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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1455.PDF
6 November 1953 SCANDINAVIA by EAGLE THE conventional direction of ninth-century Viking traffic between Scandinavia and Britain was reversed on Wednesday of last week. The 20th-century Viking, of Vickers-Armstrongs lineage, was G-AJBO, John Benbow, and the occasion was the inaugural flight of Eagle Aviation's second scheduled service, which runs from London to Aalborg and Gothenburg. At present this twice-weekly service is the only direct air link between these cities; early next year, an extension of the route to Helsinki is intended. At Blackbushe, it was a rainy grey morning as passengers boarded the aircraft for the inaugural flight. They included Mr. Harold Bamberg, Eagle's young and enterprising managing director, and Mrs. Bamberg, while our crew comprised Captains H. Watkins and T. Scott, R/Off B. Spark, Mr. D. Peacock (chief engineer) and Stewardess Marie-Jose Greenslade. After take-off the rainwashed browns, yellows and greens of an English autumn soon disappeared below into a vague grey mist as the aircraft climbed. A little later, the patchwork of East Anglia could be seen, before we crossed the coast at 9,000 ft. above Cromer, heading for Aalborg. Breakfast and lunch were served during the London-Aalborg leg, before the Viking descended over the fiat green countryside of Denmark. White farm buildings stood out clearly from the low mist as we made our approach over an expanse of water, landing at Aalborg airfield almost exactly diree hours after taking off. Danish Air Force Meteors were the only other occupants. Mr. Bamberg was greeted by the mayor of Aalborg, Herr Marius Andersen, and handed to him a message from the Lord Mayor of London. After an informal reception organized by Eagle's Danish representatives (Air Carriers Agency), John Benbow took off for Gothenburg, now carrying in addition to the passengers from London a contingent from Aalborg compris ing the mayor and civic officials, a host of fair-haired young journalists, and a small botde of Aalborg Aquavit for each person on the aircraft. The short crossing to Gothenburg was soon over; 25 minutes after take-off the rocky, island-studded west coast of Sweden was crossed, and the typical clean-looking maroon wooden build ings of rural Scandinavia were seen. Five minutes later, we were landing at Torslanda, where, for the first time on our journey, the sun was shining. Again a message from the Lord Mayor was presented; it referred to the close ties between London and "Little London" (as Gothenburg is sometimes described). That evening, a memorable dinner was held in the Henriks- berg restaurant and on the following day, a typically Swedish luncheon was given by Blidberg, Metcalfe and Co. (Eagle's Swedish agents) at the Royal Bachelors' Club. On the Thursday evening, the return flight was made— uneventfully except for a delay at the end of the runway at Aalborg, while a raincoat was rushed across to die aircraft from die terminal building. From 10,000 ft over the Norm Sea, the pinpricks of the fishing-fleet lights could be seen, later giving way to the spidery knotted threads and the bizarre coloured patterns of die English night countryside viewed from the air. Flying time on die homeward trip had amounted to 3 hr 42 min as we landed at Blackbushe—a Blackbushe crowded wiui fog- diverted Elizabedian passengers from Paris. To improve our regrettably sketchy knowledge of Aalborg (of London and "Little London" we had heard before), we finally consulted the town's descriptive leaflet dioughtfully pro vided by Geoffrey Pitt, Eagle's Commercial Manager. In it we read "in North Jutland, people do not live on love and well water, diough neidier of these is despised, of course . . . Aalborg folk do not sit at home in die evenings, as people are said to do in odier large Danish towns; they go out for evenings to dance and eat and enjoy life . . ." The writer would not be at all surprised if one of diem is at diis moment going out for the evening to look for his raincoat, missing from die airport since October 29di—and die chances are that he won't find it down any well. K.T.O. "Flight" photographs Over Torslanda's terminal building fly the Swedish flag and the Union Jack, while facing Eagle's Viking is a Scandia belonging to the airport's wain operator, S.A.S. At Aalborg Mr. Harold Bamberg (Eagle managing director) is seen in the group between the stewardess and Mrs. Bamberg, on whose left is the mayor of the town. Our final picture—like cabin- baggage tags—may be said to be for identification purposes only.
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