WebPilot, Brilliant!!!
Pse send that to the Daily Telegraph. The General Election is already getting up most folk’s noses! We need some light relief!!
Rgds
Resmoroh

Fuel State

Someone will, no doubt, correct me if I am wrong. But, I was always under the impression (as a mere meteorologist) that, in the RAF, a Transport a/c took off on its mission with (a) enough fuel for the mission and return, and then (b) enough fuel to divert to Alternate A + 10 mins holding time at that location, and (c) enough fuel to then go to Alternate B + 10 mins holding time at that location. After that, presumably, you were on your own – and “the fumes”.
The civvies did (roughly) the same thing. When we took off (one of the earliest pax charters) from Brize Norton for Ascension in this BA 747 we had enough ‘gravy’ to practically fly round the world. When we arrived overhead a CAVOK Ascension the Skipper apologised that we would have to trog round the island for a few minutes while he dumped enough fuel to get us below MLW and which would have – as he said – “taken a Mimi to the moon”!!!!
HTH
Resmoroh

Never mind all these bits of (sometime) airborne ironmongery (or alumini-mongery). Never mind the stone, or metal, memorials. Just treat them both with the respect they deserve.
Find yourself one of the now ageing persons (both male and female) who were there at the time – and did the bizz. You will learn more from 10 minutes (or – if you’re lucky, half an hour!) with someone like that either over a cup of coffee, or a pint, than you will ever learn just by looking at exhibits in a museum, or airfield museum!
In my case it was being able to talk to a Sqn Ldr (of S African origin) who wore an “O” Brevet and Pathfinders “Wings”, and who walked with a limp, who really gave me an insight into what it was really like to go and do “the bizz”!!! Quite frightening! Or, are you not prepared to be frightened?
Respectfully, and in respect for those went to do – but never came back!!!
Resmoroh

Balmullo Quarry also claimed Liberator BZ961 on 14 Sep 44. One of our Met Men was hitching a lift and was killed. There, doing the same sort of thing and but for the grace of the diety, might a lot of us have gone!
HTH
Resmoroh

I think 7 Sqn had Valiants at Wittering (they came from Honkington?) but whether in the requested time-window I can’t remember.
One other problem with the Valiant at Wittering was that when the weather temp was around freezing, and the humidity in the upper 90’s% (and we got a lot of that in the UK in the winter!!), the only way they could stop intake icing was by bleeding off some exhaust thrust/heat and feeding it back in at the front end. This reduced the thrust to an extent that when fully loaded it couldn’t safely get off from Wittering’s runway. They tried some form of rocket assisted takeoff system (RATO?, JATO? – somebody will know) but all that did, as far as I can remember is to scatter bits of red hot ironmongery all over the farmer’s fields in the Duddington and Tixover areas!
They also leaked fuel like a sieve. And they didn’t like cans of self-heating soup sprayed over the knobs and switches!
Apart from that – and the spar problem – they were built like brick chicken houses!!
HTH
Resmoroh

Response Delay

FLY.BUY, Hi,
You are about 4 years previous in your hope for a reply!
Outwith the aviation world, I posted several statements and requests on a number of geneaological sites in 2000 and 2001. There was no reply – so be it!!
Within the last 72 hrs I have had responses from (a) Australia, and (b) N America to those very same requests!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems you have to place a request on a Forum and then wait 10 years for a response. We should live so long!!!!!!!!
HTH
Resmoroh

Agree with Planemike!
If you want aviation function organisers (be they old, or new – the functions that is, not the organisers!) to take any notice whatsoever of Fora posters then at least use the English language correctly. Ignorance of the English language leads the organisers to realise the poster is also ignorant – and, therefore, to be ignored!
Regretfully
Resmoroh