Paul FStunning shot Robbo
Makes me want to reach for my gloves and scarf as I can almost feel the temperature drop as I look at it.
Paul F
Paul FStunning shot Robbo
Makes me want to reach for my gloves and scarf as I can almost feel the temperature drop as I look at it.
Paul F
Paul FIt’s been a tad rough…
Was booked on one of my regular return trips LGW-GSY on Flybe BAe146 yesterday, and half expected it to be cancelled due to the forecast. However, it boarded as normal. As we sat waiting to leave Gatwick at 11:35am the Captain warned that it would be fairly bumpy after takeoff, and that Guernsey was showing 40knot winds straight down the runway so the landing approach might also be somewhat bumpy. Flight was exactly as described, and although the finals were very bumpy down to about 20ft, the touchdown itself was an absolute greaser.
The return trip at 18:05 was similar, with a very wild final approach into Gatwick from the East, but again the actual touchdown itself was so soft that it was barely felt. Interestingly GSY-LGW is normally about a 35min flight time, but we landed 10 mins ahead of schedule due to picking up a 100knot tailwind component at 17,000 feet.
Strange that in some fairly wild weather we had two of the lightest touchdowns I can remember, yet on other trips in good weather with same airline, and on same type of aircraft we’ve experienced “arrivals” that nearly re-arranged our spines:confused:.
And yes, some of us do remember the storm of ’87 all too well 😮 . We’d only lived in Lewes for three months, and spent a sleepless night listening to roof tiles being ripped off our newly aquired house, and to dustbins being blown along the street like soft drink cans while the wind howled like a demon. The power supply failed at some point, and we saw our neighbours car being slowly rolled along the road by the wind, even against it’s handbrake, before he emerged wearing a widly flapping dressing gown and crash helmet to apply the handbrake more tightly.
Next morning many houses along our road had the same pattern of missing tiles (approx 25% of our roof tiles had been removed), there was the sound of chainsaws everywhere as people cleared roads. We found three or four intact roof tiles buried to about a third of their length, intact, in our front lawn (moral of that part of the story being don’t venture out if it ever happens again as one of those would have killed anyone it hit). Fences and sheds were flattened, and a bush in our garden had been “burnt” down one side by the sea-salt laden wind (the nearest patch of coast being approx eight miles away based on the wind direction!). I walked into the office, and on the way through the town the real scale of the storm became apparent – A whole stand of pine trees outside the Prison were laying down like dominoes someone had knocked over, large trees were down, or large branches were hanging from them. Lewes high street looked like a scene out of the blitz with smashed clay tiles everywhere, and someone’s brand new car was sitting there with a complete chimney stack (with intact chimney pots)firmly embedded vertically in the roof. As the power and phone lines remained off for a while we simply sent home those few local staff who managed to turn in, and then locked up once the trickle of arrivals dried up,and went home ourselves, as there was little else to do until the power came back on, and roads and traffic got back to normal. When I got back home most of the neighbours were also back, and we spent the afternoon up ladders patching/repairing roofs along our road, as there was no way you could get hold of a roofer.
It was one wild 24 hour period that I’ll never forget. The only good thing was that the wind was at it’s worst at around 4:00am, so there were very few people out and about, so casualties were fairly light. Had it happened at 4:00pm, then the story would have been very different.
– Even to this day Mrs PF still gets very nervous if the weather forecast mentions strong overnight south-westerly winds in our patch of the south east. Me, I simply tell her I’m going to sleep with my earplugs in, and sort out any devastation the next morning.
Paul F
Paul FIt’s been a tad rough…
Was booked on one of my regular return trips LGW-GSY on Flybe BAe146 yesterday, and half expected it to be cancelled due to the forecast. However, it boarded as normal. As we sat waiting to leave Gatwick at 11:35am the Captain warned that it would be fairly bumpy after takeoff, and that Guernsey was showing 40knot winds straight down the runway so the landing approach might also be somewhat bumpy. Flight was exactly as described, and although the finals were very bumpy down to about 20ft, the touchdown itself was an absolute greaser.
The return trip at 18:05 was similar, with a very wild final approach into Gatwick from the East, but again the actual touchdown itself was so soft that it was barely felt. Interestingly GSY-LGW is normally about a 35min flight time, but we landed 10 mins ahead of schedule due to picking up a 100knot tailwind component at 17,000 feet.
Strange that in some fairly wild weather we had two of the lightest touchdowns I can remember, yet on other trips in good weather with same airline, and on same type of aircraft we’ve experienced “arrivals” that nearly re-arranged our spines:confused:.
And yes, some of us do remember the storm of ’87 all too well 😮 . We’d only lived in Lewes for three months, and spent a sleepless night listening to roof tiles being ripped off our newly aquired house, and to dustbins being blown along the street like soft drink cans while the wind howled like a demon. The power supply failed at some point, and we saw our neighbours car being slowly rolled along the road by the wind, even against it’s handbrake, before he emerged wearing a widly flapping dressing gown and crash helmet to apply the handbrake more tightly.
Next morning many houses along our road had the same pattern of missing tiles (approx 25% of our roof tiles had been removed), there was the sound of chainsaws everywhere as people cleared roads. We found three or four intact roof tiles buried to about a third of their length, intact, in our front lawn (moral of that part of the story being don’t venture out if it ever happens again as one of those would have killed anyone it hit). Fences and sheds were flattened, and a bush in our garden had been “burnt” down one side by the sea-salt laden wind (the nearest patch of coast being approx eight miles away based on the wind direction!). I walked into the office, and on the way through the town the real scale of the storm became apparent – A whole stand of pine trees outside the Prison were laying down like dominoes someone had knocked over, large trees were down, or large branches were hanging from them. Lewes high street looked like a scene out of the blitz with smashed clay tiles everywhere, and someone’s brand new car was sitting there with a complete chimney stack (with intact chimney pots)firmly embedded vertically in the roof. As the power and phone lines remained off for a while we simply sent home those few local staff who managed to turn in, and then locked up once the trickle of arrivals dried up,and went home ourselves, as there was little else to do until the power came back on, and roads and traffic got back to normal. When I got back home most of the neighbours were also back, and we spent the afternoon up ladders patching/repairing roofs along our road, as there was no way you could get hold of a roofer.
It was one wild 24 hour period that I’ll never forget. The only good thing was that the wind was at it’s worst at around 4:00am, so there were very few people out and about, so casualties were fairly light. Had it happened at 4:00pm, then the story would have been very different.
– Even to this day Mrs PF still gets very nervous if the weather forecast mentions strong overnight south-westerly winds in our patch of the south east. Me, I simply tell her I’m going to sleep with my earplugs in, and sort out any devastation the next morning.
Paul F
Paul FAlthough it has been good to see the air-races (albeit very much “editted highlights”) on mainstream terrestial TV here in UK, I suspect the novelty will soon wear off for most of the casual viewers.
Where as they can all perhaps dream of driving an F1 racing car while we sit in traffic quees on their local main road, few of tham can probably identify with the experience of flying in sort of high performance aircraft they see on the airrace programs – the closest experience most viewers will get is sat in the rear end of an airliner. Thus their “identification” with the air-racing experience is probably minimal – expect perhaps via the gaming software advertised at the top of some of these fora pages?
While there may be some (many?) viewers who watch the show from a gladiatorial viewpoint – i.e. hoping for a spectacular “incident”, most must realise that any such disaster would (hopefully!) be edittted out.
Thus, I do not think the show will hold many viewers beyond a couple of years/series before viewers get bored and move on “once you’ve seen one plane fly between a few inflatable pylons, you’ve seen them all, yawn“. At that point RB will pull the sponsership plug.
Unless, of course, they can inject something new into the show/series’ format – and these changes will have to be very obvious to the average viewer, and not fine-tuning tweaks that only the real aviation specialist can spot/understand. Maybe they could sponser the Reno Unlimited Gold race – very different ‘planes and a very different race format, the absolute “b@lls out” aspect of unlimited racing might hold viewers attention for another series or two?
It will be ashame when RB pull the plug, but at least it’s given us something on the TV to look forward to for a change.
Paul F
Paul FStangman,
Is this the show where the guy sets off with a very ambitious design, wastes a heck of a lot of time doing very little, and then ends up building a far less complex “off the shelf”design?
I’ve got some (all?) the episodes on a video tape somewhere, I will try and look it out over the weekend.
Paul F
Paul FInteresting how the story is presented by the media:
i.e “Another Shark Attack“
and not:
“Another surfer who enters the Sharks’ natural domain suffers the (very unfortunate) consequences of his pre-meditated action“.
I was sorry to hear/see the story on the UK TV news a couple of nights ago, and wish the lad involved a speedy recovery (so far as is possible in the circumstances).
But, having only just watched the BBC Planet Earth programme showing the awesome attacking power of Great Whites, I cannot but help think that the shark is cast, yet again, as the baddie of the piece, while the surfer, who may well have looked like the shark’s natural prey (ie. a seal) as he paddled his board out, is seen as very much the innocent “victim”.
Sorry, I’m with the shark on this one…as Sea Vixen says above, if you walk in Lion territory you know the risks, so why do sharks get such an unfair press when they are simply doing what comes naturally!
Paul F
Paul FInteresting how the story is presented by the media:
i.e “Another Shark Attack“
and not:
“Another surfer who enters the Sharks’ natural domain suffers the (very unfortunate) consequences of his pre-meditated action“.
I was sorry to hear/see the story on the UK TV news a couple of nights ago, and wish the lad involved a speedy recovery (so far as is possible in the circumstances).
But, having only just watched the BBC Planet Earth programme showing the awesome attacking power of Great Whites, I cannot but help think that the shark is cast, yet again, as the baddie of the piece, while the surfer, who may well have looked like the shark’s natural prey (ie. a seal) as he paddled his board out, is seen as very much the innocent “victim”.
Sorry, I’m with the shark on this one…as Sea Vixen says above, if you walk in Lion territory you know the risks, so why do sharks get such an unfair press when they are simply doing what comes naturally!
Paul F
Paul F🙂 🙂 🙂
Do the clowns that keep saying dont have Xmas or Easter etc even ask those of other faiths if they want these events banned or not ?
I think we all know the answer to that one…..most of my non-Christian friends are happy to see their Christian friends and colleagues enjoy the festival in much the same manner as they enjoy their own Muslim/Hindu/ Jewish (etc) festivals….
I have no problem of being asked to respect other Religions’ right to celebrate their own festivals, even though I may not celebrate them myself. But I really cannot hack being asked/told to tone down how I choose to celebrate/mark the festivals of my own faith, for fear it might offend minority groups….
Tony B and all his politically correct side-kicks need to get a grip before this country slides further into the brown stuff. Britain is essentially a culture based largely on Christian beliefs and values – albeit with a large number of non-Christian influences thrown into the melting pot along the way. It is time that politicians of all leanings had the courage to admit this, and try to preserve it, or try to change it by proper open discussion, rather than be offended by it, and thence feel the need to take disproportionate action in order to avoid offending minority groups. Those minority groups the politioician are fearful of offending are, by and large, happy to live in a largely Christian culture (if they are not, then why did they move here in the first place?) so long as they have the freedom to celebrate their own, non-Christian faiths without persecution. (Oops, rant over.. 😮 )
Christmas – A time for “Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to all men” (Except H&S legislators perhaps 😀 )
Paul F
Paul F🙂 🙂 🙂
Do the clowns that keep saying dont have Xmas or Easter etc even ask those of other faiths if they want these events banned or not ?
I think we all know the answer to that one…..most of my non-Christian friends are happy to see their Christian friends and colleagues enjoy the festival in much the same manner as they enjoy their own Muslim/Hindu/ Jewish (etc) festivals….
I have no problem of being asked to respect other Religions’ right to celebrate their own festivals, even though I may not celebrate them myself. But I really cannot hack being asked/told to tone down how I choose to celebrate/mark the festivals of my own faith, for fear it might offend minority groups….
Tony B and all his politically correct side-kicks need to get a grip before this country slides further into the brown stuff. Britain is essentially a culture based largely on Christian beliefs and values – albeit with a large number of non-Christian influences thrown into the melting pot along the way. It is time that politicians of all leanings had the courage to admit this, and try to preserve it, or try to change it by proper open discussion, rather than be offended by it, and thence feel the need to take disproportionate action in order to avoid offending minority groups. Those minority groups the politioician are fearful of offending are, by and large, happy to live in a largely Christian culture (if they are not, then why did they move here in the first place?) so long as they have the freedom to celebrate their own, non-Christian faiths without persecution. (Oops, rant over.. 😮 )
Christmas – A time for “Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to all men” (Except H&S legislators perhaps 😀 )
Paul F
Paul FMince Pies…
Ah, so mince pies may contain nuts, and may also contain suet….well I never! 😀
Unlike the recently slated “Dragon Ale” case though they don’t seem to need to point out that said pies don’t actually contain mince(d) beef though – whatever is this place coming to…..
I think the locals should adopt the French approach, burn a few mince pies, go on strike for a day or two, and then totally ignore the EU-driven stupidity anyway :rolleyes:
Perhaps there should be a big signs outside the Palace of Westminster, and also outside the EU Headquarters buildings in Brussels “Warning, contains Nuts!”
As has been said before, the lunatics have well and truly taken over the asylum. I just hope they (the lunatics) can prove they’d used a suitable trained person to carry out a suitably documented risk assessment first – all written up on paper produced only from sustainable local forests of course. :rolleyes:
Not quite H&S related, but I heard on the radio this morning that more and more UK organisations are now banning office displays of Christmas Trees and Christmas deccys, for fear of offending people of non-Christian religions. 😮
Of course, this policy simply displays the complete ignorance of those organisations (or of the busybodies who advise them 😉 ), as the Christmas Tree/Yule Log tradition is actually nothing to do with Christian beliefs, and most likely stems from Pagan traditions…(or from the basic human wish to keep a dwelling warm in the cold winter months by burning a lump of wood?)
…Is it me…..?
Paul F
Paul FMince Pies…
Ah, so mince pies may contain nuts, and may also contain suet….well I never! 😀
Unlike the recently slated “Dragon Ale” case though they don’t seem to need to point out that said pies don’t actually contain mince(d) beef though – whatever is this place coming to…..
I think the locals should adopt the French approach, burn a few mince pies, go on strike for a day or two, and then totally ignore the EU-driven stupidity anyway :rolleyes:
Perhaps there should be a big signs outside the Palace of Westminster, and also outside the EU Headquarters buildings in Brussels “Warning, contains Nuts!”
As has been said before, the lunatics have well and truly taken over the asylum. I just hope they (the lunatics) can prove they’d used a suitable trained person to carry out a suitably documented risk assessment first – all written up on paper produced only from sustainable local forests of course. :rolleyes:
Not quite H&S related, but I heard on the radio this morning that more and more UK organisations are now banning office displays of Christmas Trees and Christmas deccys, for fear of offending people of non-Christian religions. 😮
Of course, this policy simply displays the complete ignorance of those organisations (or of the busybodies who advise them 😉 ), as the Christmas Tree/Yule Log tradition is actually nothing to do with Christian beliefs, and most likely stems from Pagan traditions…(or from the basic human wish to keep a dwelling warm in the cold winter months by burning a lump of wood?)
…Is it me…..?
Paul F
Paul FForgotten Heroes?
Not quite sure why, but felt I had to post this…
I have just got back from a couple of days business in Romania, and on one of the car journeys I was suprised to be driven past what looked to be a CWGC Cemetary on the road that heads north out of Bucharest towards Ploesti. Had it been a US military cemetary I would have been less surprised, knowing the USAF attacked the oil refineries at Ploesti in an attempt to reduce oil and fuel supplies to the German forces.
Unfortunately I did not have time to ask the driver to stop, though it was his comment in broken English that brought it to my attention as we sped past. I realised I knew little, if anything of why it would be there, and I was also suprised that it seemed to contain quite a few headstones.
A little stumbling around the CWGC website this morning finally tracked down the site, the cemetary is described as Bucharest, though is actually 16km north of Otopenei Airport on the main road away form Bucharest towards Ploesti. It apparently contains 91 casualties, 81 of whom were WW2 Commonwealth aircrew and 2 were WW2 soldiers. The remainder of the casualties are predominantly Naval and date back to WW1, though it seems there is also a memorial to a lone WW1 Indian soldier.
The CWGC webpage gives a little more background to matters such as the formation of the Balkan Air Force which operated out of Greece, Italy and later Yugoslavia to attack the Romanian Oil facilities in WW2, and which consisted of Commonwealth, US, Greek, Yugoslavian and Italian Squadrons.
Having browsed through the list of casualties commemorated at the cemetary I was (as ever) humbled to see how young so many of them were when they died. Being buried so far from “home”, and in waht was until fairly recently a fairly “closed” country, I suspect the cemetary receives few visitors, though perhaps the forthcoming addiiton of Romania to the EU may change this
If I’m back in the area as hoped next year then I’ll try and find time to pay my respects. In the meantime then my note here may perhaps serve to ensure those brave men are not forgotten……
Paul F
Paul FAmazing to see one still in civilian service
Is it in civilian service ? I know it carries the reg YR-ABB, but I get the feeling it is an “official” aeroplane, and may well be flown by the Romanian armed forces – perhaps the civilian reg just makes it easier to fly into some airspaces that migth not welcome an overtly military aeroplane? When I flew back out of Otopeni yesterday the same plane (or a sister 707) was parked on the military ramp on the far side of the airport.
Also, would a civilian operator (even one based outside any EU or US emission/noise controls) still be using the older, thirsty, dirty, turbojet engines?
No doubt some ‘707 experts on here can confirm details. Once Romania has joined EU next month maybe we’ll get to see this ‘plane in the UK occasionally 🙂 – or will she be banned/grounded due to aforementioned EU controls on emissions and noise 🙁 ?
Paul F
Paul FAnother 707 “out and about”
Slightly off-topic (but only just 😉 ), I found another “live” 707 at Henri Coanda (Otopeni) Airport Bucharest on Tuesday….photos posted on the “Historic Aviation” board, as I felt she belonged over there.
Not clever enough to post a link – sorry, I’m nearly as old as the 707, so IT is a mystery to me….
Paul F
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