impdb.org

IGCD

[ Login ]

☰

Advertising

Last completed movie pages

Le ore nude; 옥수역 귀신; Blood Star; Besökarna; Envy; 曼波女郎; An Unexpected Valentine; Swing Vote; 空中小姐; Dead Zone; Beach Patrol; Police Story: Cop Killer; Reetur; Best, Michael; Takki ja liivit pois!; (more...)

1964 Bedford CAL BEA 'Aircraft Dispatcher' control vehicle Mk3

1964 Bedford CAL Mk3 in London Airport - Heathrow 1940s to 1970s, Documentary, 2019

Class: Cars, Van / MPV — Model origin:

1964 Bedford CAL BEA 'Aircraft Dispatcher' control vehicle Mk3

Background vehicle

Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
sixcyl ◊ 2020-05-16 23:04	Any idea about this conversion?
sixcyl ◊ 2020-05-16 23:25	-- Last edit: 2020-05-16 23:25:22
dsl ◊ 2020-05-17 01:55	sixcyl wrote Any idea about this conversion? Can't work out why it's been made this way and what/who it might carry. A high-roof van means tall things, but why the windows in the upper bit?? Suggests people as things/freight/equipment don't need windows. A normal CA would be tall enough for wheelchair users, so are the people standing up? Is it a maintenance or flight crew minibus where they need to take perhaps 15-20 people out to the plane?? Or, in a different direction something for transporting uncaged but tall animals (although I'm not sure why they'd move uncaged animals)??
sixcyl ◊ 2020-05-17 09:32	Very mysterious Indeed!
Sunbar ◊ 2020-05-17 12:04	Commer FC and Austin J2 versions for BOAC were also made. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tcd481j/32804164337/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/tcd481j/47489095472/ https://ccmv.aecsouthall.co.uk/p838024238/hd9f1a1a#h1d3cc295 Nothing found yet to say their actual use but there appears to be a full length shelf on the driver's side. My own preference is a standing-room crew transport allowing more room than for seated persons.
jcb ◊ 2020-05-17 12:11	Might be a desk on one side. Some sort of mobile control room or office for paperwork ? -- Last edit: 2020-05-17 12:11:57
Sunbar ◊ 2020-05-17 14:44	The BOAC Commer minibus (and perhaps the Austin) has a passenger/crew seat facing forward but set-back from the normal passenger seat position. The Commer has a single full height (into the roof space) rear entry door as part of the conversion. So takes a crew of two and easy rear access is important. So some sort of paperwork processing (boarding cards/tickets or freight/luggage check) is possible. We may never know!
Sunbar ◊ 2020-05-18 17:01	Found as a BEA 'Aircraft Dispatcher' so dsl's mobile control / office was on target I think.
Sunbar ◊ 2020-05-18 19:03	Also know as a Traffic Dispatcher, which came first ? Not a problem to rename them all since all BEA vehicles were fully re-painted annually on site at Heathrow when they were also serviced and reconditioned. "All aircraft movements every time they land are controlled by a traffic dispatcher."
sixcyl ◊ 2020-05-18 20:20	Good work 'Messieurs' !
dsl ◊ 2020-05-18 20:23	Slightly sad that the idea of something for transporting tall animals has fallen away - I had a brief image in my mind of loading it with baby giraffes .... and then chaos when they tried to put them on the plane and they wouldn't fit.
jcb ◊ 2020-05-19 10:10	Good info find Sunbar , Commercial Motor Archive ? Vehicles repainted every year ! after doing a few hundred miles trundling round an airport , standards were high back then ! BTW I suggested mobile office / control room but shame it wasn't giraffes !
Sunbar ◊ 2020-05-19 12:03	Yes CM archive about BEA vehicle fleet in the 1960s http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/4th-august-1967/54/mixed-fleet-problems Vehicles, more than 1,000 transport units of 100 different types based in the London area; they had low mileages but a hard life being in almost constant use and the operating conditions resulting in numerous minor bumps and minor accidents. Many unscheduled mechanical repairs are by complete engine or transmission replacement rather than repairing components in situ because of the high vehicle usage. "At the annual dock, BEA vehicles are brought back to 100 per cent condition. This includes a complete repaint. A large area at the eastern end of the workshops, adjacent to the body and trim shops, is devoted to a paint preparation section, where up to seven vehicles can be accommodated. Two large paintshops are installed in the south-east corner and are designed to provide ideal working conditions and also to overcome the problem of kerosene fumes from aircraft." All credit therefore, JCB for your mobile office / control room observation. I guess pre-computers the organisation of all the aircraft turn-around procedures was a skilled job. Not much you can do if something is found to be missing at 30,000 ft.
dsl ◊ 2020-10-11 21:15	Sunbar wrote Austin J2 versions for BOAC were also made. .... https://www.flickr.com/photos/tcd481j/47489095472/ We now have an Austin (unless it's a Morris)
dsl ◊ 2022-07-24 14:37	Another based on (older) CA.

Add a comment

Advertising

Watch or buy this title - Powered by JustWatch

Advertising