Unlikely to have such a prominent instrument panel (if that is what it is) in that case.

Until now I’ve assumed that it was a military aircraft but there is no real reason to suggest that is there? The wooden panels stacked to the right look like they could be bulkheads and seem quite well constructed; could this indicate a civilian passenger aircraft?

Is it not too glazed for a civilian aircraft?

I have spent a few hours looking at every conceivable aircraft and have not seen this particular airframe. My feeling is that it’s a prototype, or something even more obscure.

The photo is from 1942 and depicts a person in German uniform. That does not sound like a Hotspur Glider to me.

Thanks for that Andy but McAfee comes up with a heavy security warning when I attempt to use your link …

Here is the direct link to youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bMxWaJIJIw

Buscatube basically just link to youtube videos and try to earn some revenue on other peoples content.

Or the misterious case of the Harrier some years back on a test flight that continued flying out to sea minus pilot and canopy but still containing the ejector seat. Was intercepted by a Nimrod and photographed after contact with pilot was lost.

Eventually crashed into sea and was too deep to recover. Never did find the pilot or find out how he left the aircraft or why?

Mark

EDIT:- Just found this elswere on another forum after a brief search that sort of conferms my post.:-

As I recall this was an early GR5 on a test flight from Dunsfold. As far as I remember the investigation concluded that the pilot had adjusted the height of the seat after take-off, and before commencing a timed climb. Unfortunately there was a loose item in the cockpit, assumed to have been a torch on a coiled lead, that fell under the back of the parachute firing mechanism (not the seat) As the pilot adjusted the seat, the object triggered parachute sear to fire. This fired the drogue chute through the canopy, pulling the main chute with it. Sadly the pilot was then bodily pulled from the seat through the canopy. He sustained fatal injuries. His body was later found on Salisbury Plain.

The aircraft flew on, pilotless, westward over the Atlantic. London Military managed to vector a USAF C5 close enough to the Harrier so they could video the aircraft. Must have been quite a sight, broken canopy but ejector seat still in place and no pilot.

The a/c flew on over the Ocean, endangering no-one. Finally it ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

I remember reading this in Air Clues (a RAF accident investigation magazine, I think that was the name). Poor guy.

It’s certainly possible. This B-36 flew for hours after the crew bailed, before finally crashing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_British_Columbia_B-36_crash