Operation Megalithic Lift - The Stones and the Stars: Building Scotland's Newest Megalith - page 201

to the 'no publicity' mantra, the Director of the Parks Department,
Keith Fraser, had opposed the helicopter operation, and if it had to
happen, had urged that it would be enough to use the helicopter
for just one stone, any stone, preferably at first light where nobody
would see it; but if the aim was public spectacle, in tribute to the
ancient builders, then Ken Naylor and I felt the helicopter should
be used to build as much of the circle as possible.
Details of the big day were settled at a final meeting on March
16, chaired by Ian Clair and attended by Sportsworks personnel,
Norman Leask from HMS Gannet and his colleague Lt. McBride,
who dealt with the aircraft. There were also representatives of
the Fire Service, Strathclyde Police and St Andrews Ambulance
Brigade, John Braithwaite, Gavin Roberts and myself, and Robert
Hastie, manager of Glasgow Parks Broomhill District, who had
organized transport throughout the project and was now respon-
sible for crowd control. There were still pressing points to be set-
tled regarding insurance coverage for the operation, which did not
come through until the very last moment. The helicopter was to
be insured for £1.5 million, plus third-party insurance claims up
to £1 million, with the crew insured for £110,000 per officer and
£95,000 per rating, for the aircrew and for two teams of one officer
and three ratings each, on the ground.
Refueling facilities were required for the helicopter, which
would be lightly fueled for maximum lift. A nearby truck park
could not be used because the owner of the company was on holi-
day in Majorca and was not to be disturbed. The Electricity Board
was agreeable to the use of the waste ground where the power sta-
tion had been demolished, and they, too, were represented at the
meeting, but after inspecting the site the naval officers declared it
unsuitable. Although the rubble was unlikely to damage the land-
ing gear of the helicopter, the real danger was that some fragment
would be picked up and later fall to cause injury or damage. How-
ever, nobody told the watchman on site, who came up to the circle
to see whether the Electricity Board ground was to be used. Look-
ing around as the lunar stones were being erected, he made the
comment that led us to the historical Knappers site (Chap. 5 ).
Refueling facilities were therefore to be arranged at Abbotsinch
Airport (now Glasgow Airport), and the helicopter would probably
have to break off to refuel in the middle of the operation. The local