BBC4 Air Travel Season

Suprised no one has started a thread on this yet.

Have seen a couple of interesting programmes already on BBC4 including 'The secret life of the airport' and a catch-up documentary on Suckling Airways (now scotairways).

The prog on Suckling was a marvel. 20 years ago they had a couple of ladies making up the in-flight meals in their home kitchen and packed them up in the plastic trays on the dining room table and they paid the fish man by cheque and wroie it our as they made him a cuppa.

The programmes have been shown as a block on Mondays but are repeated at other times in the week.

Anyone else seen any of these?

I saw 'The Secret Life of the Airport' and enjoyed it. Some of the stuff about the use of signs was particularly interesting.

Paul

[Neil]

We watched the Secret life of the Airport on Monday. I thought it was an interesting programme, but felt that they rushed it, especially the development from the mid 50's to present day and I was hoping for more on modern day airports, especially T5.

Next weeks episode, doesn't sound as appealing but will no doubt watch it.

[Darren Wheeler]

Looks like one for the iPlayer.

I think I taped this. I love the history of civil aviation - especially things like the fact that Britain's main airport was once Croydon (do a Google search and you can see the remains of a runway in what is now a public park), and how Heathrow was named after Heath Row, a tiny hamlet. And stuff.

Thought it was an interesting programme.[y]

[buns]

Caught the preceeding programme on how Travel Programmes have developed over the years. The first one concentrated on the early days when 'Holiday' came into being and showed how our travel tastes have changed over the years. For someone as old as me[:I] it took me back when they showed 'Holiday 70' in colour[:0]

Whilst I cannot say I visited Heathrow when it was just tents, I can own up to travelling from the original terminal (Terminal 2) back in 1960 and have pictures of me standing outside Gatwick in 1959. In those days, we all dressed up to travel[:D][:D]

Have put the Sky+ on to the case to collect all of them for the time being.

buns

quote:Originally posted by tontybear
Suprised no one has started a thread on this yet.

Have seen a couple of interesting programmes already on BBC4 including 'The secret life of the airport' and a catch-up documentary on Suckling Airways (now scotairways).


Did it say why they stopped flying from Ipswich?

Ipswich had a grass airfield, which was shared between the local flying club and suckling...

In the winter, as the suckling planes were heavier and turboprops, it used to carve up the grass a little. The private flying club campaigned to get them booted out of ipswich airfield, booting out the only profitable entity here.... The airfield closed soon afterwards. Tis now a housing estate, although the ATC tower remains

Hi woggle

Not in the programme. I don't even remember them mentioning Ipswich, it was all Cambridge.

The documentary about Suckling Airways was lovely - I always remember the businessman who looked so uncomfortable when presented with an award for 100 flights with them or something.

It seems strange - I have never flown with them, or ScotAirways but I felt really sad when I learned that Roy Suckling had died.

For those without new fangled copying devices both programmes are repeated tonight (Thursday 18th) from 22:00 on BBC4.

Paul

[honey lamb]

quote:Originally posted by pjh
For those without new fangled copying devices both programmes are repeated tonight (Thursday 18th) from 22:00 on BBC4.

Paul

Thanks for that Paul. Although I do have Sky+, BBC4 is an add-on channel so without all the bells and whistles of the mainstream ones

The Secret life of the Airport about to start on BBC4 now. [:)]

They seem to have substituted 'The High Life' for the Suckling Airways doc.

quote:Originally posted by pjh
They seem to have substituted 'The High Life' for the Suckling Airways doc.


[Scottish voice]
Ooooh dearie me
[/Scottish voice]

[:p]

Sorry couldn't resist - I love The High Life!

My Radio Times said the High Life @ 23.00

The Suckling Airways prog is on at 01:10 as '40 minutes on' - the original documentary with an update afterwards.

Now the important question is who is the v-flyer equvalent of Shona?

quote:Originally posted by Tinkerbelle
quote:Originally posted by pjh
They seem to have substituted 'The High Life' for the Suckling Airways doc.


[Scottish voice]
Ooooh dearie me
[/Scottish voice]

[:p]

Sorry couldn't resist - I love The High Life!


Alan Cumming spotted in the Caley in Edinburgh this evening...

For my taste I thought tonight's programme a little lightweight and impressionistic, but perhaps the attempt to cover the ground for the latter made the former inevitable.

Paul