Vimy Progress

Good point Adrian. The Vimy’s the ONLY airoplane I’ve seen that makes the Shuttleworth Boxkite look speedy! 😀

And staggering just how long Vimy derivatives such as the Valentia were in service – I seem to recall they (Valentias) were used in Iraq early in WW2 for carting stuff about. Obviously a versatile beast.

I can’t imagine trying to reach Berlin from France in one so the Atlantic… They’re barking! Best of British, chaps, and may the winds always be fair!

Adrian

Oooo.

Who’s watching the forum?

Warm feelings all around.

Good point Adrian. The Vimy’s the ONLY airoplane I’ve seen that makes the Shuttleworth Boxkite look speedy! 😀

Aussie who has flown three vintage aircraft to Australia from the UK – a Harvard, Avro Avian and a Vimy. Name?

Lang Kidby?

The other driver was a gutsy Aussie who has flown three vintage aircraft to Australia from the UK – a Harvard, Avro Avian and a Vimy. Name?

Lang Kidby?

Adrian

(by the way, hope they don’t get a headwind. HAving seen her in the UK roundabout 95-98 it is astonishing just how SLOW she is even on a still day!)

Andy, ref your #8,
“They will depart St. John’s, Newfoundland, sometime between June 7 and June 20, 2005, depending on weather conditions, to make the 24-hour flight to Clifden, Ireland.”
from the National Gegraphic site, which is also providing updates:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/vimy/index.html

Vimy. Well, I like it.

I don’t see how a BMW driving-Vimy fan can live with themselves after BMW got the product liability jitters over their engines the Vimy was fittted with, while in the US, and forced the aircraft to be grounded just before Oshkosh a couple of years ago. As an example of Anti-Sponsorship, it’s the top effort. Stunningly poor effort by the suposidly ‘efficient’ German company there.

Having seen them off from Farnborough in 1994 (The recreation of the 1919 flight in 1994, 19 – 94 neat eh? Took me AGES to notice originally) for Australia, I think it’s been an amazing saga. There was only one American milionaire at that stage. The other driver was a gutsy Aussie who has flown three vintage aircraft to Australia from the UK – a Harvard, Avro Avian and a Vimy. Name?

Vimy in St John’s

In the colonies, we are very interested in the progress of the Vimy.
I did hear an update from one of my contacts , who spoke directly to the team. The attempt to fly the Atlantic has evolved quite quickly and to this point there has been limited promotion . At this point , they still have not got in place a major sponsor to even do the flight. An announcement was expected this week.
I think it shows a determination that they just want to get this last major flight in the books. Apparently the plane flies like a brick and is a tremendous handful., they have also not let Steve Fosset fly it yet ! When they left California they had to fly around the mountains as they couldnt go over them.
The original plan that had been discussed was to barnstorm across North America prior to the flight, basically building interest as they went. That changed and they jumped in the plane and decided to head for Nfld . The guys in Toronto didnt really know they were going to stop until a couple of days prior to them arriving.
I think all these factors make the flight more remarkable.
I am waiting now for updates from my man in St John’s !

Mark

Nope. That’s a symptom, not the cause. 😉
Being a sad git is contagious. I hear you can get it from cliques. Sounds painful.

I hear Cliques are far worse if you get them post puberty.
Best to expose your youngsters to them early so they gain immunity.

I imagine Stewart will be all-right in that case.
Later
A.

Am I being a sad-git because I’m going to stay up and watch the video link of their progress?

Nope. That’s a symptom, not the cause. 😉

Being a sad git is contagious. I hear you can get it from cliques. Sounds painful.

Dave – although there aren’t any updates per se in this thread, it provides a link which I otherwise might not have found, which tells me on a daily basis how one of the last great aviation achievements is progressing. That, in my humble opinion, is far more deserving of ‘five stars’ than some, ah, other threads, which just contain a bucketfull of already seen images which people have just cribbed off the web… 😉

Andy, your enquiry was fine, I too am curious as to what is happening. It was not you I was commenting about. Just I expected to actually see an update when I saw the thread had been bumped up to five stars.

It’s not stupid to watch it live either – it is not only recreating history but also creating it’s own history. It could be a very interesting and exciting – I only hope that after this team has decided to open themselves up so widely to public view that disaster does not strike.

Why has this thread got a five star rating? There’s nothing in it!

As for the comment about lack of interest because it’s not a Spifire, rubbish. There has been a lot of interest in the Vimy threads that actually have something in them. This is a significant story, many people are looking forward to seeing what happens. Especially since Steve Fossett is involved, he’s a much bigger name than previous Vimy pilots in this replica.

Dave
It gets five stars because you get the benefit of my wisdom. 🙂 😉 🙂 :rolleyes:

Seriously though, I have no clue why it rates five stars. I simply started it to enquire about the progress to Newfoundland.

I do have a question though.
Am I being a sad-git because I’m going to stay up and watch the video link of their progress?

Later
Andy

Well, Mike
the original flight took place on 15th June 1919.
Alcock and Brown took off just after lunch (local time) and arrived in Ireland fourteen and a half hours later.
So, I wonder if the present team are aiming to try for the same date.

As they arrived in Newfoundland yesterday (9th), I’d say that’s a fair bet. Personally, if I was underatking that sort of venture, I’d want a few days to prepare myself mentally and the aeroplane mechanically, and try to make sure that everything was as ready as it could possibly be.

The only downside for me – and it’s just a purely selfish niggle – is that I’m away from a pc from Wednesday onwards, so I won’t be able to follow any updates or find out about it for a while… 🙁

As far as people being interested in this flight, I really think it’s one of the most interesting aviation events for some years.

I wish the team well and I for one will feel a certain amount of relief when they make that Irish landfall.
Cheers
Andy.

Fully agree with that. This is in itself a milestone in historic flight, especially when one considers the decisions they’ve taken regarding authenticity, and how that goes against most current thinking on navigation and safety. It’s a huge risk, but if they pull it off – and I sincerely hope they do – this will be one of those aviation events that we’ll still be talking about in years to come.

Why has this thread got a five star rating? There’s nothing in it!

As for the comment about lack of interest because it’s not a Spifire, rubbish. There has been a lot of interest in the Vimy threads that actually have something in them. This is a significant story, many people are looking forward to seeing what happens. Especially since Steve Fossett is involved, he’s a much bigger name than previous Vimy pilots in this replica.

Can you supply a list of things you think we should be intereted in.

Yes, but you wouldn’t like it!

Seeing as this thread could do with a bump, I wonder how many responses it would have got had it been about a Spitfire?

Can you supply a list of things you think we should be intereted in.

Andy,

Seeing as this thread could do with a bump, I wonder how many responses it would have got had it been about a Spitfire? 🙁

Anyway, for those interested (which looks like just you and me 🙁 ) the Vimy arrived in St Johns yesterday. The transatlantic attempt should be next week, all being well.

Well, Mike
the original flight took place on 15th June 1919.
Alcock and Brown took off just after lunch (local time) and arrived in Ireland fourteen and a half hours later.
So, I wonder if the present team are aiming to try for the same date.

As far as people being interested in this flight, I really think it’s one of the most interesting aviation events for some years.

I wish the team well and I for one will feel a certain amount of relief when they make that Irish landfall.
Cheers
Andy.

This venture is truly magnificent – crossing the “pond” as it would have been done without modern technology. It’s fantastic to see such skills being used. All the very best to them.

I’m interested too, Mike, but surely all our American friends are fast asleep just now!

I’d almost agree with you there Andy, I’d say it comes a close second to Damien’s shirt.

Any updates on the Vimy would be gratefully received.

For those interested, the Vimy project website can be found here.

Actually I believe there’s a Notam about that shirt doing the rounds.