Ops-Normal.org

About 1952 aged 9, de Havilland Puss Moth from the beach at Southport Beach. I don't remember sight seeing, just the vision panel looking straight down.

Almost certainly this Fox Moth. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-ACEJ.html

I grew up in Southport, the comments about a 7/6d flight were obviously after my schooldays, I couldn't afford the then 5/- flight around Blackpool Tower with my 6d a week pocket money ! The reference to the pilot Gyro, was a Frenchman called Gyroux, and in later years I was involved with a flying club which shared a hangar with him at the Northern end of the town. He would drive up, pull the aircraft out of the hangar on to the beach, open the cabin door and his dog would jump in, then he'd fly off to the beach near the pier, where he collected his passengers. Cars were allowed to drive on the beach at that point too, tho' I don't recall any near misses ! The H & S lot would have a fit these days !

The first flight was on the first day of my starting apprenticeship with the OZ Cessna dealer in 1960, it was a brand new C172 on a test flight
after shipping and reassembly from the USA. Over the period of my apprenticeship, I experienced flights in all of the Cessna range from a C145 to C441

First flight ever was on 25th March 1969 at 08:10 in a Piper PA28, G-ATPN at Oxford Air Training School, Kidlington where I was in receipt of a Special Flying Award from the RAF. I soloed 12 days later on 6th April at 08:50 in a similar PA28, G-ATPP after 10hrs 25mins instruction. Passed my Final Handling Test on 20th April after exactly 35 hrs total flying time.
Memories, memories....

Smeagol wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:36 pm

First flight ever was on 25th March 1969 at 08:10 in a Piper PA28, G-ATPN at Oxford Air Training School, Kidlington where I was in receipt of a Special Flying Award from the RAF. I soloed 12 days later on 6th April at 08:50 in a similar PA28, G-ATPP after 10hrs 25mins instruction. Passed my Final Handling Test on 20th April after exactly 35 hrs total flying time.
Memories, memories....

Not my first flight but I did almost exactly the same in 1974 at Cambridge in a C150. Think that they would only pay for 30 hrs and my father paid for the extra 5.

It was only 30 hours by 1981, when I did mine.

Fox3WheresMyBanana wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:12 am

It was only 30 hours by 1981, when I did mine.

I thought that it went up to 40 hrs and now see that it is 45 hrs.

I think they realised the pointlessness of less than a PPL, so decided to up the hours and hugely reduce the number awarded.

Not my first flight but I did almost exactly the same in 1974 at Cambridge in a C150. Think that they would only pay for 30 hrs and my father paid for the extra 5.
[/quote]

Exactly the same for me, my father stumped up for the extra 5 hours to get my PPL, £50, I believe, £10 per hour back then!

Aged 3 or 4, DC3 Cairns to Brisbane. All I can remember about it is the steep walk up to our seats and, of all things, the shape of the ashtrays on the aisle side of the seats.

Captain Jim Crampton, a gentleman of the first order, flew Austers from Cleethorpes beach, ten bob to Grimsby Dock tower and back. He had two and when he was busy his wife flew the other one. It would be 1954 or 55 and I got a summer job stowing passengers with the occasional pleasure trip thrown in or a trip to the overnight base at Waltham airfield. I believe in the winter they went down to the Sudan crop spraying. I reckon they came every summer for three or four years. Captain Crampton went on to start Air Anglia.