HOTOL wasn’t a space shuttle, it was a proposal for a hypersonic transport that climbed and travelled through the upper atmosphere for fast cruise times etc on very long flights, eg to Australia – can you imagine if we actually went ahead and built it, with our record of lack of support and modernisation!

Because this single event did indeed signal the effective end of the British aircraft industry.

I would disagree with that and it’s that outlook that keeps resurecting the type, sure it has come to represent a moment in the dwindling of the British aviation industry,
but many events before and after have all played there part.

You sometimes see hull used to describe the bulk of a fusalage.

As AK suggests, you can’t do any better than trawlling through the Flight Global archives, especially as they were the reports from the time, without any historical ‘spin’ added to them.

The National Archive should hold information on the accidents, and the official accident reports, they are searchable on line (under AIR) aswel.

Putnams’ British Civil Aircraft (Vol.1?) provides a straight forward listing of the aircraft and accidents along with some background info.

Pity they had to keep them for so long!

Yes, I count myself very lucky that I saw Canberras, Victors, Harrier GR.3s, Buccaneers, Lightnings, and Phantoms flying operationally, but probably a lot more interesting for us enthusiasts in the late 1980s early ’90s, than it was for the poor sods trying to maintain and fly them!

Might be worth merging this with existing Falklands Harrier thread, here http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=96169&highlight=falklands+harriers!

However, most aircraft propellers should be called airscrews (a word with no maritime connection) a propeller technically only being used on pusher engines, airscrews being fitted to tractor types. It’s alleged that the change from the correct ‘airscrew’ to ‘propeller’ was officially made after an order for airscrews got a bunch of aircrew instead. Unlikely, but it’s a good story.

I generally agree with your post, but ships propellers are technically referred to as ‘screws’, a lot more so in the early days when they replaced paddle wheels. When I worked at the docks they where still called screws by the old greys, (could lead to some embarressment whan asked to go to stores to get some ships screws!).
‘Airscrew’ does seem to be a derivation of this, especially when you think of the early airships and derigibles etc.

Propshaft I would question though, as most forms of mechanical transport have one.

Wasn’t the Saro Princess commanded from the ‘Bridge’?!

When I popped down with Spitfireman in October there were 5 Gr.3s (XV753, ‘783, XZ969, XZ996 & ZD667), 2 T.4s (XW271 & XZ145) and 1 SHar (ZD581).
Also residing there but in a worse state than the Harriers are, 1 Jag (XX845), 1 Dominie (XS738), 1 Jetstream (XX479), 1 Canberra B.(I).6 (WT308) and some helicopters!