Whilst London’s Heathrow Airport has been the hub for the main flag-carrying airlines flying to major cities around the world, Gatwick has officially been London’s second airport since it was opened in 1958. If you wanted a package holiday throughout the ‘60s and 70s, you would often fly on charter airlines that operated a variety of aircraft types into Gatwick to destinations worldwide. For the enthusiast, this made spectator visits more interesting and Gatwick catered well for the plane spotter with viewing piers that were very close overlooking the parked airliners. The variety of aircraft types to be seen ranged from light aircraft, executive types, propeller and jet airliners and even military transports. This full-colour book charts the airport's history through its aircraft from the early days up to date.

ADRIAN BALCH is a long-standing aviation photographer, journalist and author, contributing articles and photographs since the mid-1960s. He is passionate about quality aviation photography and has amassed a huge archive of colour slides. He has published a number of aviation books. Adrian served in the Royal Air Force in Air Traffic Control during 1971-93 and travelled extensively, never without his cameras, gathering material for his archive library. He has flown with the RAF Red Arrows and has undertaken many other similar photographic sorties to accompany his many articles published in the leading aviation periodicals worldwide.