huh? Are you on dope? Where did I say you are part of my empire. Expansionist ideals. Go out and take some fresh air, mate, and read it again. Ohh yes you can read it between the lines, ofcourse, how dumb of me to forget.

I didn’t call British arrogant, I said the idea of an independent England for economic motives only was arrogant. Sorry if my English (British/Anglo-saxon whatever it is) is not understandable enough for you. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxi culpa.

…………….and the difference is?

In any case its hard won experience and an ability to read between the lines that make Britons so wary of continental Europe. In the 70s we signed up to a free trade agreement and nothing more. Now we are seriously looking a federal state and guess what? I did not get a choice in the 70s I was too young to vote. Now I’m not, so I am making my voice heard. You don’t like it? Tough. Thats democracy now stop ramming your Euro Federalist crap down out throats you are just annoying people.

Is this Cargolifter revisited? I’m a big fan of the civil/commercial airship for ultra heavy and/or outsized loads, not sure about the military use.

From “Flight International”

1,000t-capacity aircraft to be capable of carrying complete unit “from fort to fight”

Airship designers have been briefed on the US Defense Advanced Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Walrus programme to demonstrate the feasibility of an ultra-large hybrid aircraft able to carry a complete army unit “from fort to fight”.

Under the $10 million Walrus advanced technology demonstration (ATD), DARPA plans to flight-test a “significant-scale” lifting airship in 2008 with a payload capability of around 30t, comparable with a Lockheed Martin C-130. The full-scale objective air vehicle would be capable of carrying 500-1,000t over an 11,000km (6,000nm) range. The goal of the ATD is to demonstrate the military utility of a large cargo airship combining buoyant and aerodynamic lift; capable of vertical take-off and landing from land and sea, and maintaining hover position during loading and unloading; and able to operate from unprepared sites and ship’s decks, and withstand adverse weather. DARPA’s concept involves the deployment of a US Army combined-arms unit, battle-ready to fight for at least three days, direct from the continental USA to the theatre of operations within 96h. This would circumvent the need for slow sea transport, or to break up the unit to deploy it by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Advances in envelope and hull materials, buoyancy and lift control, drag reduction and propulsion make the concept feasible, DARPA says. Technologies to be investigated in the initial study phase include vacuum/air buoyancy compensator tanks, which provide buoyancy control without ballast, and electrostatic atmospheric ion propulsion.

A draft solicitation for the Walrus ATD was released at the end April. DARPA plans to award multiple contracts for the initial 12-month concept-definition phase, after which a maximum of two teams will proceed into preliminary design, with one to be selected in early 2007 to build and test the demonstrator. An industry day in late April was attended by airship builders such as the UK’s Advanced Technologies Group and US firm Aereos Aeronautical Systems, as well as entities working on hybrid aircraft concepts such as Aereon, Millennium Airship, Ohio Airships and Quantum Aerostatics.

GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC

———————

For those not so much into the lighter-than-air aviation, a link http://www.aiaa.org/aerospace/images/articleimages/pdf/wilson.may04.pdf

Yes this is a very interesting subject but blimey! Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket, that thing could carry an entire Corp. Any idea what the proposed cargo deck layout will be like? Multiple decks? Have they confirm the operating speeds yet or the range? I hope these things come on line in my lifetime I’d love to see them fly?

I hope this helps a bit:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/squadrons/sqn_index.html

Blimey! First we have just one American saving us in 1940, now we have one Frenchman saving us in 1944. Blimey what were we doing all this time?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3662531.stm

I’ll try to get some pics of Birmingham as it is becoming, I’m getting quite proud of the place now as well as frequently lost.

Phil

🙂

Originally posted by Dave Homewood
Re. ‘Foreign’ Pilots in the RAF – NZ’s position

In New Zealand’s case, the RAF sent a team of recruiters to New Zealand before the war, sometime in 1938. They wanted NZ’ers to join up because they knew there was a war coming and for some reason started drafting in Kiwis.

Before this point I doubt there were more than a handful of Kiwis in the RAF.

I know that a couple of chaps from Cambridge joined up then in 1938, and sadly never returned. A good number of these RAF Kiwis at the beginning of the war were brought together and became the New Zealand Flight, which later developed into No. 75 (NZ) Sqn. RAF, flying the RNZAF’s Wellingtons.

So anyway, just before the war 402 NZ men had joined the RAF, and they were indeed members of the RAF.

When war broke out, the Empire countries quickly came up with the Empire Air Training Scheme, where the British Government semi-sponsored training in NZ, Australia, Canada, Rhodesia etc. in return for our aircrews.

The pilots and crews that New Zealand trained in this scheme were all RNZAF members, and of the 10,950 New Zealand men who flew for the RAF, most were actually RNZAF. They were merely administered by the RAF, but in fact overseen by Bill Jordan (the New Zealand High Commissioner to London) who could, if needed, step in and over rule the RAF.

All those men that you see in photos with New Zealand on their shoulder are RNZAF. They were issued the shoulder flashes when embarking for any overseas service. Apparently airmen at home were often looked down on in the street if they were not wearing ‘overseas’ flashes. Damn fool civilians.

In fact one old chap who’d commanded 488 (NZ) Sqn and had flown hundreds of night fighter sorties in the defence of London, told me when he arrived home in 1945 he was in a tram in Auckland. A woman saw he was wearing a European theatre medal, and she began berating him loudly and telling him that he was a coward for not staying home and defending NZ against the Japs. He said he was stunned silly, but a big burly Kiwi soldier next to them picked her up and threw her off the tram!! Great story. So some people had some silly ideas about our boys serving with the RAF despite their huge sacrifices.

I believe that after the war began very few Kiwis joined the RAF directly. They joined the RNZAF instead. In fact many already serving with the RAF changed over to RNZAF command anyway. I’m not sure if this was because of a directive or if it was a choice.

After the war a load of top RNZAF pilots decided to stay on with the RAF. At this point they relinquished their RNZAF membership and transferred to the RAF.

One other point, in NZ’s case up till 1949 New Zealand was still considered part of Britain, and all Kiwis were British citizens. We had self-rule and were a Dominion, but still British as it were. For Kiwis then, Britain was ‘home’, so RNZAF pilots and crews were not considered as ‘foreign’like say Free French, Czech or Poles. We were the Colonials expected to do our duty for King and Country, back in the days of Empire – they must have been the days, eh?

No mate I don’t think the RAF would be the same place without a large contingent of Kiwis. They seem to get everywhere, part of the furniture it seems, and if you are grounding a job lot of fast jet pilots, send em over here. Meant in the nicest possible way BTW.

Phil

😀

Originally posted by Dutchy
What do you think, will Australia become a republic by popular vote or that the UK will become a republic and therefore all the other nations will follow.

That is an interesting question and I can’t answer it. However it is interesting that I don’t think the UK can abolish its monarchy without the consent of other nations who have the Queen/King as their head of state. Don’t jump down my throat its only my musings and I don’t even know if it is true but whatever the future of the monarchy many countries have a say in it although ultimately the final word goes to the British.

The Australians had a vote on this issue a couple or three years back and it was very very close but at that time they chose to retain the monarchy. Anyhow you look at it though its up to them and them alone.

Phil

🙂