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Not quite right Malc. The crashed Spitfire was being rebuilt but the quality of the work was not acceptable and RR decided not to spend anymore money on it. It is stored at East Midlands Airport. Before this decision was taken a Spitfire was purchased from the Battle of Britain Flight, given a total overhaul and is the one seen flying around this area and at air displays. It is kept at EMA.  

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My father was in the Auxiliary Air Force 504 Sqdn in the 30s which I think was based at Hucknall, since it was the county of Nottingham squadron. He did weekend training as an airframe rigger. They ha

It certainly does not seem it but it is now 42 years since the last Whitsun air display at Hucknall. The highlight of that show was the U S Navy's Blue Angels formation aerobatic team with their Phant

As you asked so nicely, and as I remembered that I do still have a Photobucket account...

  • 10 months later...

My father was in the Auxiliary Air Force 504 Sqdn in the 30s which I think was based at Hucknall, since it was the county of Nottingham squadron. He did weekend training as an airframe rigger. They had a fortnights training at Hawkinge every year. They flew mostly Hawker Horsleys think, from the air to air photos I have from his time in the AAF. The riggers often had to fly as ballast when the official rear seat observers were busy playing cricket etc. When the fortnight was up he would sometimes cadge a lift in an Airplane coming north. He left in the late 30s but the government caught up with him in 1943 when he was conscripted and stationed at Little Rissington/Windrush with No8 maintenance and storage unit. He was 35 when conscripted and quickly got his  sergeant stripes. In his first week there a lanc was in for Mtce and the senior ac gave him a box of 96 spark plugs and told him to clean and adjust. Ha, what a task. Riss I think was also a conversion training unit and my father relates some tragic stories through lack of experience and the rush of training. He often volunteered to stay up into the night as official guard over the wreckage around the airfield and its environs. 504 was re-equipped with spitfires and sent to the southern airfields in 1940 finishing the war on Meteors. His advice to riggers on merlins, don't drop a plug down the V. I think all this is roughly accurate, put me right if it ain't. Sorry to go off subject but when I start rambling the thought train goes anywhere. Father passed away in 1992 after retiring as SEO in the civil service.

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Welcome willow wilson............hope you stay around........we sometimes stray from Nottingham subjects though............lol.

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On 08/09/2017 at 7:21 PM, benjamin1945 said:

Welcome willow wilson............hope you stay around........we sometimes stray from Nottingham subjects though............lol.

 

Surely not!!  ;)

 

Anyway.. even if we do.. we are never less than fascinating... :)

 

Welcome Willow.

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Quote: "Known to everyone who knew him as Ronnie Harker, he was a test and liaison pilot at Rolls-Royce Hucknall. "

Good post Chulla, interesting autobiography here. Probably out of print now:

IMG_20171208_145242_zpsjs6pxmxt.jpg?w=48

 

C Flight 504 County of Nottingham Squadron, 1933. Sqn Ldr Harker. Also my father seated far left of picture:

IMG_20171208_145430_zpsjdi4vi6y.jpg?w=48

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I lived in Nuthall while attending cowsheds school mid 50s there was a plane flying over then there was an explosion and the plane was on fire and assumed it crashed ,the test pilot flying the plane was a man named Parrish i think he is buried in Nuthall cemetery does a 

 

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Hi,has anybody have any info as to where I can get a programme or any printed info for that last hucknall Airshow,1973,i'm 55 now,I was there,along with all family!seem to remember spending most of the Airshow with my hands over my ears!,can anybody help,I have looked on eBay several times,but no luck as yet!

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Did anyone work at Rolls royce factory in Hucknall ? From bulwell hall golf course you could them testing the engine of a DC10 might be wrong on that , it's only what i was told in the 1970,s 

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2 hours ago, David sheridan said:

Did anyone work at Rolls royce factory in Hucknall ? From bulwell hall golf course you could them testing the engine of a DC10 might be wrong on that , it's only what i was told in the 1970,s 

Grew up on Bestwood estate about 4 miles away...and remember hearing the Testing'' in the 50s and 60s........we used to sit on Bulwell common back then to watch the Air displays...

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When did they stop testing engines? When we lived up Sellars Wood Road up till 1987, we could hear them. Heaven knows what it was like for the locals.

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I remember hearing the engine tests in Arnold when i was a lad.

Speaking of Royce's I did a job in the late 80s for an old fellow in Derby who had been an engineer there. As we chatted he told me that he had been part of the RR team who had worked with R.J Mitchell, the legendary designer of the Spitfire which was fitted with the RR Merlin, at Supermarine. He also said that at the outbreak of the war the RAF had very few technicians trained to service the Merlin so they would strip the engine out of the airframe on the airfield, put it on a train and send it up to Royce's in Derby to be serviced, sometimes they were still warm when they arrived. Absolutely fascinating stuff and I felt quite privileged to be in his company. The job took three times longer than it should have!!

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