Family history seems to believe my grandfather ronald dudley scott was on board when it crashed & was an engineer,would be gratefull for any info or anyone who may remember him. Thanks mike Scott
Dimitri Pavlowitch, e-mail, 29.04.2012 20:34
Way ahead of it's time, but as mentioned by another reader, Bristol had a habit of designing new types using bits and pieces from earlier models. Absolutely beautiful aircraft.
Allen Barnett, e-mail, 03.03.2012 19:29
I only saw - and heard the Brabazon once and it was a sight that I will never ever forget. As a 16 year old student at Lawers College of Agriculture at Comrie in Perthshire, we were working in a potato field when this magnificent plane totally dominated the environmentsor several minutes. The air was still one moment and for the next few minutes nobody could take their eye off the Brabazon as the sound was like nothing I had ever heard and the sheer size was amazing. I have always had a great interest in aviation and still have. I feel very privileged to have witnessed the Brabazon flying directly overhead.
Gerry Edwards, e-mail, 18.01.2012 22:07
I watched many brabazon flights as a school boy but joined Bristol Aeroplane Co as an apprentice to become a Concorde Flight Test Engineer. I worked with people like Ken Fitzgerald and Malcome West. The aircraft that came down on the Severn was a Britannia w Bill Pegg at the controls. Interestingly the Boeing 777 is almost the same size as the Brabazon. It took 50 years to show that Bristols were ahead of their time
Charles Fraser, e-mail, 01.10.2011 17:27
Bill Graham - I wonder if you met my uncle - Laurie Atkinson - he was the flight engineer on the Brabazon and went on work on fast patrol boats powered by aero engines.
Ron, 26.05.2011 02:53
I was told that during fuselage pressure testing at Filton, a door blew out and landed quit far away. This accident resulted in all pressure tests being performed in water tanks as an industry standard.
Bill Graham, e-mail, 27.04.2011 00:17
The Brabazon did come down on the mud flats around the Severn. No one was hurt. It took a while to get it carted back to Filton for repairs. I remember the first flight, it was supposed to be taxi trails only but the test pilot, Bill Pegg, decided to take her up and do a circuit. All was fine on that first flight. How do I know? I was an apprentice at Bristol at the time and worked on the Brabazon, the Freighter, the Brigand, and some reconditioned Beaufighters circa 1946 to 1949. After WWII the aircraft industry was all up and down with frequent lay-offs. Looking back, Bristol could have done so much better if they had been a bit more forward thinking and not canabalized wings and other structures from earlier designs, because their engines were so much better than anything else at the time. Was still Fun!
Tom Chytil, e-mail, 04.12.2010 17:47
It was Bristol Britannia G-ALRX which came down on the Severn mud flats in 1954. Many on board but no injuries as it was a slide-on gear up forced landing due to engine fire.
Sgt.KAR98, 19.04.2010 01:00
This plane looks fantastic
victor leonard, e-mail, 02.01.2010 17:19
victor my dad can remember a brabazone coming down in the severn around 1939 ish.
I can recall working in a drawing office, as a Tracer, at The Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough,UK., on this aircraft...it seems like another world away now. Must have been around 1947.
Keith Johns, e-mail, 14.05.2008 19:50
living in Bristol, near Filton, as a young boy I would be woken by the testing of the Brabazons engines, & when it eventually took to the air the whole house would shake as it flew overhead afer take-off, & on approach to land, as far as I can recall, a village was decimated to extend the runway to enable the aircraft to get into the sky!
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