a trip to Toulouse and back in that Dakota, airfreighting back Roquefort, proper Baguettes and Chateauneuf-du-Pape for dinner that evening.
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 22:55:59 GMT 1
It was actually an RAF spotter at Brize Norton who pointed out the mistake shortly after 'Portpatrick Princess' as it was named arrived at Farnborough, (along with another Dak, 'Mayfly'- TG283? - , now operated by 'Aces High' at Dunsfold) having been operated as KG661 at West Freugh for many years. As you rightly say, it was operated at Farnborough for many years after this, almost being written off at one point when the port main gear collapsed just before takeoff (c1990). When Transport Flight was disbanded (DRA said it was not necessary as there was adequate public transport between Farnborough and Bedford?!!) it was transferred from MOD (DPA) to MOD (Air) and allocated to BBMF. As a 'reward' for the vigilance of the Brize spotter,'947 went to Brize one day to give members of the Brize Norton Aviation Society a ride. I was invited to go with it in my guise as an RAFVR(T) Officer, along with an officer from Farnborough Squadron ATC and members of the local Royal Observer Corps
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2013 23:04:11 GMT 1
I think 'Mayfly' was TS423 now operated, as you say, by Aces High as G-DAKS/N147DC.
From what I can remember of the u/c incident the port prop detached from the engine on hitting the runway and scythed it's way into the fuselage just aft of the cockpit. The pilot insisting all along that he "didn't touch the gear lever !!!!"
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Post by chevvron on Sept 13, 2013 23:32:51 GMT 1
Yes when I went out on the runway to see it, the prop was detached as you say. In the middle of the small forward escape hatch just aft of the cockpit was a large dent where the prop had hit it. The crew exited via the main exit at the rear as I believe the forward escape hatch had been sealed shut some time before.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2013 12:23:49 GMT 1
Jeff I can confirm there were tunnels under the RAE as when the sie was being decommissioned i was a contractor working over there and one of the jobs we had to do was to go along the Service tunnels leading from the old power station to see where they came out up into various buildings and block of the entrances , some lead us for miles and one came out about half way along 25 also many went to the various hangers and there was a AC130 parked up on one of the aprons near to where they have built the latest of the new hangers and the next morning it had sunk one side due to the collapse of one of the tunnels , also one went up to the officers mess . There was one that went further but we couldn't go along due to flood water and collapse but it looked like it went in the direction of Aldershot . With reference to your friends UFO story i can confirm that there was a very large room underground that apart from the tunnel leading to it had another entrance large enough to drive a vehicle in but we didn't go over to that entrance as it was deemed to be an unsafe room. Another story for you was one day we went along one of the tunnels and it was ok the next day we were greeted with 3 feet of water ! apparently the electric board had cut off the supply to the street lighting which unbeknown to them also supplied the power for the pumps in the tunnels! there was also a risk of Gas in the tunnels and prior to entering any of them an air quality test had to be carried out and air supply apparatus had to be worn most of the time .There were no plans of the layout of these tunnels as was the norm for ministry work in those days as they could more or less build and do what they wanted ,hope this info helps.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2013 14:01:04 GMT 1
Blimey, interesting stuff :-) thanks for posting
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