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Billesley Common Airshow

Warbirds, Replicas and Nostalgic photos in here please.
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Cornish-guy
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Billesley Common Airshow

Post by Cornish-guy » Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:02 am

Would anyone have by chance any pictures from this rather rare event that took part at Billesley Common Park in Birmingham back in the early 70s, i went as a kid and remmeber seeing a vulcan, red arrows gnats, harrier GR1 and others flying, so i wonderd if any others attended this airshow and possibly took pictures they could show??
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Cornish-guy
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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by Cornish-guy » Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:12 pm

Has no one any ideas or pictures from this event? i have sofar found out it was a RAF organised event that lasted 3 days over the weekend in 1973 i think?
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ST24
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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by ST24 » Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:39 pm

I jumped on this thread hoping to see some pictures!! I too have longed to see some pics from here but nothing has ever surfaced. The event actually lasted from the 11-27 August 1973 with daily (bizarrely not weekends), different flying displays featuring the majority of the RAF displays on the circuit at the time. Back then the RAF took a completely free to enter "meet the RAF" recruiting roadshow on tour in the Summer but I can't recall another city centre one, most were at sea side places and I certainly attended ones at Aberdovey, Aberysytwyth, Cardigan and Tenby. I was 8 at the time and living near Dudley and saw quite a few a/c coming and going including a roof top shaving pass by one of the Jet Provost teams! I still find it completely mind boggling that such a strange venue was chosen- even then it was a very built up area and the thought of a Vulcan, Phantom, lightning, Nimrod, Harrier etc, let alone choppers, trainers and teams displaying at low level over the city on a daily basis seems insane! I recall a Harrier landing pad on the grass and various helos dropping in along with various exhibitions. I'm still searching for images- even my Dad didn't take his trusty instamatic or movie camera with him when we attended!!

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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by Cornish-guy » Tue Feb 25, 2014 3:10 am

ST24 wrote:I jumped on this thread hoping to see some pictures!! I too have longed to see some pics from here but nothing has ever surfaced. The event actually lasted from the 11-27 August 1973 with daily (bizarrely not weekends), different flying displays featuring the majority of the RAF displays on the circuit at the time. Back then the RAF took a completely free to enter "meet the RAF" recruiting roadshow on tour in the Summer but I can't recall another city centre one, most were at sea side places and I certainly attended ones at Aberdovey, Aberysytwyth, Cardigan and Tenby. I was 8 at the time and living near Dudley and saw quite a few a/c coming and going including a roof top shaving pass by one of the Jet Provost teams! I still find it completely mind boggling that such a strange venue was chosen- even then it was a very built up area and the thought of a Vulcan, Phantom, lightning, Nimrod, Harrier etc, let alone choppers, trainers and teams displaying at low level over the city on a daily basis seems insane! I recall a Harrier landing pad on the grass and various helos dropping in along with various exhibitions. I'm still searching for images- even my Dad didn't take his trusty instamatic or movie camera with him when we attended!!

Many thanks for replying to my post, i too was taken to the event by my father and as a young lad impressed by planes, i found it amazing, i remember walking up that long fence linned path and saw and was Shaken to pieces by the vulcan, then after entering the main playing field, i was taken a back by all the people and the Plastic Jets on the ground like the harrier mock up and spit, hurricane etc, my day was complete with my dad buying me that huge 32nd scale Airfix Harrier GR1 kit with the sliding canopy(Happy Days) :clap:
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ST24
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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by ST24 » Wed May 14, 2014 7:54 am


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Cornish-guy
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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by Cornish-guy » Sun May 25, 2014 11:59 pm

Fantastic Find....it brought back so many memories - at the time when i went with my dad i nearly wet myself with excitement.and a bit of fear from all the noise and people, seeing the planes got me more and more into plastic plane kits, as my dad got me an airfix red arrows gnat kit from the show, then took me into town and got me that massive 32nd scale harrier kit....All great memories.


cornish
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Re: Billesley Common Airshow

Post by Cornish-guy » Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:13 am

I thought i would post this as a bit of an update - i think the Harrier GR1 at the show was - XV-759/59, as this was the allocated display plane at the time, I'm not sure about the rest but guess getting the Reds and others should be fairly straight forward?

cornish
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