As I put in the Hoover thread, this team had so much sad luck this week…the Merlin was ‘cut in half’ by the flailing con rod (after the piston went AWOL).

Isn’t there one for sale on one of the disposal sites? Think it might be this one.

there is one for sale yes but not this puppy

Very interesting. Also interesting to see that the tyres were still marked Dunlop on such a late machine.

AH5048 is a Hurri wheel and the others as Alan says

Welcome back Dilip.

Just a thopught – Tiffy’s lost their tails regularly as we know. Mostly people immediately had their nexks broken by the shock (ie the pendulum efect Rocketeer mentioned). Question is, how did they fall? This may or may not give some clue – different a/c and a lot heavier, but….

I have a air crash AP that goes into the Typhoon tail fall off case (together with details of about 60 of them)…there are photos of the wreckage so I will have a looksy.

There is bespoke software for recreating final events following an inflight failure etc, however, it requires input data (i.e. from a flight recorder or ‘good’ dataset of witnesses). The only thing we can be sure of is that the aircraft went in vertical, penetration would depend on the final impact speed, and any rolling action and of course the ground make up. It should be fairly easy to estimate terminal velocity.

Anyway, this is all no doubt ‘teaching GM to suck eggs’ and fairly obvious….I have to go and play with modern aircraft now….first day back after 2 weeks off!

Stay friendly and keep the reasoned debate going….it is great and I feel a very worthy subject. Unlike ‘traditional’ archaeologists, aviation archaeologists have the golden opportunity of knowing much more before a dig begins. Using traditional tools can be pointless, however, I have been known to use very small trowels! Often we can pinpoint the attitude of crash and much more (even damage that brought the aircraft down) so this clearly fills gaps in the ‘evidence’, but most of all we remember brave airman when others forget.

One last thought, I used to be against digging crashes until a friend took me to the crash of a Mosquito lost on the day before VE Day, there was so little to know where they had fell and died, just a tiny indentation in a field. If we do not remember them….who will? These sites are being lost under fields developed to create new urban sprawls and roads.

This thread has also brought two great aviation historians closer together again and that can only be good.

PS A mini Forum meet at the Shoreham Aerojumble 30th Sept and a toast to fallen heros may be a nice idea.

Cheers Tony Dyer

Being hit in the face by all that wind could have accounted for his bloodshot eyes. I have seen skydivers who have lost their goggles in the air come back looking rather red.

Ali

I was chatting to a chap at work a few years back who had ejected from a Casa 101 about a week before – I could not make eye contact as his eyes were completely blood shot with no white at all….wind blast/visor up or forced up.

I have tried but cannot add an objection…has the time limit ended? Already contacted MPs etc!!