RE: T.V. Alert – B52

Jaw dropping that may be,but it strikes me as a shame that we didn’t keep something like the Vulcan or the Victor in service in the same role.Victors in Afghanistan would’ve been quite an asset.

RE: Sit on my lap rescues

Hi Gary,
This kind of thing happened quite a bit during the war years.There are a number of cases in Europe where an American pilot would land and pick up a downed wingman,and at one time it was even approved of and a fuss made in the media back Stateside.In reality,such an undertaking was pretty risky,as there was a chance that the landing site would not be as kosher as it looked from the air,the possible result being capture (or death) of two pilots instead of just the one.
There was an incident in 1944 where a Mustang pilot tried to pick up his downed buddy from a field in Germany.Unfortunately the Mustang became bogged down and they were unable to take off.The almost new Mustang was captured intact,along with both occupants.It was this incident,along with a number of other close shaves,which lead the USAAF to make ‘pick-me-ups’ a court marshal offence.One pilot,again in a Mustang,picked his buddy up and brought them both home successfully.This was only days after AAF command had made it a court marshal offence,and the pilot was not aware of it until he was taken into custody!If I remember right,he got away with nothing more than a ticking off,but it was rather ironic considering that medals had been dished out for similar actions only six months before.
I don’t know too much about similar things happenning in other air forces,but there was one incident which Johnnie Johnson related in ‘Wing Leader’ about a Typhoon pilot who baled out of his fully functional aircraft into the channel to try and save his shot-down CO who he could see having difficulty down in the drink.The remaining Typhoons circled as long as thier fuel state allowed but had to leave the area before a rescue launch could reach the downed pair.Nothing was ever found of the two Tiffie pilots.

RE: Shuttle lost (blows up?) on re-entry

A report from yesterday stated that a Russian shuttle was already scheduled to dock with the ISS in a few days time.It seems they now plan to bring back those currently on the ISS on this shuttle and leave the station vacant for the time being.As I aay,this was a news report,so no garauntees of accuracy.
This is a very sad time for everyone who has even a passing interest in space exploration.I’ve often thought that the media have treated shuttle missions too casually,as though there was nothing to it.Perhaps one positive thing to come out of this will be the realisation that space exploration is still a dangerous business and that the astronauts are deserving of the highest praise.

RE: Space Shuttle Columbia Lost over Texas

As I understand,they couldn’t abort the launch when the piece hit the wing because the shuttle was already launching from the gantry.Perhaps the accident does have something to do with that incident,but for now I think speculation is best left to the investigators.We mean well,but it just can’t be proved what happenned at such an early stage.
I would say that now is a time for thinking of those who’ve been lost and the families they leave behind.

RE: Meet Up No. 2 – new thread. The plan.

Dunno if I can make it yet,but it’s in my neck of the woods so I hope I’ll be able to.
Btw,the IWM at Lambeth has more than 3 airframes,and there are a number of other aviation artefacts dotted around the upper galleries and down in the display cases in main exhibition areas.A vist to the IWM can’t really be done quickly!

RE: Vulcans?

Hi Andrew,
Damien B’s Thunder & Lightnings website has excellent info on all the world’s surviving Vulcans amongst other types.There’s loads of other interesting stuff on there aswell,so make sure you’ve got a fair bit of time available before you click the link!

http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk

Happy Vulcan hunting.:)

RE: Rebuild or Replica??

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-01-03 AT 00:46 AM (GMT)]I’d agree that the Spit COULD be flown in memory of the chap who was killed in her,but in reality I think it would be a difficult thing to do.You can’t really anounce the machine at an airshow and say that it’s flying as a memorial to a chap who was killed in it a few years earlier.
As for the question about RM689 having a long association with Rolls Royce,I think this is made void by the fact that nothing of the original 1947 machine will be flying as part of the ‘new’ RM689,so why attach a history to it that the new metal doesn’t have?IMHO,if you want something that has a true historical link to it,it would be better to have something like RN201,which has a fair proportion of original material and history to her,than a new machine that assumes the identity of one that has been lost in a fatal accident.
Someone made the point that a Mustang rebuilt from a fatal wreck was flown in France/UK without anybody saying anything.To my mind,this is because the fact that the aircraft was rebuilt has erased the memory of it ever crashing and of a life ever being lost.It simply doesn’t occur to the average airshow goer or even the majority of enthusiasts that an aircraft has had a previous accident,fatal or otherwise.When you look at a gleaming warbird,your first thought isn’t “When did this one crash?”.
I don’t really care whether an aircraft is a replica or an original or whatever.I don’t mind a Spit being built around a data plate,so long as it doesn’t have any ‘nasties’ associated with it.

RE: Ventura

Hi Folks,
It depends which version of the Ventura you are building.The early GR examples were converted from the retired bombers,and retained the dark earth/olive green upper surfaces and the huge Boulton Paul mid-upper turret.Some had rocket rails fitted under the wings.These retired bombers were known as GR.II’s in Coastal command,and they were also used in various other roles such as communications flying and training with other commands.A large number went to both the RAAF and the SAAF,being used mainly in Africa for either bombing and anti-shipping strikes(North Africa and the Med.) or in search and rescue in South Africa.They seem to have retained the european camouflage as far as I can tell.
The US Navy’s PV-1 version was also supplied to RAF Coastal Command as the GR.V,with 228 being delivered.These were exactly the same as the PV-1,with the far better Martin top turret and a solid nose.I’ve not seen too many photo’s of these,but they appear to have been painted in the standard CC grey uppers/white unders scheme,with a demarcation line about half way up the fuselage sides.
Hope this helps.