In early 1981 we regularly saw two Douglas DC3 Dakotas flying off in the morning over Blackpool, accompanied by a couple of other large triple-tailed aeroplanes - Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer 3s.
The Daks were owned by Air Atlantique who flew charter work and contract work out of Blackpool Airport. However this strange activity of four aeroplanes heading out together was for a much more exciting reason.
The two Dakotas had been repainted in the livery of the fictional Ruskin Air Services and were being used in a soon-to-be-aired TV series called Airline. It starred Roy Marsden as the ex World War Two pilot, desperate to continue flying at the end of the war. The two Twin Pioneer planes were acting as camera platforms for air-to-air filming.
The show was quite a success and two series were made, plus the main characters used in an advertisement several years later for an expanded capacity Manchester Airport. By 1982 when this shot was taken, the two Dakotas were back in Air Atlantique livery.
For a while this was not dissimilar to the TV livery, but this was about to be changed.
The leading aircraft here is already in the new livery which did away with the long stripe down the fuselage for a pure white with three diagonal splashes of colour near the front of the aeroplane which were echoed down the tailplane and rear fuselage.
On 6 June 1982 Blackpool held it's annual air show on the airport and it was possible in those less Health & Safety conscious days, to get up close to the aircraft on the tarmac - though a formidable piece of string kept visitors from running onto the runway itself... Short flights in one of the Dakotas were available on the day and there was no shortage of people wanting to take advantage of the chance. However they were £10 each and I was unemployed at the time and had, my diary reminds me, a princely 90 pence in my pocket...
I've always thought that the Dakota was one of the most beautiful of aeroplanes - if an aeroplane can be called 'beautiful'. This aeroplane left Air Atlantique in 1988 and since 2003 has been exhibited at the Aviodrome aviation museum in the Netherlands. G-APML, seen in an earlier photo above ended up being scrapped and the nose sent to Kuwait as dressing in a restaurant.
These were used for the isle of man newspaper contract that I was the liaison officer for.i was lucky to have flown over regularly on these great aircraft .
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine and myself found the wallet belonging to the owner of Air Atlantique and handed it in. Our reward for our honesty was a flight,a the airshow, in one of the Daks....alas, the flight never came off due to a mix up...
ReplyDeleteThat was a shame!
DeleteHi John.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the above info.
I'm sat here missing my father who passed away some 8 years ago. The DC-3 will be forever in my heart and in particular the Air Atlantique DC-3's that were at Blackpool Airport back in 1983, my father was obsessed by them. So much so that he wrote to Air Atlantique and asked them if it would be possible for us to have a close look at the DC-3's and take some pictures whilst on a family day out to Blackpool. We got an invite, and attended the airport for a tour one rainy morning. My Father took plenty of photos but the one out of them all I hold dear to my heart is a picture my Grandfather took of my Father and I (8 years old) looking at each other whilst sat at the controls of one of the DC-3's.
After the photos one of the DC-3's was due out on a job. The pilot took off, flew low over us and tipped his wing.
Good times and a memory with Father I will never ever forget.
All the best.
Ian.
A lovely memory Ian.
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