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[Martin (Admin)]

633 Squadron is on the telly just now....
 The Dehavaland Mosquito,what a great film and what a great aircraft!

I love the design principle of the aircraft;
"Lets take the fastest and most successful plane we have, the Spitfire, and nail two of them together
 one engine on each wing." Ta daa! Mosquito!

I've long been an armchair fan of the Mossy, with those huge props, tundra wheels, scaffolding undercarriage and
twin engines that would sounds at home on one of Brains inventions on Thunderbirds!

There are none flying now but a few years back I finally decided to go to show and see one fly, unfortunately
the last flying example fatally crashed a week before I choose to go. On the up side, you can still see the original
prototype at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre / Mosquito Aircraft Museum.... it was a quiet day and they
let me actually sit in it!    Sitting in the cockpit really brought home how brave those guys actually were. Those
big props seem only inches away from your nose!    Speaking to a ground mechanic at the museum, he said
they were well twitchy on the ground and pilots quickly learnt that for takeoff runs, you put the slower engine
to full throttle and steered the plane with the faster engine.

633 Squadron - great music too! 

Links:
http://www.dehavillandmuseum.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito
http://www.mossie.org/stories/Frederick_Lacy.htm

My pictures from Duxford.

[Ghost in the shell]

I like the DC3, one day I may get a pleasure flight in one. 

Twin 14cylinder radial engines which when running make an exhaust note that shames a chevrolet V8, and a body that was years ahead of its time.  LOADS still flying, and ya wont be saying that about the A380 in 50 years time, when all the modern jets are scrapped, there will probably still be a DC3 flying somewhere in the world.  unpressurized fuselage means they dont fatigue like the modern jets

and for combat, I'd pluck for the Su27 any day!

[The long Build]

For Me its the Vulcan and the Lancaster . Have seen the Vulcan flying at many a show at it was an awesome piece of kit.

[nhp651]

glad to see someone else loves the mossie. my dad flew them as a navigator during the war. i have a very special affinity towards them............ always brought him home safely.

[andygh]

Swordfish

[Reade Models]

I have favourites both old and new....

The old DC3 Dakota and also the Cessna Citation both of which I flew in many times in South Africa doing site visits from my office in Johannesburg to the various gold and platinum mines on which I worked during the 1980's.

I also used to watch Concord flying into Manchester as I was driving to work some mornings on the M56.  Never did get to try that one though, more's the pity.

Malc

[OMK]

For me it has to be the Spitfire - especially the early versions. The Lancaster is another favourite.
For civilian aircraft is has to be the DC3.
Not sure if this thread includes model aircraft, in which case I think the Cherokee is right up there... followed closely by Jackpot (an American design from not so long ago). Bi-planes, too. The guy sitting near the bipe in the photo paid just a measly £10.00 (from the widow of a deceased modeller).
Easy pigeon was also a favourite, not because it was a particularly nice glider, or even a good looker, but because it survived two major prangs and always easily repairable. Since then I've taken a shine to ABS fuse's. The Ready2 is one such bird. A real nice flyer, even though it's considered a trainer.

The ME109 was also a nifty airframe. German aerotechnology is seriously under-rated.

[OMK]

I also used to watch Concord flying into Manchester as I was driving to work some mornings...

 51°28'28.69"N   0°26'10.87"W

Plug those co-ordinates into Google Earth and tell me I'm not seeing things.

[Reade Models]

I also used to watch Concord flying into Manchester as I was driving to work some mornings...

 51°28'28.69"N   0°26'10.87"W

Plug those co-ordinates into Google Earth and tell me I'm not seeing things.

Here's another (at Manchester)

 53°21'10.58"N    2°17'6.28"W

[OMK]

You're right. So how did I miss that? I thought I scoured just about every inch of just about every UK airstrip.
Regarding GE, how come there never seem to be much activity around airports? Heathrow is supposedly the busiest airport in the world, yet you barely see any planes in the sky. The nearest I found are these...

 51°22'54.05"N  2°45'27.78"W (Bristol)
 51°36'53.58"N  0°49'47.00"W (High Wycombe)
 50°13'0.41"N  8°52'2.67"E (Germany)

(Nice piece on Guy Fawkes, by the way - tnx).

[Welsh_Druid]

PMK  - model aircraft

how do you like this  - the last one I designed and built before I started building boats. 72" span, carbon/glass fuselage and seriously fast on the slope 

( I still fly it occasionally)

Don

[OMK]

I like - very much. I also like the fact that you actually designed it yourself. So that makes you a handy man to know. Nice colour scheme, too.
Is that full-length ailerons there, or do I detect a slight hint of flaps as well?
It's a fine-looking glider, for sure. But to be honest, I've never flown a V-tail, so I'm probably out of my depth. The usual rudder/elevator is more my scene. So what actually happens when you apply up or down ele'? How does it work? Do you still have 'rudder' control on a V-tail?

Nice work, lad. I didn't realise you were a flier as well.

[Martin (Admin)]

Is that a 'Ready 2' I spied there PMK?
Great learning plane.

[OMK]

Well spotted. I was kinda iffy about it at first (ABS is sort of frowned upon by REAL modellers), but I ended up loving the thing.

[John W E]

Hi there,

Now tell me, this is not the most beautiful aircraft you have set your eyes upon.   To me.....it portrays the true British Spirit; politicians that do not know what they have, and, they are influenced by the outside world - the Managers of British businesses who make a mess of every decision and destroy all the British industries....they do not seem to realise what brilliant designers and inventors we have had and still have.

Aye, the TSR2.   We had designed and built an aircraft far exceeding anything around at that time, but, what did the British Government go and do.....scrapped it...... :( .... what for,  :( :( :(

Aye
john e
bluebird

[OMK]

It's true what you say -- British engineering has been by far the best in the world. Also true that the TRS2 is/was a cracking craft. Such a shame that they dumped it.
On a lighter note, I hear that they are trying to resurrect Concorde.

[Martin13]

PMK  - model aircraft

how do you like this  - the last one I designed and built before I started building boats. 72" span, carbon/glass fuselage and seriously fast on the slope 

( I still fly it occasionally)

Don

Welsh Druid,

That's an awesome glider. The wings - are they foam core or ribbed and how about the fuselage glass or balsa.
I bet she flies well on the slope. Do you still have the design plans .

I own several gliders and still fly to this day - I find it really relaxing, My first glider which I still fly was originally called a "Prelude" but after many incidents with trees, cows and power lines, it's now known as the "Brick"

Keep on flying

Martin doon under

[HS93 (RIP)]

I saw a program about the TSR2 some years ago, it was scraped because the Americans wanted us to buy there plane , would not let us get a loan until the planes where scraped and all the jigs where destroyed, the American plane was then 3 years late .there was a plane at cosford and it was a lot bigger than you expect ,

[OMK]

You don't suppose the Yanks are a tad envious of the Brits, do you? Didn't they pull a similar stunt with Concorde when they banned her from landing there? A dose of good old jealousy, perhaps?
An engineer pal of mine in California always orders his steel supply from Birmingham, UK. He says it's the best steel in the world, and that American steel is slightly inferior. (Actually, he didn't use the word inferior -- I'm being polite).

[Martin (Admin)]

Also from Duxford...XR222

[HS93 (RIP)]

I think a similar thing happend to our attempt at the sound barrier we where years ahead of the Americans when the government decided to "share" information , they came to look and copy ours and when it was time we where told it was against national interest to share the American info , so again we where Sxxxxxx by the Americans they used our idea for the tail plane and went on to break the barrier , our government where told to stop work on the project. we all know what happend next.

Hs93

[John W E]

Its regarding the Americans' being jealous - not so long ago, I sat and watched a programme about the sound barrier - Apparently just after the war in 1948-1950 times the Brits were well ahead on the sound barrier and also aircraft design.   The Government bodies did some negotiations with the Americans' for transfer of information and we give them all the information and technology we had about aircraft design and the sound barrier, which put them well in the lead.   When we asked for the return technology from the Americans about another topic, possibly something to do with the H bomb or something - they said NO YOU CAN'T HAVE IT......Makes you think doesn't it.

Martin, I am going to download the pics you have just put on the posting if you don't mind because my son purchased the Airfix TR2 for me for one of my Christmas presents and I have yet to start the model.   I must learn to spray paint properly, before I even attempt this model - or ask my son to spray it for me.

aye
john e
bluebird

[OMK]

I guess you can't blame the Yanks for taking what was giving to them on a platter. Even men such as Mr. Whitworth made his name/fortune in the US because men without vision in the UK Gvmn't couldn't recognise a good thing when they had it. Similar thing happened with messrs Harley and Davidson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_barrier

Did anybody see that HUGE plane designed by Howard Hughes?

[Guy Bagley]

I THINK FOR ME  THE MOST AWESOME AND ONE OF THE JETS I LIKE THE MOST IS THE PHANTOM- I REMEMBER AS A KID  LIVING IN THE LAKE DISTRICT LOTS AND LOTS OF LOW LEVEL FLY PAST BY PILOTS ON TRAINING RUNS......THEY ARE BIG LUMBERING BEASTS, AND I STILL SMILE WHEN I SEE 'EM, THERE WERE SEVERAL AT RIAT A YEAR OR TWO AGO.....

THE OTHER AIRCRAFT I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED FROM DAYS GONE BYE IS THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER..... AGAIN A TWIN ENGINED BEATY LIKE THE MOSQUITO.........

[Shipmate60]

Spitfire
Hurricane
Lancaster
Mosquito
Vulcan
Concorde.
Not one of my favourite looking aircraft but the TSR2 is "special to me".
We were travelling past Farnborough while it was being tested.
It was on the runway and we happened to be in the right place to see the whole runway.
I got my father to stop while I watched.
She moved down the runway quite slowly, then the afterburners were ignited.
She shot off like a bullet and went vertical, in 3 seconds she was in the cloudbase.
Absolutely AWSOME. then we scrapped it and went for the F111, couldn't believe it.

As to the Phantom, this aircraft never really came into her own till we used the RR Spey (I think) engines in her.
It could out perform all the yank ones hands down. And didn't we miss them in the Falklands>

Bob