Look like Paveways to me. Shrike ARMs on the LH side of the pic, so presumably dates from 1982.

Though I haven’t seen any photos of the Paveway fit, I’d assume they would be pylon-mounted as were the Shrikes.

Very sorry to hear this. As a very young lad I inherited a couple of books published by him which had belonged to my dad….still have them. Then, as a teenager myself I became addicted to ‘Aircraft Illustrated’ and a marvellous companion publication, ‘Aircraft Illustrated Extra’. Not to mention long hours on Grantham station trainspotting Deltics and Brush 4’s with one of his guides in my pocket. Truly, an amazing contribution to the history of transport publishing.

I think it was ‘Air Extra’ – but yes, it used to be a great read and for AI, I was a subscriber from (if memory recalls) the March 1972 issue, which had an RAF Bassett on the front cover.

Covered elsewhere a few months back.

It’s a difficult subject, since Cd varies with speed, for instance a 1945 NACA test on a P-39N revealed that:

“The minimum drag coefficient at low Mach number …was found to be approximately 0.022. The maximum Mach number attained in the course of the tests was about 0.80, which appears to be the terminal Mach number of the airplane. At this Mach number, the drag coefficient was about 0.060.”

I think there must be some RAE comparison reports available: via FAST maybe?

And a Christie’s auction I recall: ‘CO’s Query’ Spitfire, a Dewoitine and a few other notables were entered. Over the years a few Kensington machines ahve rotated in/out too (Short SC.1, Gnat etc), and I remember the Comet Racer (G-ACSS) being in amongst the auction types at one point, but I can’t think why.

It used to be a happy hunting ground for smaller shows and it’s a great shame that something can’t be done in a similar vein, though I doubt any flying would be done now.

One of my fondest memories was of lying in the grass beside the taxiway as Mosquito RR299 rumbled past. Pre-Health & Safety obviously!

I was surprised to see sixteen US-registered ex-RAF Tucanos. That one had somehow passed me by. A pretty hot warbird for sure.

Of course the airfield is historic 😮

Which one – Llanbedr or Llandbedr?

Pratt & Whitney uses two 747SPs as engine test beds.

Preserved?