NGTE Pyestock - June 2012 (images intensive)

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Location
St Neots, Cambs
Pretty much everyone knows this place as the reports have been numerous but here is my take and a little plagerised info on it before the photos. The day started out strangely for me, I met up with coverturbex, urbanekul and a little fiesty drove to Hemel (my old stomping ground) to pic up a non-member only for me to discover I went to school with them 33 years ago :eek:
NGTE Pyestock, part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), UK was the primary site in the UK for design and development of gas turbine and jet engines. This was created by the merger of the design teams from Frank Whittle's Power Jets and the RAE turbine development team run by Hayne Constant. Pyestock was to spend of its existence as a major testing and development center, running experimental developments and supporting the large public engine companies.
This newly merged group was nationalised, and the search for a suitable site for turbine development began. Pyestock itself was originally a golf course near Farnborough and with secrecy being key its seclusion in a wooded area made this a perfect location for the new venture. Breaking ground on the new site began in 1949, but the site was a far cry from the one we all know today with testing initially taking place in small cubicles inside buildings.The onset of supersonic jets saw the site undergo a large expansion to the north west, which included the massive Air House and huge test "cells" being built around 1961.
Pyestock stood at the forefront of gas turbine development for 50 years and was most likely the largest site of its nature the world over. The site was responsible for strenuous testing of V bomber, Harrier and Tornado engines. The immense power of the air house allowed the testing of Concorde's engines to 2,000 mph. All of the Royal Navy's gas turbines were checked here and even captured Soviet engines were secretively examined. This all took place with the need for the engines having to take to the air,
Pyestock was eventually closed in 2000 and sadly the metal thieves and slowly dragging away anything they can carry.

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And any explore into a dark area wouldn't be complete without wire wool which thankfully a previous explorer left behind with there spinning equipment :)

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Thanks for looking :)
 
Never, ever, ever seen it documented like this before. Absolutely stunning. (Perfect mix of wangle and prime lens)
Is that a giant ray gun in your second pic?
Looks like you had a wicked start to the weekend! :)
 
Lol nah bud looks like it but I think its a core to one of the huge motors that metal thieves have stripped the copper windings off...can't be sure though.
Was a good weekend although my stomach doesnt agree lol
 
Lol, I heard about an access shrinking, (or you growing) during your visit :)
 
Nice set fella!!
A little disturbed by the similarities between your 2012 set and my 2009 though!!

An example

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Fools or great minds? What do you think?

:D :D
 
Nice stuff fella. Excellent shots, love the control room ones especially!!
 
Brilliant pics mate!! Is that cool wire wool burning (how kind of the last dude to leave you the bits!) is that in the cell 3 area?, i love them doors! Ive been there several times and not stumbled through them doors yet, and not for looking....infact i got a lift back to the entrance by the gurkas last month, shame! Oh and i hadn't seen kingrat's report and i took a shot exactly the same of them yellow wheels in the plant house, just like you...so maybe some things just look "right" when we see them, an original shot in a place that gets photoed regularly probably aint gonna happen often!
 
Woohoo! Lovely, lovely stuff, especially *that* pic!

Ace work. Not a place I'm ever likely to see (what with my commitment to the community and all that) but I love looking at others' reports of it, particularly when they're this good. :)
 
Don't tell anyone but I was left a little disappointed, Monkey, Liz, Feisty, urbanekul and covert were great company but I think I was expecting more :(. Maybe all the other reports and pics got me a little over excited :)
 
Don't tell anyone but I was left a little disappointed, Monkey, Liz, Feisty, urbanekul and covert were great company but I think I was expecting more :(. Maybe all the other reports and pics got me a little over excited :)

Sacrilege, go sit in the norty corner for a couple of hours!
 
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