And an aircraft carrier has the ability to be turned to face directly into the prevailing wind, … assuming wind speed is 15kts, and the carrier can also steam at 15kts, this gives a cumulative windspeed/airspeed down the flight deck of 30kts – a not insignificant benefit on take off. It’s 30kts less you need to gain/achieve when accelerating your ‘plane from a standing start.

Paul F

Thanks for that Paul 🙂 I didn’t include all that because I thought it was stating the obvious. But then I guess I was wrong and its isn’t obvious to many who haven’t been there and done it and know what it is like bracing oneself against the wind over the deck during launch, and during recovery for that matter.

In my time on Ark we used to stay put in Phantoms down in Fly 4 (far aft port side) whilst recoveries were under way once having started engine test runs.

Quite an interesting view of every deck arrival. I was thinking of taking a camera with me on one such occasion but by then somebody had decided that the practice of sitting in Phantoms in Fly 4 with aircraft screaming in across ones nose was a tad dangerous.:D

And the speeds you quoted are conservative on both wind speed and carrier speed.

A London 2012 spokeswoman added, ‘…that the organising committee was “absolutely” happy with the logo and had no intention of going back to the drawing board. “It’s launched a creative explosion across the country. It’s fantastic,” she said.

It is a great pitty that the Olympic Committee did not take adavantage of an ‘explosion of creativity’ rather than paying large sums of money to cave artists to come up with such an unnatractive logo.

I feel sorry for the poor girls trying to defend the indefensible.

It should be changed, and PDQ.

Many happy returns to Henry Allingham, born June 6 1896 and still going strong.

He is one amazing fellow. Happy birthday Henry.

I have had the pleasure of meeting him on two occasions and he can certainly talk.:)

We are fast today aren’t we!

I have taken a strong dislike to the logo, and voted ‘wooden spoon’ along with 83% of others on this site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6718243.stm

I trust we will all do the same, let good sense prevail!!!

I have just voted a wooden spoon, although that is far too mild I would consider the stocks to be a more apt award for the perpetrators of this national disgrace.

Rowland White must be dead chuffed with the response the book has got.

He is. I discussed a few errors with him when he came to visit me whilst researching for a future book, I will not say what it is about for now.

I was most impressed by his courteous and interested manner. Rowland clearly puts in much diligent research whilst preparing a book.

I am considering purchasing the Sigma 50-500 zoom.

I purchased one of these lenses with Minolta AF fit for use on a Dynax 7 (film body). With film one could shoot with Fuji Provia 400F and push process by one (800 ISO) or two stops (1600 ISO), one stop best.

The lens has succesfully migrated to a digital Dynax 7D and Sony Alpha cameras.

My experience suggests that the Sigma 50-500mm will autofocus in good light but adding converters makes manual focus operation a must. I have both 1.4x and 2x Sigma converters and if I were you I would go with Sigma if you are purchasing these. Believe me I have found in practice, particularly with digital, that the 1.4x converter is of the most utility.

Manual focus following aircraft around the sky, particularly fast jets requires some practice, and strong arms, with this lens. Adjusting zoom and focus simultaneously with the Sigma whilst doing this is not a realistic proposition IME, choose your shot and focal length and then follow and shoot when right, just like we used to do in the old days with telephoto lenses before good zooms became available, let alone affordable.

I have tried both converters together, one picture being of the moon seen on my website, unfortunately there was a little high very thin cloud drifting in from the north which has muted the definition a little particularly at the top left sector.

to be honest, i really don’t know why they aren’t after the one at BAe Filton??? wasn’t that the last one to fly? surely that would be a better candidate?

There is no way that this one could go again. I know people in the Fleet Air Arm Association who worked at Filton, indeed some of the local branch have been involved in her display. I have been told that, as in the TSR2 story, measures have been taken to ensure resurrection is impossible, such as electrical looms being removed or cut amongst others.

What’s the 206 Sqn (Coastal) connection? (VX codes).

And, Phixer, I can’t see any reference to the need for helmets in the thread you’ve indicated, unless I’m being think… (Perfectly possible, of course.)

There are two pic’s of Tiger Moth K-4259 with myself in the front and both occupants wearing bone domes indicating that it could be common, and sensible, practice these days.