Here we have another picture from Robin Tan’s collection. He is seen here (in red) with some friends at the Ipoh Airport. In the background is the Jetfox 97, and on the extreme left is part of the airport’s control tower. As stated in the caption, Tony (white shirt, with shades) used to airdrop payrolls in the 60s (ref. to our previous blog post).
From the smiles on their faces, it must have been a great reunion 🙂
This was sent to us by Robin Tan. According to Robin, Mr Radcliffe (in white shorts) used to take him sailing when they were not gliding.
Yes! Gliding – as the Kinta Valley was a suitable place, since it was blessed with many hills. Even the climate gave the much needed thermal boost for gliding. Plus, the Ipoh Airport wasn’t so busy then. This was back in the late 50s and early 60s.
Sadly gliding activities in Ipoh slowly died off as the years went by. For those (like me) who have never had the experience, Robin describes it as “…peaceful, serene and quiet way of flying without vibration and noise…” and that “…the only sound you hear is the whistleling of the wind over the wings..”.
Ahh, what bliss! 🙂
The Ipoh Airport started out as a private airfield in the 1930s. It was only in 1947 that the first commercial flight was introduced. Later, in the 1980s, the airport runway was extended.
Here we have a photograph of a family at the Ipoh Airport, taken in 1978. In the background (top, left) is the airport’s control tower. Recently, there were plans to further extend the runway as well as other ideas for a make-over. Anyone out there know what’s the latest news on this?
This photograph dates from the end of the war / January 1946 and was taken by a member of 656 squadron stationed at Ipoh aerodrome. It is of course the Perak Turf Club racecourse which was also used at that time as an extra landing place for the squadron’s Auster aircraft due to congestion on and damage to the aerodrome after the war.
As a green lung in our city it is pleasing to see that it is still with us.
The Turf Club in Ipoh has a long history, having started out in 1903 as the Ipoh Gymkana Club. However, By Kinta`s standards, the Ipoh Race Course was founded rather late. The Gopeng Gymkhana Club being founded in the late 1880`s and the Kinta Gymkhana Club at Batu Gajah in 1890.
Today both Gopeng and Kinta Clubs have long-since stopped racing and Ipoh reigns supreme in Perak horse racing circles.
Again found in a heap of photos in Ipoh, could this be a very early Police pilot taking off from Ipoh? We would love to know more if anyone out there knows. Of course he may not be a policeman. Incidentally when did the Police start flying patrols or their air wing? Not as early as 1956 I guess. Your comments will be welcome, as will any stories about flying from Ipoh in the days when we had the ability to do so.
This is a photograph taken at Ipoh Airport. It is a large group and in the centre the two men dressed in suits are presumably important enough to draw the significant number of people to attend their arrival or most probably, departure. Of course with the demise of our airport photographs like this will be a thing of the past.
Any information about this photograph would be most welcome. Can you identify anyone here or do you have similar photographs or stories of similar occasions that we could use on our history archive of Ipoh and the Kinta Valley please.
To remind you all, the archive is aimed at educating young people about our heritage and social history and is not for profit. The complete archive will be available on the internet before too long.