A few shots from Manchester in the 1970's and 80's

[skytrain]

Here's a few of my shots from Manchester taken when i was just a young 'un armed with an old Kodak Instamatic camera! Not great quality and the photos have sadly deteriorated, but there's a few classic airlines and airliners from the past, including my all time favourite, CP Air. Enjoy the trip down memory lane!

British Airways Vickers VC-10 with a BA Boeing 707 and Laker Skytrain DC-10 in the background parked on Pier C.


British Airways Vickers VC-10 preparing for a flight to Toronto via Montreal in the good old days when you could walk along the roof of the Piers.


British Airways Hawker Siddeley Tridents operating the Heathrow Shuttle lined up down the old Domestic pier.


British Airways BAC One-Eleven with an Air Malta Boeing 737 and Balkan Bulgarian Tupolev TU-154 in the background. I think this 'Pocket Rocket' was G-AVMY which went on to fly with European Aircharter.


British Airtours Lockheed L1011 TriStar G-BBAI 'The Molly McGredy Rose'.


Dan Air BAC One-Eleven.


British Caledonian BAC One-Eleven on a rainy morning taken from the old cafe area near the departures hall.


Loganair Fokker F-27 G-IOMA


A pair of Wardair Boeing 747-200's with a British Airways TriStar in the distance.


And finally, a couple of beautiful planes from CP Air...

CP Air McDonnel Douglas DC-10 C-GCPG 'Empress of Fiji' with Boeing 747 C-FCRE 'Empress of Italy' in the background


CP Air Boeing 747-200 C-FCRE 'Empress of Italy'



Cheers

[The Cameraman]

Hi Matey,

I really must get myself sorted out with a scanner and post some of mine from Ringway.

Thanks for posting.

I too also had a soft spot for the CP's especially their DC8's, along with the beautiful Super VC10's from BOAC/BA.

Regards

Reggie

[skudupnorth]

Wow,good memories there ! Even the shot from the cafe brought back times when we used to go there when the weather was grim and get thrown out by security ! Pity they closed the piers but i guess thats way things are nowadays plus to be honest i cannot get that excited about modern airliners like i do about the old shapes and colours.
Good stuff,thanks for sharing

[skytrain]

Hi Matey,
I really must get myself sorted out with a scanner and post some of mine from Ringway.
Thanks for posting.
I too also had a soft spot for the CP's especially their DC8's, along with the beautiful Super VC10's from BOAC/BA.

Thanks Reggie, yeah the CP DC8's were really nice planes. They were a great airline, their service was absolutely top notch and their aircraft had a superb colour scheme. The BA Super VC-10's were lovely sleek planes. That photo was taken on my first trip to Ringway when I was about 6 or 7 years old and I remember been awestruck watching it take off! The sound of those 4 RR Conways roaring down the runway was something else

Look forward to seeing your Ringway pics!

All the best

Andy

[skytrain]

Wow,good memories there ! Even the shot from the cafe brought back times when we used to go there when the weather was grim and get thrown out by security ! Pity they closed the piers but i guess thats way things are nowadays plus to be honest i cannot get that excited about modern airliners like i do about the old shapes and colours.
Good stuff,thanks for sharing

Hi skudupnorth, thanks for your comments. The cafe near departures was the definately the best place to be on days like that! Do you remember those 'spotters guides' that the airport used to publish each month for about 15p - they had a pic of a BA 1-11 on the front? I found a couple of them from the mid-80's in a box the other week, I must scan one or two in and post them, they are a real blast from the past! I know what you mean about modern airliners. Spotting these days can be a bit bland compared with the wide variety of types and different liveries that we used to see 20 or 30 years ago. I'll try and scan a few more pics from the late 80's over the next couple of weeks as I'm just sorting through some old photos I had taken!

Cheers

Andy

[noryport]

A really nostalgic set there skytrain and photos are good for the time and situation that you took them.Really nice to see the Tridents and V.C.10s from your early visits.A couple from me from Newcastle about late 80s....Cheers.JB . Yep you've guessed I know you've seen that one somewhere before.

[skudupnorth]

Somewhere in all my collectables is the token you had to put in the turnstile to get on the terraces.The challenge was to buy it (25p i think) and then try to keep it by either jumping over or squeezing two bodies through at the same time......i jumped ! I remember the timetables you used to be able to buy which i am sure were a bugger to understand ! Good times

Did you go to the "brickworks" at the end of 06/tunnel ? best place for landing/take-off shots and when the cross bikes were playing you had a bit of motorsport thrown in !!!

[The Cameraman]

Hi Skidupnorth,

now then, I was one of those caught twixt the pleasures of spotting and riding my road legal trail bike around the trails!

Great days.

I still ride trail bikes and still spot!

The Brickworks offered a great location back then. And some great regulars like Ken Jones (no longer with us, and always armed with his camera and MK 4 Cortina), Roy Snape (not seen him for years, parked up in his VW LT campervan), Stu from Wilmslow, so many people that I've lost contact with over the years.

Thanks for bringing the memories to mind matey.

Regards

Reggie

[skudupnorth]

I have a couple of pictures of the cross bikes launching off the top of one of the big mounds near the farm,good fun !

[skytrain]

Hi Noryport, skudupnorth and Camerman.

Thanks for posting the Newcastle pics John, those are great landing shots of the UK 146 and the Gill Air ATR! The Air UK 146's looked pretty smart in the new colours. You're right - can't help thinking I've seen that Worldways DC-8 somewhere else We just need to keep the Canadian theme going after the CP Air and Worldways photos and find somebody with a pic of a Nationair DC-8 or 747! Did you take the ATR and 146 from that industrial estate you mentioned the other day? Looks like it was a cracking spot to take pics wherever it was!

Skudupnorth - yeah I do remember those tokens for the terraces, I was going to mention them last night but I didnt think anyone else would remember! I have one or two kicking around somwhere....I might have jumped over the barrier so I could keep one...allegedly I remember you always got drenched as you walked past that air cooling system on the long walk across the nether regions of the rooftop back down to the main building. Those big escalators that went up to the upper levels of the car park from outside the check-in area were pretty good for running up and down as a youngster. Once even managed to run all the way to the top of the one coming down without doing myself a serious injury!!! Do you remember those big plastic seat things with integrated telly screens in the arms that they used to have in the departure lounge. They looked a bit like something off Star Trek. They had a couple near the big window at the front on the left hand side just before you entered the cafe bit. I always used to wonder what they were for because nobody ever seemed to sit in them.

I never really got to the brickworks until I was old enough to drive. I lived in the land of the pie-eaters near Wiggin, so me and my mates would just get the train to Victoria and then hop on the airport bus. It meant we were stuck in the terminal area though and missed out on the brickworks as it was a bit too far to walk. I did manage to get down there for one of Concorde's visits though and saw a nice Spantax Coronado while I was there which was a bit of a bonus!

All the best

Andy

[Barton Buzzard]

Hey guys, great thread-and like most of us on here, i have loads of old prints to convert and get uploaded-mammoth task, will get around to it some day!
In the meantime, thought you might like to see some snaps I took a year or so ago. They show the old Spotters terraces at MAN as they are now...sadly neglected and overgrown but still evoking a lot of happy memories..I spent a good couple of hours walking around, retracing my steps that I took many times in my youth and I swear I could see the ghosts of spotters and aircraft long since gone....Shame we shall never be able to use these facilities again
Cheers
Gary

If memory serves the concrete was the base of the kiosk/snack bar??


Looking towards the exit


Yellow steps leading down to C pier


Spent many hours huddled under here waiting for the rain to pass...

[skytrain]

Many thanks for posting pictures of the old terraces Gary. Excellent photos, they instantly took me back to the many hours I spent up there spotting back in the 80's! It was a real trip down memory lane seeing them and brought back a lot of happy memories! Aaah, the old yellow steps leading down to Pier C! You could walk right down the length of all the piers when I first started spotting and it was a real treat to get so close to the aircraft. The sound of a TriStar or 747's engines spooling up at close quarters was pretty awesome! I seem to remember they blocked access down the pier when the extension to the end of Pier C was built.

I seem to remember the snack kiosk/cafe you mentioned too. Didn't TAS also have a shop up there too in that area between Piers A and B at one point in the late 80's/early 90's? Sad to see it in such a state of disrepair, it was an absolutely stunning facility in its heyday. The sights, sounds (and smell of kerosene!) on the terraces were wonderful, I'm sure it must have spurred many folk to go on to have a career in aviation after being inspired while watching the aircraft from up there.

Thanks once again for posting those pics Gary, it really made my day seeing it all again!

All the best

Andy

[Barton Buzzard]

My pleasure Andy, I love looking at them myself, I really wish I had taken more at the time but I WAS on duty after all so it was a bit of a quick look round!
I think you could be right about the TAS shop, I certainly remember a little kiosk and a glass fronted seating area where all the 'hardcore' spotters hung out-they were quite intimidating to a young trainee spotter like me! And I loved to rush down those yellow steps when I heard engines spooling, wondering what I would see-Wardair Jumbo perhaps? Or a CP '10?? Happy days indeed...
Cheers
Gary

PS, here's a few I managed to quickly scan-complete with dust spots etc-better ones going on soon!


My all time favourite aircraft and colour shceme....






And just for you....

[skudupnorth]

This thread just gets better and better ! I wish we could still use those wonderful terraces.I remember the start of the end when they put a barrier at the end of one of the piers.
Wigan would be quite a jaunt,i was lucky to live in Timperley during my spotting days in the 70's and 80's so riding my bicycle was no problem.....actually i have just started cycling again to the airport and Woodford like i did 20+ years ago which feels really nostagic but now i'm further away near Tyldesley which makes the ride a 50 miler round trip !
Who used to have nicknames for all those classic's ? Lump = 747 Bong= 707 Pig = 737 Tube = DC 8 any more ????

[skytrain]

Fantastic pictures Gary. I love the one of the BOAC VC-10 and of course, the Laker DC-10 - superb pictures! Nice to see the Orion 737 too, often used to log that one along with G-BGTV. I can just see the Qantas 747-200 sat over by the old cargo apron. I remember it used to arrive fairly early on in the morning and then get towed across there until it was ready for departure in the early evening. I've got a picture of it somewhere so I must scan that in. The Air Europe 737 in Air Florida colours was good to see again, I remember it flying around for the summer season, must have been around '84 or '85 was it? Incredible to see all the people stood along Pier A, just shows how popular it was! Is that a Herald I can just see parked alongside Pier A to the left hand side of the photo?

Yes, I remember the glass fronted bit being the enclave of the diehard spotters too. Like you, I was a young rookie spotter at that time so was a bit shy about speaking to them in case I got a clip round the ear! I've just scanned a couple more in from the late 80's, so I'll post them tomorrow evening after I've sorted a few more out. I also found a brochure produced by Qantas in 1984 to plug their 747-200 service. It's a fascinating look back at long-haul flying 30 years ago, so if anyone in interested in seeing it just let me know and I will scan it in and post it on the board.

Skudupnorth - Yeah the journey from Wigan to ringway was a bit of a trek before I was old enough to drive, but well worth it! Timperley would have been much handier! I know Tyldesley fairly well, I lived just the road from you in Boothstown for a while - great place for spotting. Traffic on approach into MAN used to fly directly overhead so I could read off the reggies from our garden. We had the added bonus of all the Barton traffic too - the fields at the back of our house were often used for PFL's which was quite, erm, interesting at times!

[skudupnorth]

Hi Skytrain,must dig my snaps out of Lakers 10's taking off while i was down at the brickworks.I remember the goldfish bowl seemed to be an enclave of the elite so i too stayed away ! Do you remember the two 707's parked on the South side when he went bump ? i think some of my old shots show them in the background,sad to see those colourful aircraft go.
The ride from Tyldesley is not too bad if you go down through Lyme/Ashley and on to the tunnels or the viewing park (it's free now if you ride in ! ) pity we don't have the shapes of the 70's and 80's to look forward to !

[andyxh558]

Skud those pictures sent me way back to those weekends either freezing or sweltering on the Terraces, just to see the same rubbish every time, funny though if we had half of those now it would be a different story. i flew on the Laker Dc10 when the Air europe 737 went tech, it parked next to the Wardair 747 and it looked like it dwarfed it. The only person to be exited to be flying on a 10 was me! We must have been there at the same time as me and my mate.

Thanks also for posting a photo of BBAI as i flew on that to Tenerife in 1984 so i have fond memories of that as it took me to orlando in 1991 albeit in caledonian colours. I remember seeing a Vc10 as late as 1981.Can you remember the Bcal 1-11 that lost a wheel on take off?

Do you have any pics of the lightnings that came for barton and did a display at the airport, i think 1984?

I think i was there when you took that pic of the 707 and vc10 with the dc10 in the background.

My earliest recollection was in 1976 when i was 4 and looking over pier A and seeing a vulcan. We left after an hour and went round the back on moss road and seeing another vulcan landing. i also remember the bea britishairways trident too.

[skudupnorth]

Hands up who used to get fed up with all this stuff we wish was still around ?? I did when there was a pier full of BA Tridents.1-11's and Britannia pigs..oh how i wish they were with us now !

[andyxh558]

yes i was one of them! when the terraces shut i used to go to level 9 on the car park and stand next to the heater just to keep warm in the vain hope something interesting flew in, which on a winters day was nigh on impossible!! Please keep the pictures going as there in front of me a misspent youth.

Have you got any pictures of the blue Britannia pig from 1982 by any chance?

[skytrain]

Skud - yes I remember the Laker 707's parked on the south side when they went bust. There was also an A300 and a couple of BAC 1-11's parked up by the freight area too if I remember correctly. Do you remember the Okada Air Bac 1-11 that sat there for about a year, it must have been around the mid 80's? Have to admit, like most other people, I took BA BAC 1-11's and Tridents for granted at the time but I'd love to see one flying again now! I miss all those different aircraf from that era, I even got nostalgic about seeing a SD360 last year!

Andyxh558 - Glad you liked the pic of TriStar BBAI, I'll see if I have a pic of one in the BCal colours. Unfortunately I'm fairly sure I don't have one of the Blue Britannia pig though. Those heating vents on the roof were a life-saver on cold days eh?!

I found a couple of pictures the infamous Orion Air 747 N751PA which was nicknamed the 'Flying Pig' by the media after several tech problems. Anyone remember it? It caused a bit of 'customer dissatisfaction' in the departure lounge from what I recall of the media reports!