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[Martin (Admin)]

[inertia]

Guess again, Bird Brain................... (Did you know that the original "TSR2" was the Fairey Swordfish?)

[TailUK]

It was July 1970 and this callow youth had just started an undergraduate apprenticeship with BAC at Filton.  Concorde 002 had flown off to Fairford the previous year and all efforts now were being put into making its successors and flogging them to the Americans.
Towards the end of one afternoon shift began a gentle movement of everyone out of the works and down to the airfield at Filton - no-one seems to have said anything but people were just heading that way. Soon the whole of the works and staff were lined up near the Brabazon Hall, wondering what the heck was going on. Fire drill? Nah - assembly points are all up the hill. Royal Visit? To see exactly what? Suddenly someone said "There it is!" and we all looked west, down the runway, to see what looked like a flying pencil about five miles away, heading south behind the hill. "Nah - it can't be". Two minutes later and there's a yell "Look over Patchway!!". A huge, white, elongated moth-shape had  appeared over the end of the runway - flaps, "snoot" and gear down and nose well high. It was 002, bunking off high-speed testing down the Irish Sea for a fly-past. It flew the length of the runway (and it's a long runway). I tell you, there was not a soul who wasn't openly in tears. To top it all, Trubshaw then did a fast turn out over the Bristol Channel and came back for a reverse pass. This time it was clean; everything up, about 350 knots and two hundred feet straight down the runway, to culminate in a full reheat 45 degree climb-out at the end. Filton shook. Patchway shook. We watched with our ears and our hearts bursting.  (I'm in tears remembering this).
What's my favourite aeroplane? Have a guess!

As a boy I was on holiday with my parents in Watchett on the Somerset coast.  Around lunchtime I heard the sound of 4 large jet engines and looked up, I was looking streight up into a cloudless blue sky and at the lovely arrow shape of Concorde.  I believe that this is your favourite as well.

[goBulawayo]

Hawker Hunter FGA9

[RMH]

I was lucky enough to be on the airfield when the very last Concorde flight touched down at Filton. That certainly brought a tear to most people's eyes. The heavens opened whilst we were waiting and we all got drenched and I remember the radio Gloucester commentator saying "the skies are weeping for Concorde."  Photo slightly edited to include that other iconic British aircraft that gave a fantastic display over Filton just before Concorde came in.

[Circlip]

End of an era for four Oh limp eyes in close coupled formation. Last set due to retire in the not too distant future. What's gonna empty the beer tents then? 
 
   Regards  Ian

[deadwood]

Photo slightly edited to include that other iconic British aircraft that gave a fantastic display over Filton just before Concorde came in.

A Spitfire? Deducing from its elliptical wings.
I think as far as I recall my fluid dynamics lessons correctly that an elliptically shaped wing yields a circulation distribution with minimal induced vortices' drag.

[Martin (Admin)]

 Like airliner videos? - See:  http://www.youtube.com/user/JRVAviationVideos/videos

[davidm1945]

I think as far as I recall my fluid dynamics lessons correctly that an elliptically shaped wing yields a circulation distribution with minimal induced vortices' drag.

And it looks nice too!

[Stavros]

The F15,got to be my fav aircraft the sheer power and nosie of these when they go ballistic is awsome
Yes ok Ive been watching far to Much Top Gun 
 
Dave

[CF-FZG]

The F15,got to be my fav aircraft the sheer power and nosie of these when they go ballistic is awsome
Yes ok Ive been watching far to Much Top Gun 

Dave,

F15s can't go ballistic, not enough power, and AFAIK there weren't any F15s in Top Gun

[Norseman]

http://www.greatbigcanvas.com/view/imperial-airways-flying-boatvintage-poster,ah5345-fin/

No idea what they were called but I would have loved to have  taken an Imperial Airways Flying Boat through Africa.

Dave

[Augustine M]

In Radio Control Aeroplanes, I like Precision Aerobatics Addiction X ( as of now  ) might change later, some pics of me doing Prop Hang

[sean Half-pint works]

I have 4 to add to this, all Millitary...

The Seafire MK3


The Lancaster


The Russian Hind E Gunship (anyone fancy arguing with this??)


and finaly the American built A10 Warthog

Sean

[Neil]

What's my favourite aeroplane? Have a guess!

Don't tell me..........I don't wanna know..........the Tupolev Tu-144.........you turncoat

[Norseman]

Neil ... I'm not sure your photo is following the rules 
  see how you can be persecuted across the threads 

Dave

[Neil]

just looking at that pic..........I wondered where the tyres for my kid's Hot wheels cars went..............now I know,
 
The Ruskies stole them

[Augustine M]

in real, since i have 1000s of hrs on'em, Mirage 2000 & MiG 21

[spearfish99]

For my first ever flight has to be DH Dragon G-ADDI



For pure joy of flight, Coventry Airport flying display in late 70/early 80's?.  A Hawker Hunter display was cancelled due to technical reasons  and the next slot was supposed to be a flyby from a BA Concorde.

The pilot of the Concorde stepped in to the breach and we had about 20 mins of low passes, wheels up, wheels down, snoot drooped etc. Climax was a run down the crowd line till about midway then full reheat and a steep climb awayback to Heathrow. Hardly a dry eye in the place!  Since it was one of those supersonic trips out over the sea that folks could buy and on its way home, it was full of passengers. Now that WOULD be a flight to remember. Still have a fantastic set of slides somewhere of that afternoon.

Concorde was followed by the Red Arrows who also must rank up there with flying favourites

[deadwood]

Is the posted pic of TU-144 a rendered image from a flight simulator?

I have never seen a TU-144 in reality.
Probably because they quickly disappeared after the infamous crash of a prototype in Le Bourget in the early 70s.

I find the similarities to Concorde stunning (except for the Canard winglets I think to realize on above pic).
Does anyone know who was the copycat? The Russians or the Brits/French?

[A66]

Evening all just thought id share one of my favorite planes the Sopwith Pup with you, spent some considerable time talking to one of the pilots who has had many hours flying the example at the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden, The attached picture is of my 1/4 scale pup Taken during the display flight for the David Boddingtons memorial competition during the Mayfly weekend in 2011, which i was awarded the Boddo Trophy, Designed and made by Davids son Andrew and presented to me by Davids Wife along with a Boddo mills Twin diesel.


Steve

[spearfish99]

Saw the reference to Dave Boddington. He was a good old boy and used to come to our model club at Avon Cosmetics in Northampton. One of the nicest and most helpful guys you could meet.  I bought a Horizon 6 channel set from him that he had used in one of his demo planes for airshows. It was a high wing mono with two seperate little planes under the wings , parasite fashion which he would drop off and then they would fly their own demo (under seperate pilots). Used that in various model boats for quite a few years until I gave up 27mhz,

[Getemuphigh]

Once was riding my motor bike with friends when a Vulcan Bomber passed LOW at the side of us for a while as we rode along........... That image has been etched in my memory.

[spearfish99]

  The Vulcan , especially at low level, is a most impressive aircraft.

Over the last few years, I have contributed a few quid to get the last one back into the air. Keeping it there is currently proving to be a problem. Any help would be most appreciated.

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/


The reference to the Tu 144 is interesting. Despite the crash at the Paris airshow, they didn't all get scrapped, a couple got mothballed on some out of the way airport, which the Russians do quite a lot. Then about 3-4 years ago, NASA paid them to re-engine at least one of them with engines off of a defunct bomber and leased it. They used it for supersonic research. Not sure if it is still flying but it makes the decision to stop Concorde flying ( for political reasons apparently) even more nonsensical!

[deadwood]

...but it makes the decision to stop Concorde flying ( for political reasons apparently) even more nonsensical!

Weren't her fuel consumption and her unparalleled maintenance costs prohibitive?
Or would the high ticket prices for Concorde flights cover them?

And then I think there were more and more cities whose airports denied her landing rights which made it hard to maintain attractive routes for her discerning passengers.