The Mick Freer Archives (Updated more photos added 07/12/17)

[AlexC]

Those were the days!

Looks like you've adjusted the Lightning shot a bit, or am I talking rubbish which wouldn't be the first time?!

[bigcrow]

Cheers, nope done nothing to the Lightning since it was first uploaded...

[Elwood]

Just stunning and wouldn't be complete without a wet Yeovilton! Will email you.

[bigcrow]

Thanks for the comments guys. Dad always had a soft spot for the English Electric Canberra particularly if it was a trials aircraft, here are just a few I've found which I've recently scanned.

#46

WK163 Canberra B2 , RAE MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#47

WK163 Canberra B2 , RAE MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#48

WV787 Canberra B2 A&AEE, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#49

WT327 Canberra B(I)8 DRA, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#50

WH734 Canberra B(TT2) RAE, MOD(PE) Llanbedr by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#51

XH132 Canberra SC9 A&AEE, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#52

WJ992 Canbeera T4 DRA, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#53

WJ867 Canberra T4 ETPS, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

[RickIngham]

I just love them Canberras! Unbelievable collection.

[Mad Dan]

Lovely... No other word... Must look at my lot one of these days...

I've got 600, so it might take a while!!!

And wasn't WV787 peachy? A definite odd-ball if ever I saw one...

[bigcrow]

Thanks guys, yeah WV787 was a unique beast, even complete with 'Playboy' zap on the nose..

[Westy]

Yet another lot of class pics

[NAM Updater]

Thanks guys, yeah WV787 was a unique beast, even complete with 'Playboy' zap on the nose..

The Playboy zap is still there and WV787 is nicely tucked up in Hangar 2 here!

An amusing story about the aircraft happened during a school group visit that I was taking round the museum about four years ago, when a child's voice echoed around the hangar - "Mummy, look that aeroplane has got a rabbit on its nose like those books in your bedroom!"

Great pictures - but where did the spray bar go??

[st24]

Lovely stuff. So much variety back then even in just one aeroplane type! Outstanding days superbly caught as ever. '867 was a particularly rare bird..

[corsair F4U]

Wonderful set of images does take me back can't wait for some more

[Elwood]

Just superb Uncle Stu - thank you!

Elwood

[Harlequin67]

Lovely.

All fantastic shots of some truly historic aircraft, showing just how versatile the Canberra was.

[riatfuels]

Beautiful images Stuart .... I am so sorry I have been out of the loop for ages, I have only just learned of Mike's passing and I am so so sorry, he was an amazing man, used to love catching up with him at various airshows and when he worked at RIAT, a truly lovely man and friend, once again I am so sorry!

[BatmanIX]

Fantastic stuff Stu!

Paul

[bigcrow]

Firstly a Happy New Year to you all.. Dad always had a close affinity to test & trials aircraft due to him living near to RRE Pershore, here is just a small selection of his shots of the types & colour schemes that were to been seen during the seventies & eighties. It's very sad that now the only base left is Boscombe Down & QinetiQ's fleet of fast jets is down to a few Alpha Jets & Hawks...

#54

XV814 Comet C4 Royal Aircraft Establishment, MOD (PE) Bedford. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#55

XV814 Comet C4 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#56

XS606 Andover C1 ETPS, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#57

XN817 Argosy C1 A&AEE, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#58

XX105 BAC-111 RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#59

XW987 Buccaneer S2B A&AEE, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#60

XV344 Buccaneer S2C Defence Research Agency, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#61

XW988 Buccaneer S2B A&AEE, MoD(PE) Boscombe Down. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#62

XW930 HS-125 RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#63

XE601 Hunter FGA9 A&AEE, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#64

XL563 Hunter T7 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#65

ZA947 Dakota 3 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#66

KF314 Harvard TIIB ETPS, MOD(PE) Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#67

XE531 Hunter T12 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#68

WF379 Varsity T1 RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#69

WL679 Varsity T1 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#70

WL679 Varsity T1 RAE, MOD(PE) Farnborough by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#71

XT575 Viscount RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#72

XT575 Viscount RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#73

XT661 Viscount RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#74

XT661 Viscount RAE, MOD(PE) Bedford by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#75

XT597 Phantom FG.1 A&AEE, MOD Boscombe Down by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

[sdad]

I should love to see some places and dates in those captions!

[Tuckat]

Another great selection, thank you very much for the time taken to post, much appreciated

[Talldan76]

Great selection there... Really like the green & white Hunter scheme

Dan

[AlexC]

Great shots. I assume that they are all kodachromes?

Don't recall ever seeing Comets with those extra large dorsal fins, or perhaps better referred to as fin fillets?

[Northdownaeros]

I think the fin fillet on XV814 was added when the large under fuselage trials pod was installed. I bagged a 5 hour passenger ride in '814 in May 1983 from RAE Farnborough and the fin fillet & front pod had been removed by then.

[The Flying Barrel]

Great post, love the images. The 'Yellow Peril' Buccaneer brings back memories of impromptu displays above its Brough birthplace, one other thing that struck me is the Argosy pic which looks like and was a 60's aircraft but there is a Chinook in the background which I regard as fairly modern! Tend to forget just how old the design is.

[AlexC]

I think the fin fillet on XV814 was added when the large under fuselage trials pod was installed. I bagged a 5 hour passenger ride in '814 in May 1983 from RAE Farnborough and the fin fillet & front pod had been removed by then.

Thanks for that.

[Stagger2]

Another superb collection of immaculate images. The Mick Freer Heritage Collection looms ever closer?
Regarding the Argosy shown in Shot 57, I'm fairly sure that's taken at Middle Wallop IAS .... & 1984?? This show incorporated the International Heli-meet & drew spectacular rotary participation. IIRC there were several large fixed-wing a/c on the grass airfield that year including RAE Andover, RAF Hercules & a CAF CC-132 (Dash 7). The Harrier take-off from a grass-strip & subsequent hover demo' ensured a tonne of grass filling my Cortina through the sun-roof. Doh!

Great post, love the images. The 'Yellow Peril' Buccaneer brings back memories of impromptu displays above its Brough birthplace, one other thing that struck me is the Argosy pic which looks like and was a 60's aircraft but there is a Chinook in the background which I regard as fairly modern! Tend to forget just how old the design is.

Yep! time flies by. As I'm sure you know, the Chinook entered RAF service in late 1980 with 18 Sqn first to form in mid 1981. It's entirely possible an RAF example was on the field (perhaps the scribes can confirm?) But I can tell you there were 2 US. Army & 1 Italian Army CH-47c in attendance.
With regard to the Comet 'fin fillets' these were installed initially to counter the loss off directional stability from the addition of various forward ventral trials panniers. Subsequently, when the Nimrod tailfin & upper ECM fairing was added it gave rise to both Comet airframes being nicknamed "Comrod" by many in & out of RAE. Even when the AEW 3 nose was grafted onto XW626 it remained controversial, but both a/c were amalgamations of Comet & Nimrod, so that would seem fair enough?

[NickB]

Wow - just wow again!

Love the Argosy picture - I'm 99% certain that is at Middle Wallop 'cos I used to work there! Looks like it is taxi-ing in front of the tower at the airshow there in 1984. Unfortunately I wasn't there and this particular aircraft escaped me and of course was written off shortly after this picture was taken. I know my cousin Mark S was at the show and saw it - IIRC he inadvertently cut the nose 'nipple' off his picture of it - I'm sure Mark will be along later to defend his position!!

Fast forward a few years and a lodger of mine knew I liked aircraft - turned out his wife's father was a Flt Eng on XN817 at the time of it's demise - small world!