Paul Bradley Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Inspired by @canberraman @Alpha Delta 210 and @F-32 who have all posted old airshow photos recently (Have we stated a trend...?), here are some photos from the Royal International Air Tattoo 1983, at Greenham Common. I was a rather green and callow 18, nearly 19, at the time, with my first proper cameras, a Praktica and I believe I had bought my first Canon OM-10 at that time. I bought membership in the FRIAT enclosure, and although I was clearly there all weekend, I have no idea how I got there, where I camped or who I was there with! Lots of security, and barbed wire - this was the time of the 'peace women' and their spray paint... It was an amazing weekend and something I repeated at a good few airshows in the following few years. Not the best quality - having a badly paying job, I could only afford cheap film - I just wish we'd had digital cameras back then! Anyways, enjoy! GC83-phantom by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-65 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-62 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-59 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-57 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-55 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-52 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-51 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-49 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-48 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-46 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-45 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-43 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-35 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-32 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-30 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-29 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-27 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-22 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-26 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-24 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-21 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-19 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-16 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-14 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-11 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-09 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-05 by paulbradley109, on Flickr gc83-03 by paulbradley109, on Flickr GC83-01 by paulbradley109, on Flickr 30 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 What a terrific show that was in 1983 Paul! The last event at Greenham Common and arguably the best (R)IAT ever. We were so spoiled for variety that year and gained from both the Falklands effect and that wonderful SR-71 appearance. It's a shsame the arrival of the so called Peace Women meant the end of IAT at Greenham and forced the relocation to Fairford which never quite matched the former for atmosphere IMHO. Mark 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Brilliant set Paul. Thanks for sharing. My memory is equally vague about my 1981 visit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfisti Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Went to this show,travelled from Lutterworth on a Woods Coaches trip,with 2 coaches full of aviation enthusiasts.We got stuck in the traffic near Newbury,and the other coach managed to turn across the dual carriageway and the driver shouted to our driver to follow him.Unfortunately we got stuck on the central reservation gravel,so we all piled off to push the coach free.At that moment a police helo landed in the field next to us,and the commisionar jumped out and ordered us to push the coach back,Sat for ages to get into show,but what a show,and thanks for posting. Dave. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Remember that show and must now find my slides. It was a good show and some interesting stuff on display. I think I used four slide films. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mr T said: I think I used four slide films. I know, I probably used 6 to 8 rolls or so of 36 exp print film, all I could afford; compare that to my long weekend at Nellis last November when I took over 9,000 photos....! We are now spoiled in that respect, but the sheer variety of types back then - I wonder how many thousands I would have taken had I had the kit I have now! Edited May 13, 2020 by Paul Bradley 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Very nice set of images, my friend. I (vaguely) remember visiting a Greenham Common Show with my Dad (no idea what year). I didn't realize that we captured an operational Pucara during the Falklands Conflict. Did it fly that weekend? Thanks for sharing with us. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 3 hours ago, spruecutter96 said: I didn't realize that we captured an operational Pucara during the Falklands Conflict. Did it fly that weekend? Cheers, Chris! There were a number of Pucara captured and one was restored to flying condition for trials by A&AEE. It was on static display at Greenham, but did fly out on the Monday, which was when the photo was taken. Here's a history of the airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/83-AF-1159-FMA-Pucara.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Super thread, thanks Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Very cool, really nicely done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Thanks for the link to the airframe history, Paul. Just to prove what a small world this is, I've sat in the cockpit of this aircraft during an open-cockpit evening at the Cosford museum. I'll see if I can't find the photos of it. I remember reading a review of a 1/72nd Pucara many years ago, made by a company called "Puky" (I'm not making this up). The reviewer stated that it was so poorly made that he reckoned that building one from scratch would have been a better option, if you wanted even vague accuracy. Once again, thanks for sharing your images with us, Chris. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) Greenham beat everything for years, hands down. Keith Edited May 14, 2020 by Britman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 I remember the Puky Pucara being reviewed and it looked rough. A Pucara was on show at Finningley that year although this one was definitely a non flying airframe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweeky Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 The Lightning F3 that you snapped is the Areos jet from LTF flown by Flt/Lft Mike 'Thomo' Thompson. This is the same paring that crashed just off Scarborough later in the summer. I was on Gate guard at Binbrook on that fateful day and watched him take off . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Greenham Common. Sadly we will never see the likes again, both for variety and venue. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedy Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 What a tremendous set of photo’s. I know what somebody above means I wish we had digital but then the ageing atmosphere of the above shots would be non-existent. We of a certain generation have been very lucky. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Great nostalgic photos Paul, thanks for sharing them. I was just a kid at this airshow but it was by some distance the best one I can remember. The weather was great, the variety of aircraft was amazing. Memory can be unreliable but was that the one with about 30 Phantoms in the static display? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Aircraft spotting used to be a great hobby didn't it. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 5 hours ago, Alan P said: I was just a kid at this airshow but it was by some distance the best one I can remember. The weather was great, the variety of aircraft was amazing. Memory can be unreliable but was that the one with about 30 Phantoms in the static display? Something like that - I have the programme with the participation list in a box somewhere.... I do have these handy though: 25th Phantom Stickers by Paul Bradley, on Flickr Which also shows me that it wasn't yet RIAT in 1983! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 21 hours ago, Lord Riot said: Aircraft spotting used to be a great hobby didn't it. It certainly was. Such variety and colour Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truro Model Builder Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 On 5/13/2020 at 6:40 PM, canberraman said: What a terrific show that was in 1983 Paul! The last event at Greenham Common and arguably the best (R)IAT ever. We were so spoiled for variety that year and gained from both the Falklands effect and that wonderful SR-71 appearance. It's a shsame the arrival of the so called Peace Women meant the end of IAT at Greenham and forced the relocation to Fairford which never quite matched the former for atmosphere IMHO. Mark I think the planned deployment of the BGM-109G GLCM may actually have had a greater effect on the relocation of the show, to be honest. Lovely set of shots, Paul. My first IAT wasn't until 1989, but I would put my neck out and say that 1991, with all the Desert Storm participants, may have a good case for 'best ever'. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyf117 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 (edited) I was there for the entire weekend, working on the Celsia Hobbies stand - back then, I helped out at airshows with various traders, mainly TAHS and Mil-Slides... ....we were setting up the stand about mid-point along the display line when the B-52 arrived declaring an emergency - no green lights for the port main landing gear... ....we heard it over the radio of someone nearby, and watching the BUFF on approach, I recall thinking that if he slewed off the runway, he might head straight toward us... ....fortunately, he landed without incident - unlike the Marineflieger Atlantic that did a 'tactical' approach and landing, and touched down with the brakes on... ....immediate loud bangs as rubber met asphalt and the tyres all burst - another Atlantic arrived some hours later with a complete replacement set of wheels! The weekend was rounded off by a highly-amusing incident after we'd returned and off-loaded back at West Drayton (Celsia was just down the road from TAHS)... ....we went to a local Chinese restaurant, and along with us from the stand were three or four Finnish modellers who were flying back from Heathrow the next morning... ....although they spoke fairly good English, our host asked if they'd like help with the menu, at which one proudly said no, and promptly ordered "crispy asthmatic duck"! Edited May 18, 2020 by andyf117 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Great photos, thanks a lot! Even a early paintscheme Austrian Saab 105! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 On 15/05/2020 at 14:30, Paul Bradley said: Something like that - I have the programme with the participation list in a box somewhere.... I do have these handy though: 25th Phantom Stickers by Paul Bradley, on Flickr Which also shows me that it wasn't yet RIAT in 1983! Probably the year they announced Royal patronage. I know it came over the Tannoy system when I was there. I have programmes from all the years I attended, and one of those stickers on my camera case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 👍 I have all my programmes as well, and stickers from all the shows. 😎 We are birds of a feather! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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