Lots and
lots of Club News as befits our 10th Anniversary year. So much so
that the editorial and Club News sections take over our first few pages.
We also have that rare event, a military postcard article with Peter White on the artist-drawn cards published by Salmon. Many are
very common but the Barracuda is the exception.
Elsewhere,
airports feature in both the main article and Worth a Second Glance, and a rare
707 card is featured by Leonardo Pinzauti.
On the
subject of 707’s we welcome as a member Bill
Demarest from Miami, producer of
707 and 747SP postcard catalogues which were one model for our own. These are
available from Bill (Mrmiami@aol.com or 11491 NW 51st Terrace Miami FL
33178-3556 USA) at a special club worldwide post- inclusive price of $20 for the
two. Two of the rarer entries appear here.
Aeropa
(previously S.A Venezia) operated two 707’s between 1972 and 1975, German
Calair had 5 ex-Eastern 720’s but only operated three.
Bill is
the current President of the WAHS airline collectors society, publisher of
Captains Log and organizer of the annual Airlines International, the largest US
airline collectibles fair – this year in Houston Jun 18-23. The WAHS is in progress of relaunch following the retirement
on health grounds of founder, Paul Collins. Its
website is www.WAHSOnline.com
and the Houston show has one at www.ai2002houston.com.
Staying
with Web matters, our www.aviapc.com was launched on May 3rd and
announced by E-mail to all members who have given E-addresses. This proved to be
a quality check on these and we seem to have obsolete or incorrectly spelt
addresses for Lex Selby ,David Joy and Jack
Middlestaedt , so could these members care to E-mail us to give the correct
version. The editorial E-address has
changed to tie-in with the website and is as on the cover. Quality check on the website itself was assisted by Gordon
Tutt and all concerned are well
pleased with what builder, Christian
Gerbich has achieved in very short time.
For those who did not get the E-announcement, or do not have personal
computer access, then, if you do get a chance to log-on you will need a password
to enter the “Members-only” area –this is “year10”.
The password has given us the only reported problems with the site to
date and hopefully these have now been fixed – it may be to do with exactly
how a particular PC has been set up. This
newsletter will be published simultaneously on the Website – the
main difference is that all cards are in their actual colours and not
distorted by print quality – although maybe by scan quality.
The wording of articles may not be exactly the same as sometimes the
print version has to be cut back to fit into space, and if authors provide a
selection of images, then we may use them all on the website, when only a
selection can appear in print. We need to take stock, after the June update, and see how the site
is to be developed. One option which
seems attractive is to have a standard worldwide membership rate for overseas
members who forgo the printed newsletter with its added mail costs and use the
download feature only.
One
experiment in the June website release is the Quiz item.
There will be a prizes for the first all correct answer from a member and
from a non-member. The quiz will not run in the print version as mail times
differ widely – OK, there are time zone issues with the net but we are not
talking lottery money here.
By
now there is a danger that all print-only members are feeling like an oppressed
minority, or majority as the case may be. We
cannot tell at time of writing how print quality
will turn out, bit, if it is unsatisfactory this will be our next priority. Having decided to do the Heathrow catalogue which will need good
quality black and white card reproduction this is an opportunity to look around.
There
will be at least one opportunity for members to gather in this anniversary year
as the Club has again taken a table at Carl McQuaides
Birmingham show on September 7th at the Motor Cycle Museum and the
Special Anniversary event at Heathrow in December is still a possibility but
unconfirmed.
Over
the past 10 years, the Newsletter has featured many articles by founder, Phil Munson, based
on his collection of Transatlantic pioneer flights on postcards.
All this material and much, much more has been brought together in a book
by Phil, “Conquest of the Atlantic” illustrated almost entirely from his
collection, and published by Stenlake Publishing, 54-58 Mill Squate, Catrine,
Ayrshire KA5 6RD, ISBN 1 84033 180 1 and available from them post free for £16.95.
To whet the appetite, some of the entries are illustrated
U.S
Navy Curtiss Flying Boat NC-4
at Lisbon. This is owned by the The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
US
Army Air Corps Douglas World Cruiser. “New Orleans” is at Karachi. This was
one of the two that completed the circuit and is now owned by the USAF Museum.
As
distinct from more modern subjects, the period of the 1920s and 1930’s is
attractive to publishers as any cards will be out of copywrite. There was an
idea to upgrade our Heathrow project to a book but copywrite seemed to be a
problem. However this has not deterred
the publishers of “A Postcard from the 50s” by member Gillian
Jackson, £7.95 + mail from
reflections of a Bygone Age, 15 Debdale Lane. Nottingham NG12 5HT.
To complete the set of authors, Ray
Billings, has an article in the May Picture Postcard Monthly, on Charles Lindbergh.
On
the Heathrow project, contributions have been received and are ongoing from Mike
Charlton, Ken Thom, Roger Syratt,
Peter Marson
and
Carl McQuaide.
Mike
Charlton also
came up with the most information about the midget 1950’s Heathrow roof
commentator, Stan Little, which is worth broadcasting and appears in What do you
Know From the
number of cards revealed it is clear that, as expected, the “glory days”
were 1949 –59, with subsequent years much less represented, and the Terminal 4
years hardly represented at all. For that reason there may be some boundary stretching on what constitutes a Heathrow card. For
example, whereas many of the current Czech collector cards feature BA aircraft
shot at LHR, the view could often be anywhere – but a few have T4 and the old
BOAC Comet/Hunting/Fields site as major background AND were shot
from what
little remains of the roof terrace.
So, 10th anniversary year looks like being a busy one with the website, Heathrow catalogue and Phils book already active or in progress.
Doug
Bastin
June 2002