I enquired of my girl friend (GF) if she would like to have a trip? Hesitating at first she finally agreed to take her first flight. I had chalked up all of about 20 hours in the RAF by then, as a passenger of course. I think we had to cross an active taxi way, well probably not very active, to reach the ticket office (a shed!) to purchase our tickets. I believe these cost 10 shillings each (50p today).
We boarded the aircraft, together with a few other hardy souls and taxied to the active runway. A circuit over the Staines reservoirs and we were back on the ground after about five minutes in the air. Nevertheless my GF was impressed with this mode of transport, but it was to be a few more years before her next trip.
While rummaging through some bits and pieces recently I came across a rather faded negative I had been looking for for ages, you know how it is? So having scanned it and improved it as best I can, here is the Rapide in which my GF and I enjoyed out first flight.
Twenty-four years later, 2nd July 1976 to be exact, we returned to London Heathrow, (my GF was now my wife) to take another somewhat different flight. This time it was a Boeing 747 of TWA to Chicago and then a Northwest DC-10 to Seattle. This took a little longer than the original trundle round the circuit!
