The isolated scene at Benbecula Airport in the Western Isles of Scotland in the autumn of 1984

This is probably as busy as it gets at Benbecula Airport :)
In 1984, I ventured as far away as I could from the urban chaos of London for a breath of fresh air. Back to my ancestral homeland of Scotland, with a week long visit to the isles of South Uist, North Uist, and sandwiched in between Benbecula. Of course, being an inveterate aircraft enthusiast, I had to check out the local airport!

In this view we have a visiting RAF Bae-146 ZD695 which was something of a new aircraft type at the time, now probably very retro. Also in view is what I was really after seeing - one of the pair of British Airways - never to be seen at Heathrow - HS-748s G-BCOE, and a view of the mountains in the far distance.

I think I managed to capture the tranquil atmosphere - it couldn't have been more different from my home environment of London Heathrow :)

Benbecula Airport is located on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, off the West Coast of Scotland. It is a small rural airport owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. The airport provides scheduled services to the Scottish mainland and other Hebridean islands. In so doing it provides vital transport connections for the islands of Benbecula, North Uist and South Uist, which are interlinked by causeway but are over two hours from the mainland by sea. The airport is also used by emergency air ambulance flights and by flights supporting the nearby missile test range. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benbecula_Airport

ZD695 c/n E1004 was a very early build (the 4th off the line) Bae 146 'Whisperjet'. The aircraft had a varied life:
Built in 1982 and given the identity G-OBAF for British Air Ferries (ntu), then G-BIAG (also ntu), went to the RAF RAF 241 OCU as one of a pair as ZD695, but was only with them for about 18 months and then back to British Aerospace in 1985. To Dan Air as G-BRJS in 1987, then to Manx Airlines as G-OJET who flew the aircraft for the next 10 years, with a short lease to Merpati Nusantara as PK-MTA at the end of 1996. Sold to Debonair (a great name for an airline!) as G-DEBJ in 1998, but leased immediately to Australian outfit National Jet Systems as VH-NJA. Flew in Australia for another 10 years, before final withdrawal in 2009 - broken up at Adelaide.

G-BCOE 'Glen Livet' c/n 1736 HS-748-2A was one of a pair delivered new to British Airways in 1975. After flying for BA for nearly 20 years, the aircraft had a varied later life as VH-IMI, ZS-DBM, 9G-MKV, and 5Y-HVS. The aircraft was only withdrawn in 2012 as ZS-DBM and scrapped.

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith TTL camera and standard lens. From an original slide, scanned and unrestored.

You can see a random selection of my aviation photos here: flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Balivanich (show map)

Taken on: September 1, 1984

Tags:

ZD695

BAe146

G-BCOE

HS748

British Airways

Benbecula

Western Isles

Outer Hebrides

Scotland

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Sets appears in: • My Personal Favourites • Aviation Scene 1984 more » • Scottish Airports • Military Transports, Tankers & Reconnaissance • Propliners • Hawker Siddeley HS 748 • BAe 146 • British Airways « less

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Camera: NORITSU KOKI QSS-30 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NORITSU KOKI QSS-30
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Photos 4.0
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