snafuI am sure he will fly it out of there. It is a very simple flying machine, barely more than a microlight, and as long as the engine keeps going and the controls are connected Ok, it should get in the air.
I think what AA was getting at (and the rest of us understood) is that it will need a set of wings to be attached before he flies it out of there…
snafu1460 At the Battle of Wakefield, in Northern England, the Duke of York was killed and his forces soundly defeated by King Henry VI’s forces, as part of the Wars of the Roses.
1916 Russian holy man Grigory Rasputin is murdered by Russian noblemen, eager to end his sway over the czar’s family. There is no proof that he was Russia’s greatest love machine, contrary to the claims by Boney M.
1922*The creation of the USSR was formally proclaimed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The Soviet Union is organised as a federation of RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belorussian SSR & Transcaucasian SSR.
1986 Plans were announced that would make the coal mine canaries redundant in British mines. They were replaced by carbon monoxide detectors which, whilst being efficient and cheaper to use in the long run, were not as popular with the miners themselves since they were not programmed to sing.
2006 Saddam Hussein, former leader of Iraq, was executed by hanging.
snafuClear view doesn’t really illustrate much direct except what might be the underside of a wing resting on or just above the ground, which probably doesn’t show through the broken glass next to it. The reflection that I believe to be another hangar but might be taken as a Meteor shows what I thought was a T7 canopy – that really would throw stuff in the air, wouldn’t you say?
snafuIndependent so that the dreams and nightmares are not taken as gospel.
The dozens of Sherman tanks apparently left behind during the evacuation at Dunkirk, according to one old soldier (maybe he was thinking of Dieppe, but not in 1940 when his memory and the story about his unit fighting all the way to the beach collided) or shooting down a Me262 in a Meteor (which never happened), not to mention a jet engined Mosquito apparently mentioned in the Daily Mail a while ago.
Lame, I know, but mistakes, however innocent or well intentioned, do get perpetuated unless they are strongly corrected as soon as they are made.
snafuSpitfires – there are quite a few flying around in Britain, there are a few places where they are renovated or rebuilt who appreciate ‘free’ publicity, there are a lot of people who have studied them and their history. Other types may be as studied, despite not being flown or renovated, but when it comes to peer-reviewing of the facts and figures then the problems come around. There are probably ‘experts’ who could tell you the dates when particular subtypes of a German fighter was shot down and the pilots who were involved, yet is there an ‘expert’ who could do something remotely similar (for example) with Tomahawks in the Western Desert or Thunderbolts in the Far East and have their information confirmed by an independent researcher?
The numbers who fought in WWII are decreasing by the day, their memories need to be told and this would be first hand information: one day everything from this period will be heresay. Most copies of Flypast (when I bought it, and from what I see when I flick through a copy or read the stickies at the top of each forum) seem to be regurgitating familiar, famous stories around their anniversaries; granted that there will be people who are fascinated but these events come each year and it would be so easy to just repeat each story as and when, but surely there are things that have not been repeated several times – it just needs time spent trying to find the veterans and get their memories, while they are still with us.
Of course, Flypast doesn’t have the budget to trawl old people’s homes or track down via ex-servicemens groups so it relies on enthusiasts who have an interest, or fills its pages with articles on pylon racing or restorations.
snafuI am intrigued by the background, is it sand? banked along a waterway? The two wheeled contraption does not look like a trolley acc. more like a trolley to move a flying boat?
I took the view between the tail and the trolley to be water mainly influenced by the ‘lighting pylon’ (or whatever) defended by the posts around it, although I took the trolley to be a partially dismantled trailer (the sides removed) since you don’t see many flying boat trolleys on the roads these days…
Is the image in the broken window a rear 3/4 view of an early Meteor?
No, it is the Spitfire from the right hand side of the image. Giveaway is the reversed letters ‘RB’ in the far unbroken pane, but there does appear – to my eyes, anyway – to be multi reflections of another blister hangar that could be mistaken for a bubbly canopy.
(What follows is my wonderings, nothing hard and fast, just observations in case others hadn’t realised despite noticing. Make of it what you will…)
The Spitfire, to me, appears to be made up of several different bits: the colour schemes are from possibly four different aircraft (or, much less likely, panels, lots of panels), and that is just the fuselage. Could the code be made up? It looks in good condition when compared to the rest of the airframe, especially the well weathered roundel (and I was in two minds as to whether that vertical ‘break’ was actually hangar shadow -too convenient – or really just a break between the marrying of different fuselages), and goes across two possible schemes; might it be ‘F’ for fighter and ‘CRB’ as someone’s initials?
Is there any damage visible on the fuselage, other than the missing prop blades? I see something on the side panel just in front of the cockpit, but it looks more like dirt or smudging with possibly a crease in the metalwork.
There are two wings present, but is it for convenience that we believe them to be from this incident? If we take the location as being by water and so, logically, a flying boat base (or something similar) why would there be a Spitfire present? If may have crash landed there (or off there?) but would it have being flying in such an untidy colour scheme – I doubt it. My feeling is that it is a construct for the purpose of…what? It is not quite in the hangar and doesn’t look very mobile (as in able to be wheeled in at night or in bad weather) so the chances are that it is not a ‘delicate’ teaching aid. Might it have been a delivery for the fire dump – but wouldn’t it be dropped at the fire pit rather than somewhere where it would need to be moved from again, unless it now needed to have the wings reattached?
The windscreen is missing; is this easy to do? Would it have been removed in recovery for any reason at all? Or is it more likely that it was removed because it was suitable to replace one on another airframe, possibly for instruction purposes rather than for flight?
The engine is still there. Is that normal if we assume that this is an instruction airframe, rather than just recovered after a crash? What is keeping the fuselage upright – I can see no support, although there appears to be a strap around the forward airframe; with the wings removed would an unstrapped Spitfire normally sit upright? My feeling is that it wouldn’t, so is there some sort of (invisible) damage beneath the engine (or is it more likely sitting on some old tyres!) where it has been flattened and is this consistent with a wheels up landing – we can see that there is damage to the wings in the area of the scoops, although the closest doesn’t look like it has been dragged along a runway going forward, in fact it appears more ‘hammered’ in places, sideways. Is the undercarriage still in place, retracted?
The spinner looks in good condition. Had this been the remains of a belly landing wasn’t more usual for the airframe to scrape its nose on the ground at some point? The blades are gone from the airscrew; doesn’t that mean it was under power at the time?
There are bits and pieces of what we can assume to be this aircraft visible around the spinner; we can see the wings were not ripped off, so we must assume it has been dismantled – allowing for there to be bits out of sight on the other side of the the fuselage, is there enough here for the stuff removed or has it just been deposited here, and maybe not from this Spitfire or even from a different type?
Can anyone extract detail from the airmen leaning on the front?
snafuStrange. Nigel seems to have said nothing about the headline story that featured on front page of The Times on Boxing Day.
Donald Trump’s trade chief has urged Britain’s rivals to exploit the “God-given opportunity” of Brexit to steal business from the UK.
Wilbur Ross, the billionaire incoming commerce secretary, has the task of striking a free trade deal with Britain. His comments will increase fears that the US will seek to take advantage of British isolation after its departure from the European Union.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/use-brexit-to-steal-uk-trade-says-trump-aide-22rkpmfr7
Of course, theirs is a subscription website, which makes things difficult. The Irish Sun fills in:
DONALD Trump’s new trade chief has reportedly urged Britain’s rivals to take advantage of the “God-given opportunity” of Brexit to take business away from the UK.
Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary designate, said Britain is facing a “period of confusion” following the referendum and that it is”inevitable” there would be “relocations”, according to The Times.
The billionaire businessman will be responsible for negotiating a free trade deal with the UK and his reported comments will raise concerns the incoming US administration will seek to exploit Britain’s isolation following Brexit.
The Fox News Channel bleated the headline Use Brexit to steal UK trade, says Trump aide, with Ross apparently telling US business let’s pick the UK carcass apart.
You might expect Farage to moan that these things wouldn’t be entertained if he was ambassador, or even a special envoy, but if he raises his head now to mumble something to Trump and try and plead for business mercy then he risks snuffing out his star. Much easier to stay at the bar, dodge this chance to tell us what we should think and ignore the opportunity to be ridiculed by Trump making America great again…
snafu1170*Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II.
1860 The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior is launched.
1890 The U.S. 7th Cavalry slaughters at least 146 Sioux, around half being women and children, at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, at the end of the American Indian Wars.
1915 The French National Assembly passed a law formally ceding the land that holds the British war cemeteries to Great Britain. The move ensured that, even as the war was being fought, its saddest and most sacred monuments would be forever protected.
1940 London suffers its most devastating air raid of the Blitz when Germans dropped 10,000 bombs on the city, killing almost 3,600 civilians.
1998 Six people died after mountainous seas smashed into yachts taking part in the prestigious Sydney to Hobart race.
snafuI seem to remember that there were several Fireflies reported as being for sale on the African continent quite a few years ago (Kenya?), though due to fading memory, senility or even both, I cannot remember the details, though I do seem to remember a black & white photograph taken from a low angle!
Ethiopia and Eritrea. Two went to Canada and two seemed to go to South Africa.
snafuProbably because you never had it in the first place.
You can’t see it but she discovered it…
Astronomers believe more than 90 percent of the matter in the universe is stuff we can’t see — dark matter. The woman we have to thank for this discovery died yesterday at the age of 88. Her name was Vera Rubin.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/27/14088760/vera-rubin-scientist-obituary-dark-matter-physics
snafuWoo, hooked him there. Spin, spin, and spin again, John!
It would be more to Welby’s credit if he concentrated upon putting his own irreparably divided house in order before spouting nonsense about the state of the world.
What with the appointment of female clerics and homosexual ones seriously and perhaps permanently dividing the Church, he has his hands full.
His personal presentation does not spark confidence.
Welby is quite senior in his particular religious faction – you can expect him to press upon us that we should care for others who are less fortunate than ourselves. Farage is the right wing spokesperson for himself and wannabe front page whore – you can expect him to be against compassion and pleased that fear and division are a feature of the nation today, it is to his political advantage after all. You, John Green, are a Farage fanboy who believes he can do no wrong – should anyone be at all surprised that in addition to bleating about an archbishop ‘spouting nonsense’ to mirror your hero’s moan you then illustrates your prejudices against women and sexual preference?
It is said that leopards can’t change their spots, so is it likely that any of the above three will change their minds? I doubt it, but you know that the only one whose heart is in the right place as far as well-being and concern for their fellow man will be the archbishop.
What is this ‘unity’ and ‘division’ he refers to ? I think he means singing from the same hymn sheet. The hymn sheet titled ‘Hope not Hatred ?’
Oh very good, John – you are going to make a pointed dig at a group who Farage has designated as friends with ISIS; linking them with the archbishop (who is also in favour of women and homosexual clergy! Defrock him!) and mentioning ‘singing’ to link it in with the late George Michael (who was gay and has been outed as doing good deeds for charitable causes, donating money on the sly and hanging around public toilets), you really can’t go wrong.
Except this is all to defend Nigel Farage. So it is just wrong, an offence against decency in fact. You cannot defend Nigel Farage.
Is this the same Hope not Hatred Rent a Mob that was recently captured by TV cameras in public, screaming hatred and venom from contorted faces at a meeting held in a pub by a peaceful right wing grouping of some sort ? Disgraceful scenes followed.
Told you.
Maybe they were trying to bring about a change in the political direction of the group, bringing about hope rather than the hatred that is associated with right wing groups. This hatred is illustrated by the fact that some god-botherer invites care and compassion at Christmas in a world awash with fear and division and gets a bad-mouthing from a right wing figurehead.
You get the picture?
Incidentally, since it was a right wing murderer who assassinated the last MP to be killed in office it is not impossible that this group could be plotting another terrorising assault on an unsuspecting world. Would you have been so upset if the group under attack had been a Muslim meeting?
Brendan Cox seems to be complaining because his view, and that of other liberal extremists, is at last being challenged. It is what happens when any extremist group regardless of their political affiliations, become too dominant. Let us, at this opportune moment raise our glasses to the rise of populism, until of course populism exceeds the boundaries and becomes extremist.
Liberal extremist = anyone who does not share your forthright view on the world.
Did Brendon Cox preach that all right wingers should be incarcerated in camps and be brainwashed until their views are safe for a multicultural world, one where everyone can live their lives without fear of being picked on due to race, creed, colour, religion, sexuality or political choice? I doubt it – that sounds more like the sort of things that would come from the Farage end of the political spectrum.
Popularism? We can look back at popularism in history and what happened then, especially from that famous poem by pastor Martin Niemöller. Who will they have taken before you speak out, John?
Just keep wriggling.
snafuCarrie Fisher and Richard Adams.
The author of Watership Down, Richard Adams, has died aged 96, his daughter has said.
Juliet Johnson said her father had been “ailing for some time” but “died peacefully” on Christmas Eve.
Watership Down, a children’s classic about a group of rabbits in search of a new home after their warren was destroyed, was first published in 1972.
Just a few days to go before we start to complain about a new year robbing us of the well known; wonder if there will be a rush to check out before the end of this year…
snafuThese are people who would usually say something about not speaking ill of the dead. You can see that there is nothing holding them back from that, now – unless you talk about tap dancing on the urine-stinking grave of a certain former female prime minister. That does set some of them off big time!
In other news…
Britney Spears has di-oh no she hasn’t!
Sony Music Entertainment’s Twitter account was hacked on Monday, publishing fake statements that pop music icon Britney Spears had died.
Sony Music, a unit of Sony Corp, said in a short statement that its social media account was “compromised” but that the situation “has been rectified”.
The company said it “apologizes to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion”.
A Sony spokeswoman refused to comment further. A Twitter spokesman did not return emails seeking comment.
The 35-year-old international superstar and Grammy award winner “is fine and well”, Spears’ manager Adam Leber told CNN.
In the first of several false tweets on Monday, the company’s Sony Music Global Twitter account published a short message reading “RIP @britneyspears” and “žRIPBritney 1981-2016”, along with a teary-eyed emoji, Variety and Billboard magazines reported.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/26/britney-spears-not-dead-sony-twitter-hack
snafuAh, what a world it is when Nigel Farage, wearer of mustard yellow trousers when drinking at traditional Boxing Day hunts, can tweet that we should ignore the Christmas message of the archbishop of Canterbury, about being compassionate in a world awash with fear and division towards those who are less fortunate.
To my mind @JustinWelby if you’re disliked by Nigel Farage you’re probably doing something right, keep speaking up and speaking out
— Kate Bottley (@revkatebottley) December 25, 2016
Another triumph from Farage Gump. Let us see how John spins a positive from this.
In other news, Brendan Cox delivered the alternative Christmas message on Channel 4.
Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, called for an end to the “rise of hatred” in this year’s alternative Christmas message.
Paying tribute to his wife he said “fascism, xenophobia, extremism and terrorism” had divided the world.
He added that 2016 had been a “wake up call”, before calling for unity in 2017.
Hands up all those who believe that neither Farage nor John Green will agree with this version of events…
snafuWas the life they led more important than the life of an eminent physician who, after a lifetime of service to humanity dies unsung ?
Feel free to fill us in on his eminence, John, it should be a team effort anyway rather than you sniping away about people being missed out and the qualities of those dying. Never expected you to dab away tears for anyone anyway.
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