UK HARRIER FLYING

I never said it was easy but I have an issue with the automatic assumption that private hands can’t do clever things. None of the technology in the proper Harriers made of aluminium is new and all aircraft components and systems have to be maintained to exacting standards.

Where these standards aren’t met there tends to be incidents but these are far from limited to private hands, it’s just much more difficult to hide them when it’s not government or large corporations not meeting standards or cost cutting.
🙂

So the ‘admiral’s barge’ has finally gone at last I take it? I’d love to see a UK Harrier too and if Mr Branson wants a simpler replacement for his denied Concordes from B.A. then he could do worse than promote his company and this STILL amazing piece of British design excellence that is STILL wasted to the UK thanks to idiots at Downing Street and their ‘advisors’, as seen on pallets in the Nevada desert. A £116m fleet flog-off of potent VTOL capability that would buy only 2 or less at today’s prices, of the much-troubled F-35 fiasco plane – whereby Boeing have ignored the practicality, simplicity, elegance and effectiveness of the British solution of 50+ years ago, and tried to re-invent the wheel.

A subject dear to many people’s hearts was the news in early November that the Government had met its target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of our gross national income to international aid, spending over £11.2 billion in 2013. Sadly however, and to no surprise and the anger of the UK ‘man in the street’, analysis of an annual index of global corruption compiled by the respected organisation Transparency International, has shown that the recipients of British overseas aid, included nearly all the countries who have the most serious problems with bribery and abuse of power.

For how many years now due to this known corruption have tax-payers been complaining not just about such aid, but the fact that any such payments should be overseen by UK as the donator country? Setting aside money out of aid donations to fund any such oversight, should be insisted on to ensure relief gets to the people it is intended for.

It adds further ire to the loss of Nimrod MRA4 (and £4bn) in particular which was a newer project than the much-needed and still cutting -edge Harrier, given its vital capabilities in keeping these islands safe and being contentious once again – for diverted aid funding could have saved MRA4 alone.

Harriers are needed too – the Yanks love ’em alone, and are actually instigating a management programme to prolong them into 2030 – WHY do you need a too-expensive F-35 when so many ops are about dealing with insurgents who can be dealt with by the Kingston-initiated masterpiece, as modded up with a £600m upgrade programme that the Con-Dems tried to hush up after it killed the Hovermaster off, in a sell off that was described by the then defence minister as “a good deal for both countries”.

By the way Bunsen, can you post at an earlier time of evening, as I’m starving here and you have delayed my lasagne at the office by at least 25 minutes. I am not amused. GOOD NEWS- I have an avatar image at last with a sensible tag-line – you will need to explain to me how I post it up as a penalty.

JAV COLUMN

Guys,
I’m doing a Javelin interior ( front section only )

I’ve found some great parts through the forum here. Thank you guys.

I managed to pick up a MK3J Bang Seat last week ( pretty empty though )

However, what I’m really after is a Control Column ( I have a stick top ) & some pedals.

Are there any out there ?

One going for £130 on a stall at 2014 C.Fest!

MFMS SHOW AT DAMYNS HALL: MADE FOR WALKING

I can’t drive but I’m doing my best to take something to display.

Dat’s because I took you and you behaved disgracefully on the Saturday night with the extra cider, your breath was how Indiana Jones would have been after a week in the jungle and being force-fed some ancient tribal brew with a grotesque initiation ceremony to follow. On the plus side it was a great event with excellent weather and only a little rain in the early hours of Saturday before it all kicked orf.

I appreciate that some will find motoring/personal costs and home needs a consideration, but after having to travel many miles yearly to look after the V’s out of London and having supported many events over the last 20 years that are way out of London, it was good to finally have one closer to home at last. In itself that is no guarantee of success but fortunately this is a very well-run event by people who though they obviously care also want to have fun – and it shows. If MFMS can give some assistance to those with cockpits and a distance to travel in this day and age it would be good if it is taken up by some more aviation people as we do need to reach a wider audience and not just appear but show, that we are as passionate about what we do as others who are into jeeps and tanks etc.

You get two nights to talk amongst mates which is better than most other aviation events and it was great to see Stuart’s Spit again while Mike’s Anson could well win something at the Fest next year. Mike arrived not long after us early on Friday when still sunny and we probably overdid it a bit in the bar later but it seemed right at the time while it would have been rude of us not to have stayed for Annie’s show!

While I’ll still be going to the other long-distance events we always attend, this comparatively new one has something for most people’s tastes, and as with other aviation events we attend that are established, the organisers really are helpful and want you to enjoy the experience. They’re grateful for your input and an enjoyable time is had by all, while the flying displays alone were very enjoyable. The Spit in particular seemed to put in much more time and effort in what was the longest display period I can remember at such an event by this aircraft, and the pilot showed the planform for good pics of the aircraft unlike other shows I’ve attended.

Our control column and instrumentation displays went down well and being in a modelling tent was a good mix for us as we had the real stuff while it was a good contrast to the many boats, planes and other models that were on view. We had numerous wanders to look at the high standard of the model exhibits. One of many that stood out was a bombed church in WW1 France with all pics, seats and chandeliers etc inside the shattered roof, took 2 years to plan and make I was told. Outside stalls and stands were plentiful and impressive, the RAF Hornchurch & BoB Roadshow caravan had some good stuff on view alone for WW2 buffs. Some aviation instruments were on sale but I didn’t need any and bought a Corgi SHADO SPV for £4.50 and my own Cyberman mask for £7 instead – just as good as a Taylor high-alt to some connoisseurs.

The Jive Aces were a top act though I noticed that when Annie Andrews did her set on Friday night with miniskirt and white Destiny Angel boots on, my old problem of inadvertent shutter release occurred again and I probably took too many shots of her. Her closing number ‘Boots’ was an apt finale and I’m sure there were many blokes who would have paid her to walk all over them, in them. Slowly. I dropped Alan P off at Catford in 45 mins, a big plus after many a drowsy run up and back down the A1 alone and it will be good to see more cockpiters there next year.

Some compos will follow via someone else later, still out of image allowance I’m afraid.

This is Cockpit related, is there anyway that you could see if Brooklands Museum would lend the TSR2 Cockpit to the museum for the Event. Maybe if it stays long enough for Cockpitfest 2015.

I received a pic of the section a week or so ago when it had been rubbed down prior to a ‘Double 12’ event at Brooklands (whatever that is), they should have fitted it out with some photos at least over the years though I don’t know if it has seats.

I wish the TSR event well but after the poor public attendance for the Lightning Weekend I suggested to Bill that the TSR would benefit from piggy-backing in with something else as an extra attraction. The Lightning event turned into a display for displayer’s unfortunately though the hardware, instrumentaton and models were exceptional from all contributors along with cockpit sections that saw many great efforts to pay homage to the beast.

There will be ‘bits’ of course and paperwork, pics and maybe some films but I don’t know if this will attract the public sufficiently while TSR-2 instrumentation and hardware stands to be very limited in comparison due to its rarity; a seat or two might turn up as the biggest items I would imagine. The worry is if the public wouldn’t attend for a well know aircraft like the Lightning with far more physical elements surviving and such good displays being possible then I’m wondering why they would attend an event for a niche aircraft which never saw service.

I only have a wooden model and part of a terrain following radar so not worth displaying for the time I have after months readying for the Fest, but I hope the attendance is good over the event for those that show their wares.

NAM WEBSITE MAIN PAGE: INCREASING EVENTS AWARENESS

Hi Howard, I thought that the use of NAM’s own in-house event update panel on the website main page had been implemented last year but it must have not registered with me as to what had actually been done after I saw the site some time afterwards, and again recently.

The whole point of the events updater panel software that I sent mock ups of last year is that people ideally need to see HIGHLIGHTED on the MAIN page what is happening for forthcoming events, and THEN get pulled inside to the relevant section.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Without such a heads-up from the main page then the museum homepage still isn’t being used to its maximum to highlight events – currently people have to navigate inside the pages to ‘special events’, which itself is in the same weight and colour as other listed links on the home page – the ‘special events’ link at least needs to be more highlighted too, to draw attention to events as an obvious advantage to NAM. Make that link bigger and bolder at least and you have a far better chance.

When you do click on special events you find that a thing like the TSR-2 day isn’t highlighted there also, its in a separate-linked list via any one of 5 same-size pics. Highlighting a rotating series of say 4 main events on the home page via the floating Brooklands software device will raise awareness far quicker and more effectively than at present. If this can’t be done however, for whatever reason (cost/techy issues or clash with ad revenues from sponsor logos) then another option exists.

FEEDBACK
A contact mailed me recently saying: “They really don’t promote their events very effectively to get the punters in. Their website is not helpful, in that respect. The details about forthcoming events are not actually on the ‘Events’ page! You have to look back through the news items to find out details what is planned and that is ridiculous, I only found the TSR-2 proposal and others by clicking one of icon 5 right-hand colour links beginning with ‘Aeroboots’ !!”

OPTION
When you ARE in ‘Special Events’ after clicking the small home page link for that section, you only get special events generic info – the special events proposals for any one year should at least be here, and separate from ‘news’ however, if no home-page heads-up panel device is possible – those special events really should be flagged up separately here at least I think, with BIGGER link icon pics for say any special event like TSR-2, including the Fest, and the 2 seasonal Aeroboots – that’s 4 pics that can be arranged in two rows below the generic lettering, or all in one line, but BIGGER than the norm to reflect that they’re specials. And accessed after 1 click into the site, instead of 2 with a subsequent hunt to find them amongst the list of small same-size pics as at present.

Its not as good as seeing something flagged-up on the main page but at least you impress on browsers that these are presented immediately as main highlights of the year – currently though, you then have to hotlink AGAIN, via those 5 r/hand icon pic items as explained above, to get to the info you seek under ‘News & Info’. I’m afraid this is a bit confusing and not as effective as it could be as the contact remarked above and I hope it can be looked at to encourage exhibitors to see that aside from any Twitter /Facebook & trad advertising considerations, the website is used to better effect in raising awareness for future events at NAM.

Another good weekend at the V Reunion with new contacts made and I had some good responses to the displays too.

Re: Post Event Photos

GOKONE do you have the usual post event reports and photos? Would be helpful for those who didn’t attend.

Hi,

Have done quite a few further posts tonight, but as ever, my image allocation is at its maximum, a factor I never realized when I first joined – until it ran out. It took ages but in order to save memory near the end I used to comp images together and THEN use a prog that made them less in KB to still reduce the memory still further, to help against what I had posted up over some years – hope the reports help but no images these days I’m afraid – C’mon Brucie, give me another 300mb and I’ll be off again…:(

Any chance of getting the emoticons bigger? My eyes are going these daze.

It is interesting that the view is taken that to criticise something is to bring it down and want it gone. Not so!
That said, don’t go just to buy but to chat to friends old and new that I have made in this wonderful hobby over the past 35+ years.

Yes, for the first time I didn’t buy a single instrument but a nice Mk.31 Beaufort was nabbed and I had some great tools, nuts and bolts that would be a fortune in a shop, plus 4 heavy castor wheels for a future frame project. Someone said the Bucc panels were a bit too much and wouldn’t sell but others did; 4 ‘Airlines & Airliners’ books on Comet/Varsity/400 Viscount & Britannia, plus 4 rare X-Planes publications, plus 3 Concorde books/booklets were had, all great nick and all £1 ea. One seller gave me 50 brand new recent aviation mags!

Conversely an old buyer said it was ‘appalling’ as there was nothing of note on the aviation side kit-wise aside from some repro-stuff, too much old stuff still doing the rounds and hardly any panels from what he could see. and he’d wasted a day when he could have gone to his local boot and wouldn’t be coming back again.

But this is Popham and this is aviation collecting and preservation – the great days are long-gone but people wanting to empty the loft have to be encouraged to come and feel its viable for them, besides regulars. Other contacts can be made on eBay too, even if you don’t like buying on it or some of its policies.

And Popham isn’t all about kit, its meeting real people and enjoying the atmosphere too as Tony says, while things were undoubtedly helped by the weather. Certainly the tools and other ‘bits’ that make up for lessened other purchases these days are always worthwhile, but maybe for people specifically looking for something, its not always going to please – because its a pot-pourri of chance, a potential surprise of serendipity, and more so in these lessened times.

If the costs can be affordable it will continue and people mention it and the Biker comparisons because they want some parity on pricing and to see the event continue, certainly its not to do it down.

RE: Popham Biker Bias 2

• The non-Micro commercial side (eg tool sellers, some auto people, and general boot-type products such as gloves, handbags/money belts, hats, books, plants or general ephemera etc) are affected as cheaper biker-type fees would encourage more of the buying public at attend while they are not selling as many high-end products as the Micro businesses on the first 2 days.

• The non-Micro/non-commercial aero-auto and other sellers have similar concerns about putting off the public through higher entry fees, but notably because they are paying more for their pitches than bikers are.

Many couldn’t see the point in particular of charging the general public £6 for simply browsing or bargain hunting the reduced stalls on the first 2 days, when you can have a car boot with entry at 50p – £2. However the difficulty is you can’t differentiate between plane spotters/fans and the general public on a common site, the latter of whom are probably the main attenders and who don’t pay much attention to the planes and just wander around stalls.

The organization this year re layout of stalls was much better and many traders were asked for their opinion on prices. The main concern reported back was that any increases would kill the event as despite what the media may say about a recovery, many ordinary-earners are in permanent limbo-land financially and fuel and entry prices are paramount.

Keith Pickton helped with the layout this year and agreed that the ambiguity and confusion of the various prices on separate pdf files could have been obviated by a simple panel on the main Popham web page giving prices for public entry, dealers, campers etc and will be looked at.

‘Popham is a glorified boot sale which is part of its charm’ someone said, and pricing in future will be crucial.