WombatRE: How old are you?
Phellow old Pharts:
Lovely to think I’m not alone, but it does worry me that nobody older signed in.
True, this forum does prove that love of aircraft has no boundaries, just boundary layers…
(the older the phart, the more the layers)
Regards
the old man Wombat
WombatRE: How old are you?
Phellow old Pharts:
Lovely to think I’m not alone, but it does worry me that nobody older signed in.
True, this forum does prove that love of aircraft has no boundaries, just boundary layers…
(the older the phart, the more the layers)
Regards
the old man Wombat
WombatRE: How old are you?
Hell, I’m an old fart.
50
Aussie
The Wombat
WombatRE: How old are you?
Hell, I’m an old fart.
50
Aussie
The Wombat
WombatRE: One Hundred years – Five Aircraft
Hmm, needs a bit of thought this, without any emotion, so here goes…
Wright flyer, for obvious reasons,
DC3 for the manner in which it revolutionised reliable and safe air travel and its adaptability to civilian and military roles, plus its unbelievable longevity,
Probably the Spitfire, any mark, for its significance to Britain’s military history, and its ability to be constantly upgraded over the years to meet its adversaries on an even footing,
He 178 – the first recognised jet aircraft to fly,
Comet airliner – first operational commercial jetliner (I think).
I can’t think of any other aircraft which have represented such significant steps forward in aviation history and development as these five.
Regards
Wombat
WombatRE: Model aircraft.
During the 1960’s, I collected every Airfix, Revell and Frog model of WW 2 aircraft I could get my hands on. By the time I finished, around 1970, I had over 200 of them and, when I started work and lost the interest in models, about half a dozen were never even started and sat in their boxes for years, until (sob!), we moved and the whole lot was chucked out.
I used to try to weather the models so that they looked “used”. I would paint them in every detail, then make the paint look chipped and worn, put washed out matt black into the panel lines around the cowlings to look like oil and dirt, heat a knife blade and press it lightly against one side of the tyres to give them the impression of flattening out under the weight of the aircraft, heat scrap pieces of plastic to stretch out into aerial wires, drill out exhaust stubs and mark the wings back from the exhausts, gun ports and shell ejector chutes to imitate smoke.
The only thing that really spoiled the effect was the glossy finish on the decals which came with the kits, which started to be remedied by the late 60’s, and the fact that Luftwaffe aircraft did not include swastikas with the decal kits, because the swastika was still forbidden to be displayed in some countries, 20 plus years after the war ended.
Recently I asked for advice on this forum about the availability of larger scale models of specific aircraft, because I have thought of having another go, but on a much smaller scale than my first effort. Some day…
Regards
Wombat
WombatRE: Phantom at it again!!!!!
I have to agree with Ference.
Final Countdown was the most fascinating war film I have ever seen. The whole idea of a 1980 US carrier launching its aircraft against the 1941 Jap fleet really was food for thought.
There wasn’t all that much aerial warfare, but the Tomcats -v- Zero scenes were comical. It might have been sci-fi, but I never tire of watching the video. Great stuff!!!
The Wombat
WombatRE: Phantom at it again!!!!!
I have to agree with Ference.
Final Countdown was the most fascinating war film I have ever seen. The whole idea of a 1980 US carrier launching its aircraft against the 1941 Jap fleet really was food for thought.
There wasn’t all that much aerial warfare, but the Tomcats -v- Zero scenes were comical. It might have been sci-fi, but I never tire of watching the video. Great stuff!!!
The Wombat
WombatRE: Postman Gets A Painful Delivery
Could this be the famous “Moggy” from the Flypast forum?
WombatRE: Postman Gets A Painful Delivery
Could this be the famous “Moggy” from the Flypast forum?
WombatRE: Arthur.
Guys,
In relation to the list of nations which have yet to sign the treaty, I can confirm that good ol Oz has yet to do so, and I don’t have a bloody clue why.
We have a very active greenie element down here – hell, we even have a political party called the Greens, but for some reason, which I suspect might be this nation’s toadying to the US, we ain’t signed yet. Hmmm, that might be another topic for this forum…
Regards
The Wombat
WombatRE: Arthur.
Guys,
In relation to the list of nations which have yet to sign the treaty, I can confirm that good ol Oz has yet to do so, and I don’t have a bloody clue why.
We have a very active greenie element down here – hell, we even have a political party called the Greens, but for some reason, which I suspect might be this nation’s toadying to the US, we ain’t signed yet. Hmmm, that might be another topic for this forum…
Regards
The Wombat
WombatRE: British withdrawal from Northern Ireland
Thanks, guys, you have certainly provided some interesting feedback to my last post.
Coanda raised a couple of points I’d like to comment on. the first relates to his comment that, if Britain pulled out of N.I., you’d have the problem of all the immigrants trying to get out of the place. I can understand the point he makes, but as these people are British citizens, preferring to remain within the UK, I can’t see how you could refuse them entry. Obviously though, they would present a major problem with regards to housing and employment.
The second comment he made was reference to “an outsider, detached from the realities of this situation”.
True, as an Australian, I’m a long, long way from the problem, but I admitted in earlier posts on this subject that my knowledge of the matter was weak, which was why I posed the question. Thanks to Coanda, Mongu, Mixtec and a host of others, I have a much better appreciation of the situation and the history behind this problem.
However, as was shown by my other post a few weeks back about Australia’s migration problems, I suspect the same was true of others about our problems out here. I suspect I could say the same about UK, US or European members being remote from the realities of our situation out here. Whilst the numbers of immigrants is undoubtedly smaller than would be experienced if N.I. was abandoned by the UK, our immigration problems present us with conundrums which are not easy to deal with as well. (Coanda, please don’t think I am being argumentative about this – I respect your views and appreciate the information you have provided, it has helped to fill some very large gaps in my knowledge.)
One of the things which I have found most interesting about this post has been the almost universal support for Britain remaining in N.I. I honestly thought that support for withdrawal would have been greater. I can appreciate the problems this would raise, and had already thought that many citizens of N.I. would want to leave if withdrawal occurred.
I feel very sorry for both countries. I visited Britain a couple of years ago and fell in love with the place. As a citizen of a country with so many historic and cultural ties to Britain, but which has nothing like the internal strife that the Northern Irish situation causes, I cannot help wondering where and when it will all end. Obviously, foreign support for the IRA and splinter groups, doesn’t help. I continue to be amazed that two Christian religions can possess the hatred that has existed for so long. I have often wondered how Ian Paisley and his kin can have such powerful positions within the “politics” of the place, and foster such bigotry and hatred, when they are predominantly men of God.
I hate to admit that I will probably continue to see reports of violence in N.I. for some time to come.
Thanks again, guys.
Regards
Wombat
WombatRE: British withdrawal from Northern Ireland
Thanks, guys, you have certainly provided some interesting feedback to my last post.
Coanda raised a couple of points I’d like to comment on. the first relates to his comment that, if Britain pulled out of N.I., you’d have the problem of all the immigrants trying to get out of the place. I can understand the point he makes, but as these people are British citizens, preferring to remain within the UK, I can’t see how you could refuse them entry. Obviously though, they would present a major problem with regards to housing and employment.
The second comment he made was reference to “an outsider, detached from the realities of this situation”.
True, as an Australian, I’m a long, long way from the problem, but I admitted in earlier posts on this subject that my knowledge of the matter was weak, which was why I posed the question. Thanks to Coanda, Mongu, Mixtec and a host of others, I have a much better appreciation of the situation and the history behind this problem.
However, as was shown by my other post a few weeks back about Australia’s migration problems, I suspect the same was true of others about our problems out here. I suspect I could say the same about UK, US or European members being remote from the realities of our situation out here. Whilst the numbers of immigrants is undoubtedly smaller than would be experienced if N.I. was abandoned by the UK, our immigration problems present us with conundrums which are not easy to deal with as well. (Coanda, please don’t think I am being argumentative about this – I respect your views and appreciate the information you have provided, it has helped to fill some very large gaps in my knowledge.)
One of the things which I have found most interesting about this post has been the almost universal support for Britain remaining in N.I. I honestly thought that support for withdrawal would have been greater. I can appreciate the problems this would raise, and had already thought that many citizens of N.I. would want to leave if withdrawal occurred.
I feel very sorry for both countries. I visited Britain a couple of years ago and fell in love with the place. As a citizen of a country with so many historic and cultural ties to Britain, but which has nothing like the internal strife that the Northern Irish situation causes, I cannot help wondering where and when it will all end. Obviously, foreign support for the IRA and splinter groups, doesn’t help. I continue to be amazed that two Christian religions can possess the hatred that has existed for so long. I have often wondered how Ian Paisley and his kin can have such powerful positions within the “politics” of the place, and foster such bigotry and hatred, when they are predominantly men of God.
I hate to admit that I will probably continue to see reports of violence in N.I. for some time to come.
Thanks again, guys.
Regards
Wombat
WombatRE: British withdrawal from Northern Ireland
This topic has kicked off a fair bit of discussion, but given the information supplied so far, the question remains – should the UK pull out of Northern Ireland?
To add a further question to this topic, what benefit is there in the UK remaining in N.I.? What is the point in staying there if the cost is prohibitive and the likelihood of eternal peace is remote?
Understand that from 20,000 km away, the presentation on our media of the troubles in N.I. concentrates on the “newsworthy”, such as murders, riots, fights between various republican/loyalist groups and the police and other violent issues, without any explanation of the causes. I confess to being almost totally ignorant of the reasons for the violence or indeed, the UK’s determination to remain there. It doesn’t seem to be worth the trouble and I wonder what harm would be caused to the UK if it handed N.I. back to the Irish.
I would, however, like to thank a number of members of the board who have gone to some trouble to provide a good outline of the history behind the Irish problems. I am much the wiser thanks to their efforts.
Regards
Wombat
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