Jim.
Why didn’t you post this in historic?
Anyway, not cars but aeroplane engines–the cars came later.
Yes, well they did.
W.O. Bentley, who was a serving Naval officer, actually built the A.R.1 (that was Admiralty Rotary type 1) rotary first. That eventually became the Bentley BR.1. The majority of RNAS Camels had BR.1’s fitted.
As oposed to Le Rhone or Clerget engines in RFC Camels.

He then went on to develop the BR.2 of about 230 hp.
This powered the Snipe, Salamander (ground attack machine) and a couple of other things.

Happy to discuss more on Great War Engines if you need anything.
Andy.

Well, I don’t normally comment in this part of the forum but…
Sometimes, something warrants it.
I saw Slade when I was a boy-child about seventy years ago (well it feels about seventy years ago).
Drink was taken, and I can’t remember too much but I do remember that I went to work the next day partially deaf.
I do know that about half the people I went with are dead, and even the venue is now under ‘executive housing’.
Noddy must be be about 109 years old, so even if they did get back together, I think they might lack the impact they once had.
Anyway, for those who missed them the first time, here they are in action.
They were more rude than depicted here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ocrw6Mue14

Andy.

John.
As a child he used to tell me about this all black Yank (his phrase) fighter squadron. I think they were something somewhat unusual, mainly because of the perception of the treatment of blacks at the time.
They were well known I think at the time in Italy.
I was out to work before I could find anything in a book about them–then it was only a passing reference.
The hypocrisy I was refering to was not yours but the way those who so easily made sure they were forgotten, no doubt are now ‘so proud’ of them.

It’s the same with Eugene Bullard in The Great War.
I knew someone who was teaching Junior ROTC in American schools who hadn’t even heard of him.

A.

Sorry to hear that Mark.
RIP George.

thats because she IS lovely!
Be nice to get the DC2 over from Holland and 3 comets – who would have thought it possible?

You won’t me arguing with that.

You can never have too many Douglas twins in my opinion.

A.

Andy
You are right.
I withdraw the comment about the aeroplane glue.

Oh I don’t know, I wouldn’t be that hasty.
I always sniff any new chemical I encounter to see if it has any hallucinogenic or any otherwise mind bending qualities.

🙂

An aluminium (new-build) Mosquito is “almost wholly practical”?
I am really not sure what planet you inhabit.
Or have you been sniffing the aeroplane glue?

Don’t be rude about the gentleman Andrew.
I’m really enjoying this thread–and learning a lot too.
I’d arrived a point in my life where I thought there wasn’t anything new to discover in aviation.
Then wallop, this all comes along and I feel a veil has been lifted.
I mean all those daft rules and regulations that we keep hearing about, they can just be circumvented and ignored because it suits our new attitude. I shall be straight into the chief engineers office on Monday am, to tell him to stop worrying.

I’m that inspired, I went down to local park this evening and cut down half a dozen trees to start forming them into parts for my Staaken R.VI project.

Now back to reality.
Could you pass me that small pouch containing my Morocan Black and that packet of extra large papers please..?

A.

I thought 5 were built? That makes it easier to recreate then! I know my Uncle was at a big event at Mildenhall in 34, so chances are that was the one.

Five were built but only three for the race.
The other two came along a bit later.

I reckon the true star of the race was the KLM DC-2.
Illustrates how far Britain had fallen behind in the design of modern commercial aeroplanes at that point.

A.