About 'The Spook'
Who, What, Where, When and WHY????
Index
Biographical Information (My History)
Well, where do I start..
I was born quite a few years ago and am currently the wrong side of 'Fourtysomething!' I have lived in Essex (STN, North Weald, Wethersfield), Hertfordshire (Panshanger, Hatfield), The Netherlands (AMS, Valkenburg, Soesterburg, Rotterdam) and currently reside in North Hampshire (Blackbushe, Farnborough, Odiham, Lasham, Popham)
Spotting History
It all started when my Mum and Dad took me to a North Weald airshow in round about 1966/67. I hate to admit this but I can't remember too much, apart from the Red Arrows (in Gnats - Aaaahhhh) and the good old English Electric (none of the BAC rubbish) Lightning! From then, I was hooked, with occasional visits to STN (if you asked nicely, they even let you round the hangers then) followed by annual (or even sooner) visits to Duxford and smaller airshows. My first large show was in 1979 - The IAT at Greenham Common. Noticable high points were the Alcock and Brown F-4, my first real experience of US Navy aircraft and the quantity of aircraft. Noticable low point - the rain! Shows came thick and relatively fast from then on, with the annual visit to Mildenhall (I have only missed one since 1981; that was due to the birth of my son in 1991), Duxford for the annual BofB show, followed for the last 5 or 6 years by a change to the warbirds (I must be getting old!), Yeovilton for the pre-show Photo-calls and, of course, the IAT at it's various locations. I have visited other shows, of course, during the last 30 years!
Work has helped my spotting activities (with one or two exceptions). London was good for the Gulf War flypast - the aircraft just seemed to go on forever! Holland was great, as I was working at Schiphol (Fokker Space and Systems) and knew some of the aircraft guys, so visiting the production lines, flight preparation sheds etc was an almost daily occurrence (if my work mates couldn't find me, I was 'probably with the aircraft' to quote one!). After Holland…..Farnborough! Fantastic for the airshows; access to the flight preparation areas, access to the flight lines… what could be better? Well, my current job is a spotters dream. Working with aircraft computer systems; riding jump whenever possible (50+ in the last year!) and enjoying it thoroughly, visiting airfields over the UK, US and even Mexico. Who wouldn't!!
I guess that that is all for now, but as more happens, who knows what to expect?
Favourite Aircraft
F-4
Phantom II
A-12/YF-12/SR-71A
Blackbird
A-36/P-51
Mustang
'V'
Bombers
B-17
Other Military Interests
World
War I
World
War II
World
War II Tanks (Watch this space for images!)
Airfields
and Airfield Architecture
Wrecks
and Relics
Other (Sad!) Interests
The
Goons
The
Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I'm
Sorry, I'll Read That Again
Dad's
Army
I'm
Sorry I Haven't A Clue
M*A*S*H
Goodnight
Sweetheart
Star
Trek (All variations!)
U.F.O's,
Aliens and The X-Files
Buffy,
The Vampire Slayer
Conspiracy
Theories
Page last updated: 19/05/99
by Spook